SNNP Regional Bureau of Agriculture & Livestock, Hawassa,
FHI360 - Alive & Thrive Ethiopia
Job Title                              Regional Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture (NSA) Advisor Reports to                         Extension and communication directorate Director or the relevant structure in Regional Bureau of Agriculture and Livestock Number of positions:      6 (Six) Location: SNNP Regional Bureau of Agriculture & Livestock, Hawassa 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. POSITION SUMMARY: The Regional NSA Advisor will be based in the respective Regional Bureaus of Agriculture & Livestock (RBoA&L) in the six regions to work under the guidance of the Extension and communication directorate Director or the relevant structure in Regional Bureau of Agriculture and Livestock which is responsible for the nutrition sensitive agriculture agenda (based on the region’s context). S/he will have functional responsibility to the Federal NSA Advisor seconded at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock, and the Senior Technical Advisor for NSA at Alive & Thrive Ethiopia based in Addis Ababa. The Regional NSA Advisor will also work closely with the respective Regional Nutrition Advisor for MAIYCN seconded at the Regional Health Bureau, the Regional Program Delivery Unit (RPDU) of the Seqota Declaration, other BMGF investment advisors, regional focal persons of GOE initiatives such as Sustainable Undernutrition Reduction in Ethiopia (SURE), and other implementing partners working on NSA in region. The Regional NSA Advisor will provide hands-on technical support and coaching to members of the regional Extension and communication Directorate Director and relevant nutrition focal persons in the bureau to effectively plan, budget for, and implement NSA. S/he will help the bureau to identify low-performing zones and woredas and provide them with on-the-job technical support they need to strengthen NSA in their catchment areas. This could include strengthening their competencies, support systems or work environment. Essential Job Functions/Roles and Responsibilities:  1. Provide technical assistance for nutrition-sensitive agriculture policies and programs Raise awareness, communicate and disseminate key strategies outlined in the NNSAS at the regional, zonal and woreda levelsProvide technical support in adapting the nutrition sensitivity of policies and documents based on the region’s contextProvide technical assistance to the bureau’s efforts in setting clear targets to gauge progress in increasing dietary diversity among women and childrenSupport the bureau in mainstreaming nutrition-sensitive measures in other agriculture programsProvide technical support in the implementation and rollout of nutrition-sensitive provisions of agriculture programs and policies such as the PSNP, AGP 2 and others 2. Support in assessments and planning Support the bureau and other NSA-relevant entities and authorities to develop nutrition sensitive action plans tailored to the findings of the comprehensive capacity assessment done for each regionEnsure that developed action plans are clearly monitored and followed up to identify progress against a set target in the region 3. Support in capacity building and institutional development Build the capacity of the staffs in the bureau to ensure that woredas have budgeted for NSA-related activities in their decentralized annual work plansSupport strengthening of the Extension and communication Directorate Director or the relevant structure in Regional Bureau of Agriculture and Livestock through advocating for placement of nutritionists and support enhancing their competencies on NSA through coaching, on-the-job training, mentoring of junior staff, and ensuring access to relevant information and other online helpSupport various units in the bureau to implement effective NSA programs that are aligned with and promote operationalizing the NNSAS in context-specific interventions for increased productivity and access to diverse, safe nutrient dense foods, and their consumption among women and childrenOrganize field visits and exchanges in the zones and woredas to facilitate cross-learning around the implementation of NSA activities 4. Support in strategic use of data Support in adaptation of the NNSAS monitoring & evaluation (M&E) framework at the regional levelContribute in refining the M&E framework of the NNSAS and enhance functionality of centralized data platformsBuild staff’s capacity in monitoring NSA programs using program impact pathways that link agriculture to nutritionContribute in strengthening a culture of evidence-based decision making based on developed M&E framework to measure the impact of nutrition-sensitive agriculture programs on nutrition outcomes  Functional Competencies – Technical Expertise: Adequate knowledge in the areas of nutrition sensitive agriculture and program managementProven theoretical and practical knowledge of MAIYCN within NNSAS and NNPDiplomatic and conflict resolution skillsStrong understanding of political dynamics in the region  Functional Competencies – Knowledge Management and Learning: Shares knowledge and experienceAbility to provide top quality expertise on NSA in the regionIn-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues  Functional Competencies – Development and Operational Effectiveness: Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reportingContribute to the development, review and implementation of the NNSAS in the region to ensure the effective prioritisation of activities critical to the success of the programAbility to go beyond established procedures and models, propose new approaches, which expand the range of programsAbility to work with minimal supervisionNegotiation skills: capacity to work with diverse partners including Government, development partners and civil society Functional Competencies – program management and teamwork: Works with teams effectivelyWorks well with a diverse group of peopleFocuses on impact and results, and responds positively to critical feedbackEncourages risk-taking in the pursuit of creativity and innovationInteract with teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills  Corporate Competencies: Demonstrates integrity by modelling Government of Ethiopia values and ethical standardsPromotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of GOE’s Agriculture and Nutrition Policy frameworkDisplays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptabilityTreats all people fairly without favouritism Duration of Position:-One year, will be renewed annually Reports to :-Extension and communication directorate Director or the relevant structure in Regional Bureau of Agriculture and Livestock Number of positions:-6 (Six)