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For every child, a fair chance
Uganda is one of the over 190 countries and territories around the world where we work to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child’s path. Together with the Government of Uganda and partners we work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the objectives of the Uganda National Development Plan, and the planned outcomes of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework.
Visit this link for more information on Uganda Country Office https://www.unicef.org/uganda/
How can you make a difference?
The purpose of the assignment is to provide technical support to the UNICEF/DINU focus districts to effectively coordinate the implementation of the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition actions.
The consultants will be based in Gulu and Moroto zonal offices and will provide support to UNICEF/DINU districts in the jurisdiction of the respective zonal offices.
They will be supervised by the Nutrition Specialist at the Zonal Offices and be provided with additional technical guidance from the Nutrition Specialist (Nutrition Governance) based in Kampala.
Background :
Although Uganda has made significant progress in reducing the number of people living below the poverty line, its progress in reducing undernutrition remains slow. According to UDHS 2016, an estimated 29% of children below 5 years of age are stunted or too short for their age. Wasting affects 4% of children in the same age category and approximately 1% suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition. Micronutrient deficiencies of iron and vitamin A are also widespread among children and women of reproductive age. Five out of every ten children (53%) under the age of five and three out of every ten (32%) women are anemic.
Malnutrition affects all regions of the country but there are wide variations, with Karamoja (35.2%), West Nile (33.9%), Acholi (30.6%) and Lango (22.3%) having some of the highest prevalence rates for stunting. In addition, for Karomoja and West Nile, similar patterns are seen for wasting, each standing at 10% and above. If not timely addressed, malnutrition increases susceptability to illnesses, stifles brain development, affects the learning outcomes for pupils and students, and reduces the individual productivity of a worker later in life. This makes malnutrition one of Uganda’s most fundamental challenges for human development.
The Government of Uganda is in the process of finalizing the first ever multi-sectoral National Nutrition Policy (2021-2025) with its attendant Action Plan, the UNAP II (2021-2024). The Action plan has clearly identified priority interventions, hence defining the framework for multi-sectoral nutrition implementation for Uganda. UNICEF is one of the key partners supporting GoU to scale up nutrition interventions as outlined in the UNAP (Uganda Nutrition Action Plan). UNICEF supports planning, implementation and monitoring of nutrition actions at both national and district levels.
With support from the European Union funded Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU), UNICEF is supporting an action focused on strengthening nutrition governance for improved nutrition outcomes for children and women in 15 districts of Northern Uganda (Moroto, Abim, Kaabong, Amudat, Napak, Pader, Moyo, Yumbe, Adjumani, Nebbi, Koboko, Omoro, Zombo, Otuke and Kole).
The joint UNICEF/EU Action (2018-2021) contributes to the operationalization of the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan II (UNAP II) as well as the National Development Plan II. Within this framework, UNICEF Uganda will strengthen the Government of Uganda capacity to facilitate multi-sectoral coordination, planning, monitoring for scaling up priority nutrition actions.
The Joint UNICEF/EU action has 3 result areas ;
- Result 1. Improved capacity of multi-sectoral nutrition coordination structures at district level to coordinate, plan, cost, monitor and mobilize resources for nutrition actions ;
- Result 2. Improved capacity of sectors – Health, Agriculture, Education, Water and Sanitation, and Gender and Social Development – to plan, budget, implement at scale and monitor nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions at district level ;
- Result 3. Enhanced capacity of district governments to inform their programming based on data collection and analysis
To support the achievement of the above results in the DINU/UNICEF focus districts of Moroto, Abim, Kaabong, Amudat, Napak, Nabilatuk, Kotido and Nakapiripirit, Pader, Moyo, Yumbe, Adjumani, Nebbi, Koboko, Omoro, Zombo, Otuke, Kole, UNICEF will recruit 2 individual consultants to oversee implementation across the above districts.
Key tasks :
The Consultant will be expected to do the following :
Result 1. Improved capacity of multi-sectoral nutrition coordination structures at district level to coordinate, plan, cost, monitor and mobilize resources for nutrition actions :
- Facilitate the development, monitoring and reporting on the Annual District Nutrition Coordination Work Plans ;
- Support the functioning of the district nutrition coordination platforms by :
- facilitate the development of a calendar with Nutrition coordination, planning and information-sharing events in the districts ;
- assisting the district focal points with preparing agenda, list of participants, invitations, background documents for the meetings (e.g. analysis, technical briefs) ;
- assisting with the meeting facilitation, documentation (preparing of minutes) and following up on action points from the meetings ;
- helping districts set up a system of maintaining the system of coordination meetings, documentation and following up on agreed actions beyond UNICEF provided support. This may involve clarifying the functions of the focal points, helping set up a filing system with core documentation and an approach for its regular maintenance ;
- Bi-annually updating and sharing the nutrition stakeholder profile at district level.
- Facilitate a wide dissemination of the DNAPs/SNAPs among all stakeholders in the district and support the monitoring and reporting on their implementation. This will also include engaging with NGO partners operating at the district level to ensure their support contributed to the implementation of the DNAPs/SNAPs ;
- Provide technical and administrative support to all UNICEF/DINU funded nutrition activities in the district. These activities may include but not limited to the following :
- Working closely with Ministry of Local Government to support the orientation of the district political leadership on nutrition governance;
- Working closely with Ministry of Local Government to support the implementation of agreed actions from PBB process at DLG level to integrate nutrition ;
- Providing technical support to DNCCs and SNCCs during supportive supervisions ;
- Organizing meetings, participating in workshops, preparing workshop materials (agenda, invitations, technical briefs and latest draft documents, disseminate minutes and related documentation; oversee follow-up on action points) ;
- Function as the UNICEF focal person to liaise with the various departments at district level and define needs and provide support.
- Function as the UNICEF point of contact for District Nutrition Coordination Committees (DNCCs), maintaining an active link between DNCC chairpersons and District Nutrition Focal Persons ;
- Provide supervision and mentorship to DNCCs in the area of nutrition governance ;
- Support the organization of multi-sectoral nutrition forums.
Result 2. Improved capacity of sectors – Health, Agriculture, Education, Water and Sanitation, and Gender and Social Development – to plan, budget, implement at scale and monitor nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions at district level
- Support sectors at district level with the design and implementation of capacity strengthening activities regarding planning, budgeting, implementation, scale up and monitoring of sectoral nutrition actions ;
- Support, monitor and supervise the organization of capacity building activities of sector-specific frontline service providers (e.g. Agriculture extension officers, community development officers (CDOs), Functional Adult Literacy groups (FAL), Parish Development Committees (PDCs), Village Health Teams (VHTs) and Community Health Extension Workers (CHEW) to implement community-based nutrition actions ;
- Strengthen capacities of local governments for integrated performance-based planning, budgeting and implementation of multi-sectoral nutrition interventions. This should include working close (e.g. preparing workshop materials, participating in TWGs and developing brief updates on the process).
Result 3. Enhanced capacity of district governments to inform their programming based on data collection and analysis
- Generate Matrices of Recommended Actions from Nutrition Governance Studies 2019-2020 (FSNA, Nutrition Causal analysis, Stakeholder mapping, Capacity assessment, Nutrition Governance assessment, etc.) and follow-up the implementation of the recommendations ;
- Facilitate the DNCCs to undertake regular support supervision for local governments ;
- Prepare quarterly progress reports on DNAP implementation, stakeholder and resource mapping, including implementation tracking ;
- Support the districts to generate at least one annual technical brief per district using data from surveys, assessments, research etc ;
- Support the districts to generate at least one advocacy brief ;
- Support with any other duties agreed with the supervisor and/or the UNICEF nutrition team.
Ensure UNICEF and EU/DFID visibility in all funded activities.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education requirements : Advanced University Degree in Nutrition, Food Security, Public Health or Agriculture, Economics, Social Sciences, Public Policy or administration or related fields
Employment experience :
- At least 5 years of professional experience in the nutrition field, a good knowledge and understanding of multi-sector nutrition approach ;
- At least 2 years of experience in planning and implementing national nutrition or other multi-sectoral programmes and with capacity building programmes at national and/or sub-national level ;
- Experience in change management ;
- Previous experience of working with the government ;
- Experience in facilitating multi-partner and multi-sector working groups ;
- Field experience at national and sub-national level work environments with good working knowledge of UNAP and its implementation at national and district levels ;
- Good understanding of government processes at the DLG level will be an added advantage.
Language requirement : Fluency in English required.
Required skills and expertise :
- Proven experience and skills in programme management and strategic planning ;
- Effective organizational skills; high drive for results ;
- Excellent communications and interpersonal skills; Ability to influence and inter-act with senior- level decision-makers across different organizations; Capacity to act with credibility, tact and diplomacy on sensitive issues and topics ;
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills ;
- Excellent written and oral communication skills ;
- Teamwork and strong interpersonal and intercultural skills ;
- Computer literacy especially with Excel and database management is required.
Desirable :
- Knowledge of the SUN movement and the UNAP ;
- Understanding of the Uganda policy environment, and issues and challenges in the areas of nutrition and food security.
Application Procedure/Call for Proposals :
Interested candidates are required to submit a technical proposal on how they intend to approach the work. The proposal should include a timeline, and methodology, based on the Terms of Reference. The proposal must also include detailed CV of the consultant, as well as a financial proposal, clearly indicating daily rate for professional fees. The financial proposal must be all-inclusive of all costs (consultancy fees and where applicable air fares, airport transfers, daily living expenses). This is a national level consultancy and competitive market rates should apply.
Evaluation of Candidate :
The consultant will be competitively selected from a list of applicants based on their past experience of doing similar work (extensive experience in writing donor reports, in compiling and editing annual reports for various UNICEF offices).
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.
The competencies required for this post are….
View our competency framework at : UNICEF_Competencies.pdf
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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 and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
Remarks : Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.