Federal Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
FHI360 - Alive & Thrive Ethiopia
Job Title                              Senior Nutrition Specialist for MAIYCN support Reports to                         Maternal and Child Health Directorate, Ministry of Health Number of position:        One (1) Location:             Federal Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Starting Salary: Within the Band Salary range and Commensurate with education & Experience Duration of Position       One year, will be renewed annually PROJECT SUMMARY Alive & Thrive (A&T) is an initiative to save lives, prevent illness, and ensure healthy growth and development of infants and young children. Good nutrition in the first 1,000 days, from conception to two years of age, is critical to enable all children to lead healthier and more productive lives. A&T is scaling up improved infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and maternal nutrition through large-scale programs in several countries in Africa and Asia through strategic technical support and the dissemination of innovations, tools, and lessons worldwide. Alive & Thrive Ethiopia 3.0 is a five-year investment funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to strengthen the institutional and human capacities required to achieve the Government of Ethiopia’s (GOE) ambitions for nutrition. Since 2009, A&T is working in Ethiopia within the context of the National Nutrition Program (NNP) and the National Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Strategy (NNSAS) to promote maternal, adolescent, infant and young child nutrition (MAIYCN) across multiple sectors at the federal, regional, woreda, and community levels. The A&T Ethiopia 3.0 investment will build upon successes and lessons learned from previous IYCF efforts to significantly improve MAIYCN practices. In this new grant, A&T will provide greater analytical, technical, and systems-building support to bolster the capacity of federal and regional authorities to develop, deliver, monitor, and evaluate quality MAIYCN services. A&T Ethiopia 3.0 will work in partnership with the GOE and others to achieve the following three outcomes: 1) Sustained capacity at national level and among regional health bureaus to support woredas in planning, budgeting, implementing and using data to achieve MAIYCN targets in the NNP II; 2) Sustained capacity at national level and among regional agriculture bureaus to improve women’s and children’s dietary diversity, and access to safe, affordable and nutritious foods; and 3) Knowledge and learning generated and tools and lessons learned disseminated in priority technical areas for improved MAIYCN at scale.Alive & Thrive is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the governments of Canada and Ireland. The initiative is managed by FHI 360. Main purpose of the role The overarching objective is to be responsible for supporting the day-to-day activities of the Nutrition Case Team at FMOH in the areas of MAIYCN interventions planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to ensure delivery of results with the agreed time frame and resources, cohesion across all activities and efficient cooperation of the different stakeholders involved, with special attention to the case team members, regional nutrition focal/units, the technical focal points in all the National Nutrition Program (NNP) implementing ministries for better MAIYCN outcomes. The Senior Nutrition Specialist for MAIYCN will be based in the Federal Ministry of Health – Maternal & Child Health Directorate, Nutrition Case Team and will report to the Directorate Director. S/he will support the coordination of the work on a daily basis of the MAIYCN activities. The Senior Nutrition Specialist for MAIYCN will have functional responsibility to the Deputy Country Programs Director, Alive and Thrive Ethiopia based in Addis Ababa. The Specialist is envisioned to be a Senior Nutrition Expert who understands how public service in Ethiopia works, has ample program management experience with a results-oriented mindset, and has expertise in one or several areas related to MAIYCN and multi-sectoral nutrition coordination and linkages. Summary of key functions: The Senior Nutrition Specialist for MAIYCN is responsible for the day-to-day planning, implementation and monitoring of the MAIYCN and overall NNP Implementation Plan as approved by the National Nutrition Coordinating Body (NNCB) Work Plans. Specifically, s/he will: Support the Implementation of NNP (focusing on achievement of the following key results): Provide technical and advisory support for the implementation of NNP particularly MAIYCN activities according to the approved NNP-II;Develop results-based annual work plans that clearly set out the quarterly and output targets, indicators, activities, resource requirements, and budget;Provide coaching and mentoring support to the nutrition case team members and regional focal persons who are engaged on the implementation of NNP;Support the coordination and functionality of MAIYCN technical working groups (TWGs) for better outcomes;Support to ensure execution of the monitoring and evaluation system for the program, as well as regular monitoring and reporting of activities;Conduct regular reviews to monitor compliance with work plans, track program progress, prepare progress reports and other relevant program documentation, and highlight issues requiring corrective actions;Provide technical assistance in the identification, design and preparation of activities that support deepening MAIYCN efforts and integration of high impact interventions with improved nutrition outcomes;Support the collection and analysis of evidence, data and management information to enable timely and effective decision-making and planning;Support the Case Team to ensure that appropriate procedures and frameworks are in place to support the effective implementation, leveraging and scaling-up of multi-sectoral interventions with improved nutrition outcomes, ensuring their efficient and effective contribution to programme outcomes; andSupport the National Nutrition Technical Committee (NNTC) to ensure the review of processes and procedures in place to identify and implement improved ways of working multi-sectorally that increases operational effectiveness and efficiency in terms of nutrition outcomes.   2. Provide technical assistance to MAIYCN implementation (focusing on achievement of the following key results): Support the coordination of key stakeholders and strengthen the MAIYCN TWGs;Identify and leverage experiences on MAIYCN both within Ethiopia and globally;Provide on-going support and technical assistance to program activities that deepen MAIYCN through multi-sectoral coordination and linkages with nutrition sensitive interventions like PSNP;Provide capacity building support for the deepening MAIYCN. Functional Competencies – Technical Expertise: Specialist knowledge in the areas of nutrition, public health and program managementTheoretical and practical knowledge of MAIYCN within NNPDiplomatic and conflict resolution skills; andStrong understanding of political dynamics in government, civil society and donor community in Ethiopia. Functional Competencies – Knowledge Management and Learning: Shares knowledge and experience;Ability to provide top quality expertise on MAIYCN; andIn-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues.Functional Competencies – Development and Operational Effectiveness: Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;Contribute to the development, review and implementation of the NNP to ensure the effective prioritisation of activities critical to the success of the program;Ability to go beyond established procedures and models, propose new approaches, which expand the range of programs;Ability to work with minimal supervision; andNegotiation skills: capacity to work with diverse partners including Government, development partners and civil society.Functional Competencies – program management and teamwork: Work with teams effectively;Works well with a diverse group of people;Focuses on impact and results, and responds positively to critical feedback;Encourages risk-taking in the pursuit of creativity and innovation; andInteract with teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills. Corporate Competencies: Demonstrates integrity by modelling Government of Ethiopia values and ethical standards;Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the Government of Ethiopia National Food and Nutrition PolicyDisplays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability; andTreats all people fairly without favouritism.