Maternal Nutrition and Child Wasting policy and program expert

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

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ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

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WHY JOIN WFP? 

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.

• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

As the United Nations agency supporting more than 100 million people affected by food insecurity each year, WFP plays a unique role in improving maternal and child nutrition across humanitarian and development settings. Through food assistance, specialised nutritious foods, social protection, market-based programming and food systems, WFP helps ensure that women and young children have access to nutritious diets that support healthy growth, development and recovery.

The global nutrition agenda is undergoing significant change. The 2023 WHO Guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Wasting and Nutritional Oedema and on Complementary Feeding of Infants and Young Children, together with their implementation guidance, promote more integrated, prevention-focused and context-specific approaches. These recommendations place greater emphasis on nutrient-dense local foods, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, social and behaviour change, food systems and social protection, while recognising the continued role of specialised nutritious foods where appropriate. WHO is also developing guidance on balanced energy and protein (BEP) supplementation within antenatal care, creating an important opportunity to strengthen maternal nutrition programming.

These changes come at a time when the world remains off track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2. Millions of women and children continue to experience undernutrition, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings where health, food and social protection systems are under severe strain. Despite progress in expanding treatment services, most children with wasting and many undernourished pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls (PBWG) still do not receive the support they need. Poor maternal nutrition and suboptimal complementary feeding continue to drive the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.

For WFP, this presents an opportunity to evolve its nutrition programming beyond traditional Blanket and Targeted Supplementary Feeding Programmes (BSFP and TSFP) towards a broader portfolio of context-specific interventions. This includes strengthening maternal nutrition, complementary feeding, local food approaches, cash-based assistance, market strengthening and integration with health and social protection systems. At the same time, important evidence and operational gaps remain, particularly on effective approaches for preventing and managing undernutrition among PBWG and translating new WHO recommendations into practical programmes.

The purpose of this consultancy is to serve as WFP's technical focal point for maternal nutrition and complementary feeding, supporting the organisation to translate global normative guidance into operational practice. The consultant will provide strategic technical leadership across Headquarters, Regional Bureaux and Country Offices by developing guidance and operational tools, generating implementation evidence, supporting country implementation and strengthening WFP's contribution to global policy processes. Particular emphasis will be placed on operationalising the WHO wasting and complementary feeding guidelines, preparing WFP for forthcoming WHO maternal nutrition recommendations, including antenatal BEP guidance, and supporting countries to pilot and scale innovative approaches that strengthen maternal and child nutrition.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

1.Technical focal point for maternal nutrition and complementary feeding

• Serve as WFP's technical focal point for maternal nutrition and complementary feeding, providing strategic technical leadership to Headquarters, Regional Offices and Country Offices.
• Support the integration of maternal nutrition, complementary feeding and wasting prevention into programmes design across WFP programmes,
• Lead and facilitate WFP's internal Community of Practice on maternal nutrition and complementary feeding to strengthen technical exchange, knowledge sharing and programme quality across the organisation.2. Normative guidance and programme innovation.

2.Support global technical leadership on Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM)

• Provide technical support to the Global Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) Sub-Working Group co-chaired by WFP, in the delivery of the workplan for this group. Provide support to the WFP chair as needed.
• Contribute to the development of implementing guidance on the use of nutrient-dense local foods, specialised nutritious foods and other context-appropriate modalities for the prevention and management of MAM, in line with the 2023 WHO wasting guideline and its implementation guidance.
• Ensure that lessons from WFP country programmes and implementation experience inform global guidance and support countries to operationalise new recommendations

3.Evidence generation and implementation learning

• Lead reviews of maternal nutrition programming to identify gaps in evidence and operational gaps.
• Lead analysis of data on maternal nutrition to understand how effective WFO’s programmes are for addressing undernutrition
• Develop interim recommendations to fill gaps based on the evidence available
• Support improved analysis and use of programme data to strengthen decision-making.

4.Country support and capacity strengthening

• Support Regional offices and Country Offices to adopt and implement new maternal nutrition, complementary feeding approaches
• Develop dissemination strategies and capacity strengthening materials.
• Support testing and refinement of new tools through country implementation.

5.Global engagement and partnerships

• Represent WFP in global technical groups on maternal nutrition, complementary feeding and wasting.
• Support implementation of WHO guidance and contribute to global normative processes.
• Lead WFP engagement on maternal nutrition within inter-agency initiatives, including the UNICEF–WFP collaboration, the MAM Sub-Working Group and the IFE Core Group.
• Strengthen partnerships to advance evidence generation and operational learning.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

• Maternal nutrition, complementary feeding and MAM tools/guidance developed
• WFP/UNICEF MAM Implementation Guide finalised.
• BEP final tool and guidance disseminated
• Maternal nutrition interim recommendations developed and disseminated
• Country implementation support completed.
• Internal Community of Practice established and supported.

• Technical contributions provided to WHO and inter-agency guidance processes.
• MAM SWG workplan delivered.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced University degree in Nutrition, Public Health International Development Social Science, or other field relevant to international development assistance

Experience:

7 or more years of relevant international experience. The candidate should be able to demonstrate strong competence in the following areas:

• Good understanding of the global nutrition agenda especially on wasting and maternal nutrition
• Strong experience in maternal and child nutrition programming and project management in a range of contexts/countries and working across actors and sectors
• Excellent analytical skills and ability to link data analysis to programme design in the context of WFP programmes.
• Has experience working in humanitarian crises and an international environment across a diverse range of geographical and functional areas

Knowledge & Skills:

• Demonstrated knowledge of maternal and child nutrition in the context of humanitarian and development operations
• Demonstrate the ability to engage key stakeholders (e.g. WFP units and external partners) in policy dialogue to strengthen maternal and child nutrition programming.
• Strong interpersonal skills demonstrated by the ability to gain the assistance and cooperation of others in a team endeavor through demonstrated technical leadership.
• Strong communication and conceptual skills.

Languages:

English (second UN language desirable)

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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact:  global.inclusion@wfp.org

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

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REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.

• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.

• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.

• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.

• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.