Nutrition Technical Lead Full-Time

Save the Children International is hiring a Nutrition Technical Lead based in Nampula.

Context

Save the Children is seeking a Nutrition Technical Lead for an anticipated five-year USAID-funded Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in Mozambique. The program will seek to sustainably improve food and nutrition security and resilience among poor and chronically vulnerable households and communities in the selected regions. The Nutrition Technical Lead will work closely and collaboratively as a member of the senior project team and will be primarily responsible for ensuring that strategies to improve the nutritional status of mothers and children are technically sound, up-to-date, of proven efficiency, and able to be implemented in local settings.

The Nutrition Technical Advisor reports to the Deputy Chief of Party and will provide technical leadership and have responsibility for all activities associated with improving the nutritional behaviors and outcomes of target women of reproductive age, adolescents, and children under 5.

Hiring is contingent upon successful award of the project and USAID approval of the candidate.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Nutrition Strategy and leadership (35%)

• Provide technical support for the overall integrated, cross-cutting strategic integration of nutrition into project design and approach, including issues of food security, gender mainstreaming, and SBC
• Lead the rapid start-up and implementation of the integrated nutrition and SBC activities in collaboration with partners and government stakeholders.
• Work with M&E specialist to oversee and coordinate formative and evaluative research using participatory methodologies to build local capacity and to design high impact interventions based on the social and cultural context in target areas. Lead development of the project nutrition Strategy and ensure nutrition Analysis recommendations are integrated into project plans.
• Update the nutrition Strategy annually alongside the project work plan using formal and informal feedback.
• Coordinate with project staff, including managers and technical specialists, to ensure the implementation of the nutrition Strategy into project activities.

Project Implementation & Quality Assurance (50%)

• Design and conduct nutrition components of assessments or standalone nutrition assessments as appropriate, ensuring results are used to adapt project implementation.
• Based on research findings and stakeholder consultations, coordinate with the technical team to lead the development of evidence-based nutrition and SBCC tools and materials.
• Provide technical oversight for the design, development, and implementation of all nutrition and SBCC tools and training materials in collaboration with partners and stakeholders to maintain a quality and consistent approach across all target areas and technical interventions.
• Spearhead innovative community implementation strategies in year one and plan for their expansion and scaling up in the second year.
• Support with project reporting, ensuring that updates and progress on related indicators and successes are included in project reports and annual work plans.
• Work with and support Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) teams to: develop context-specific indicators for nutrition; measure outcomes; and collect and analyze data.

Coordination & Capacity Building (15%)

• Build capacity of project and partner staff in Nutrition principles, in project activities.
• Represent nutrition aspects of the project to external stakeholders, such as the donor, governments, and partners; disseminate learnings and best practices; and participate in technical working groups.

Required Qualifications

• A Master’s degree or higher in nutrition, public health, or in a closely related field
• At least seven years of experience designing, implementing, or supporting nutrition programming, preferably in Mozambique is highly desired;
• Strong technical skills in maternal nutrition, adolescent nutrition, IYCF, essential nutrition actions, growth monitoring and promotion, nutrition counselling, and social and behavior change
• Strong technical skills in multi-sectoral nutrition programming, including health, WASH and food security are preferred;
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement SBC approaches to improve nutrition behaviors and outcomes, especially for women, adolescents, and children in the first 1,000 days;
• A history of providing technical assistance to government to improve nutrition programs through governmental health systems, processes and service delivery models, and behavior change communication in developing countries;
• Solid experience developing behavior change training tools and materials;
• Demonstrated problem solving skills, collaboration experience, creativity and willingness to innovate;
• Familiarity and understanding of USAID policies and procedures, or those of other donors, or those of donor-funded projects or community-based projects;
• Demonstrated ability to address behavior change issues in improving household nutrition status;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to lead and work effectively in team situations;
• Experience in nutrition research, indicators, monitoring and evaluation;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Portuguese.

Qualified local candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

About Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to identify and dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism, inequality, and any other forms of discrimination in this country and beyond. As an anti-racist organization, Save the Children will not tolerate discrimination in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people to fight for equal rights, justice, inclusion, and belonging.

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.