Nutritionist – National Consultant At World Food Programme

Grade : Consultant National

Contract type: SSA

Duration: 11 months

Unit: Nutrition

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified applicants to apply without regard to race, color, national origin, origin ethnic or social background, genetic information, sex, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Program is the largest humanitarian agency fighting world hunger. WFP’s mission is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetime. Every day, WFP works around the world to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, especially women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

WFP’S MANDATE AND INTERVENTIONS IN MADAGASCAR

In Madagascar, WFP supports the government’s efforts through an assistance strategy aimed at responding to the humanitarian emergency, strengthening the resilience of communities and supporting sustainable development efforts. In collaboration with State institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and partners of the United Nations System, the WFP organizes monetary or in-kind transfers to meet the food needs of families affected by climatic hazards, provides school meals which promote access to education for girls and boys, supports the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, provides technical and financial support to groups of small agricultural producers to improve their production and their access to the market.

WFP also provides air transport service, providing humanitarian and development actors with safe, reliable and economical transport to other regions of Madagascar.

CONTEXT

In Madagascar, malnutrition remains a major and complex challenge that affects a large part of the population, particularly children. According to the 2021 national nutrition survey, the prevalence of global acute malnutrition (GAM) is estimated at 7.7%, however, with regional disparities observed especially in the southern part of the country. According to the results of the SMART survey carried out during the same year in the three regions where the food crisis is rife, namely Androy, Anosy and Atsimo Andrefana, we note an average prevalence of 7.6% in the 10 districts. All districts are in a precarious situation with prevalence of between 5 and 10%.

Trend analysis shows that the majority is on a stationary or deteriorating trend in most districts in the south of Madagascar according to the results of the 2023 SMART surveys.

Micronutrient deficiencies are also widespread and largely affect children and women. Anemia affects 46% of children under five and 26% of women.

The determinants of wasting are complex and vary according to seasons, regions and contexts. These determinants are multidimensional and interdependent, they refer to food security, maternal and child care, health environment and other fundamental contextual issues such as socio-economic factors like education, inequality between the sexes.

RESPONSABILITES

The main responsibility of the consultant will be to coordinate the process of design and validation of educational and promotional materials that will be used as part of community-based nutrition activities.

ASSIGNED OBJECTIVES:

• Develop a teacher’s guide for conducting nutrition education sessions within the school space based on proven behavior change communication methodologies;
• Design a booklet for schoolchildren summarizing key messages on nutrition and collective and individual hygiene practices;
• Support the development of the second edition of the catalog of nutritious menus for school-age children, adapted to different contexts in Madagascar;
• Develop a set of fun supports and games allowing children to assimilate the key concepts learned during education sessions and stimulate children’s motivation to improve their practices;
• Design a package of innovative tools to support the implementation of quarterly activities in schools;
• Design posters intended to raise awareness among cooks and Local Canteen Management Committees on good culinary practices and hygiene and sanitation practices.
• Develop a catalog of menus adapted for nutritional supplementation of children supported at the FARNE level
• Design a booklet of local songs and games to be used as part of the awareness activities that will be implemented in the FARNE.
• Develop and coordinate the implementation of the training plan for stakeholders on the use of the various tools which will be developed in collaboration with the ONN, the MEN and the PAM’s partner NGOs.

EXPECTED RESULTS

At the end of the consultancy, it is expected that a set of educational and promotional materials will be produced taking into account innovative and fun approaches adapted to the Malagasy context and the interests of the target populations.

Under the supervision of the PAM and in collaboration with the MEN and the ONN, the consultant will be responsible for the following activities:

• Conduct a consultation with partners (eg, ONN, ORNs, MEN, DREN, WFP school feeding teams, field offices) for a better understanding of expectations and adjustments to be made so that the produced supports are practical, adapted to the context and to target
• Collect feedback from users (eg, teachers, cooks, students) of existing tools at school and community level and take stock of communication supports used for the same objectives and in similar contexts
• Develop the first drafts of the materials (content and design) and submit them to the PAM and ONN and MEN focal points.
• Conduct pre-testing of materials with samples of target populations
• Facilitate a workshop for the validation of materials in collaboration with the MEN and ONN and WFP partner NGOs
• Integrate the observations and amendments proposed at the end of the validation workshop.
• Develop the workshop summary report.
• Submit the final version of the materials
• Develop the training plan for stakeholders on the use of different media
• Coordinate the implementation of the stakeholder capacity building plan on the supports which will be developed in collaboration with the ONN, the MEN and partner NGOs
• Write the final report of the consultation

METHODOLOGY

WFP’s action is guided by a people-centered approach. For each medium, the consultant must produce prototypes using a collegial, inclusive and participatory approach. The prototypes will then be pre-tested with the target populations before being finalized and validated with the stakeholders.

In the initial phase, the consultant will propose a methodological note aligned with the PAM guiding principles, which will outline the product development process. The note will be submitted for validation to the PAM and ONN/MEN technical team.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

• Hold a university degree (Bac + 5) in nutrition, public health or related discipline
• Have at least 05 years of experience in the development of educational and promotional strategies and materials in the field of health, nutrition and education;

REQUIRED EXPERIENCES

• Have proven experience in technical assistance or collaboration with government authorities;
• Have a good knowledge of the overall architecture of the education system as well as the implementation of community-based nutrition programs;
• Have a good knowledge of nutrition issues in Madagascar;
• Have a good knowledge of the policies in force in the sectors of nutrition, education, agriculture, health and social protection;
• Have good writing and communication skills in Malagasy and French;
• Good knowledge of the context in southern Madagascar would be an asset.

OTHER SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Have an advanced level of French (level C). An intermediate level of English (level B) is desirable.
• Proficiency with computer tools (MS Word, MS Excel, Internet, etc.) is essential.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS: APRIL 2, 2024

QUALIFIED FEMALE APPLICATIONS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED

WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to behaviors such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of power and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to meet WFP standards of conduct and will therefore be subject to rigorous background checks internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may result in disqualification or dismissal.

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process, including the offer stage.