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For every child, the right to a Hero

How can you make a difference?

Madagascar continues to face significant nutrition challenges among school-age children and adolescents. According to the 2021 Demographic and Health Survey, 26 per cent of adolescent girls aged 15-19 are affected by thinness, while 4 per cent are overweight. School-age children and adolescents have distinct nutritional needs that require evidence-based, gender-responsive and multisectoral interventions.

To address these challenges, UNICEF Madagascar is supporting the Government of Madagascar and partners in the implementation of a comprehensive School-Age Children and Adolescent Nutrition Programme. The programme promotes improved nutrition outcomes through strengthened policies, service delivery, social and behaviour change interventions, evidence generation, and cross-sectoral collaboration with health, education, social protection and adolescent development stakeholders.

Within the Nutrition Section, the Nutrition Officer will contribute to the planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of interventions aimed at improving the nutritional status and well-being of school-age children and adolescents. The position supports partnership development, knowledge generation, capacity building and programme monitoring to accelerate progress towards UNICEF's mandate of realizing the rights and potential of every child and adolescent in Madagascar.

Join UNICEF Madagascar’s Nutrition team and help improve the nutritional well-being of school-age children and adolescents across the country. Working under the supervision of the Nutrition Specialist, you will support the planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting of nutrition programmes that contribute to achieving sustainable results for children and young people. You will work closely with government counterparts, development partners, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and other UNICEF sections to strengthen evidence-based programming and accelerate progress on adolescent nutrition priorities. Your responsibilities will include Programme Development and Planning, Programme Management, Monitoring and Delivery of Results, Technical and Operational Support to Programme Implementation, Networking and Partnership Building, and Innovation, Knowledge Management and Capacity Building. Through these efforts, you will help ensure effective programme delivery, strengthen partnerships, promote innovative solutions, and contribute to improved nutrition outcomes for children and adolescents in Madagascar

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Download File JD NOB SACA Tana - Nutrition Officer Level 2_vf.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

Education: Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in Nutrition and Dietetics, Public Health, Nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, nutritional epidemiology, or another health-related science field is required.
Work Experience: At least two (2) years of relevant work experience in Nutrition, Health and Nutrition, public health, adolescent nutrition, maternal and child health, program management, monitoring and evaluation, partnership development, policy and advocacy, capacity building, resource mobilization, nutrition planning and management or maternal infant and child health/nutrition care, and any other related fields is required.
Skills: Child Health, Epidemiology, Health Sciences, International Health, Maternal Health, Monitoring and Evaluation, Nutrition Care, Nutrition Planning, Nutrition Research, Public Health.
Language Requirements: Fluency in French and Malagasy languages is required. Intermediate level of English language is required.

Desirables:

Adolescent nutrition, operational research, results-based management, proposal writing, policy drafting, private sector engagement are desirable.
Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.
Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish)

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of serious misconduct. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable. Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidate’s willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable females and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Nutrition Officer, NO-2, TA, 364 days, #00138812, Antananarivo, Madagascar, ESAR