Recruitment of a nutrition project officer – Kismanyo, Somalia

Job summary :

The nutrition Program Officer will oversee all aspects of emergency nutrition activities including needs assessment, establishment of nutrition programmed and procurement of special nutrition needs. S/he will be required to provide nutrition technical support to staff. Facilitate training of nutrition staff and volunteers (active case finders) and organize for nutrition education. Create working synergy between nutrition component and other emergency projects utilization of resources at the field office. S/he will need to respond to immediate nutrition issues with simultaneous consideration of medium and long term needs and opportunities. The officer will be required to suggest practical strategies for responding to changes in the operating environment as well as maintaining a focus on longer term objectives. S/he will be based in the field offices and will be required in the implementation of day to day nutrition activities in the assigned locations.

 

Roles & responsibilities :

Result Area 1 – Program Implementation and Monitoring :

• Ensure that OTP/SFP and IYCF component of the nutrition program is functioning properly, providing quality care to all the beneficiaries, respecting protocols and principles of good practice ;
• Plan and organise OTP/SFP at designated distribution sites in liaison with nutrition supervisor and the nutrition advisor ;
• Complete order forms for the logistics team of the nutrition supplies requirements for each site for the week in advance ;
• Work with MoH staff and officials to ensure all aspects of the programme are understood and agreed by MoH and appropriate referrals take place to and from MoH and the OTP/SFP ;
• Work with the Community, ensure engagement of community leaders / their designates for the organisation of the arrivals outside of the centre ;
• Ensure adequate triage / that new arrivals are seen as a priority ;
• Ensure cases not meeting admission criteria return home as early as possible and understand why their child is not admitted ;
• Supervise all the outreach activities of the OTP/SFP team at the distribution point ;
• Ensure all OTP/SFP team members are familiar with their posts, and take the necessary measures in order to correct lacks ;
• Re-define team composition as necessary – either during distributions (to avoid bottle-necks) or after discussion during team meetings ;
• Work closely with the teams to ensure all children are measured correctly ;
• Ensure all criteria are respected and understood by the teams, including admission, discharge and transfer to and from the various components of the programme ;
• Ensure comprehensive health checks and treatment according to the agreed protocols ;
• Review the forms completed by staff to ensure completion, accuracy and coherence ;
• Ensure adequate availability of all medical and food supplies for each distribution, input in to creation and maintenance of a monthly distribution plan and ensure stock is pre-positioned as planned with Nutrition Supervisor and logistics team ;
• Submit a weekly report of the tally of statistics for each site (one form per site per week) ;
• Report any progress and any problems in a timely manner ;
• Through liaison with the community outreach/nutrition workers, provide effective follow up of all cases – particularly ;
• Ensure the prompt tracing of children who are absent from the programme in coordination with the Community health workers (CHW) ;
• Request specific children to be followed up as required (newly enrolled children, sick children, long stay children / children not gaining weight, children with social problems etc.) ;
• Liaise with the CHW to ensure comprehensive community outreach and mobilisation, health education and treatment. Check that all messages to carers, community groups, leaders and authorities are consistent and fully understood ;
• Attend regular nutrition meetings
• Respect the dignity of the beneficiaries, carers and members of the community ;
• Compile monthly report of the IMAM and analyse and ensure timely submission of complete, concise and accurate reports ;
• Ensure complete and accurate documentation and record keeping of all nutrition related documents ;
• Assist in any other tasks when required.

Result Area 2 – Program Design :

• Work in close collaboration with broader country office programmes to ensure that emergency nutrition interventions build upon link into longer term programming ;
• Provide leadership and expertise in nutrition component assessments in emergency response and ensure that nutrition program is linked to other emergency response components ;
• Represent care international, Somalia in the assigned program location and liaison with governments and NGOs at filed level on nutrition issues ;
• Plan and manage the nutrition programme in a phased and prioritized manner with full consultation and coordination with Care staff and other agencies both governmental and no governmental organizations.

Result Area 3 – Human Resource and administration :

• Organize and provide trainings to nutrition workers and nutrition volunteers on nutrition related topics ;
• Foster a collaborative team atmosphere that engages the stakeholders.

 

Required qualifications (minimum requirements) :

Experience :

• Diplomas in at least one of the following: Nursing, Nutrition and Public Health. A Degree will be an added advantage ;
• Previous experience working on the management of acute malnutrition with an international organization preferably. At least 3 years’ experience of working in integrated health and nutrition program ;
• Experience organizing and facilitating training ;
• Ability to plan and facilitate health/nutrition-based curriculum trainings/workshops.

Skills :

• Excellent communication skills; written and spoken ;
• Fluency in English and Somali ;
• Strong interpretation skills, creativity, flexibility, adaptability and empathy ;
• Ability and willingness to frequently travel and stay at the field.

 

Core Competencies :

People skills : ability to work independently and as a team player who demonstrates leadership and is able to support and train staff and counterparts and able to work with communities in a sensitive and participatory manner

Communication skills : well developed written and oral communication skills. Able to communicate clearly and sensitively with internal and external stakeholders as a representative of CARE International Somalia on nutrition issues

Integrity : working with trustworthiness and integrity and has a clear commitment to CARE core values and humanitarian principles

Resilience/adaptability and flexibility :* ability to operate effectively under extreme circumstances including stress, security risks and harsh operating environment

Awareness and sensitivity of self and others : documents awareness and sensitivity to gender and diversity.

Work style : Is well planned and organized even within a fluid working environment and has capacity for initiative and capacity and decision making with competent analytical and problem solving skills

 

Technical competencies :

• Previous work experience in medium-large scale nutritional emergencies ;
• Experience in nutritional assessments (i.e. nutritional needs, infant and young child feeding needs, identification of micronutrient deficiencies, needs for targeted feeding) ;
• Skills in training, monitoring and evaluation of nutritional interventions ;
• Strong coordination skills with the ability to manage information (statistical analysis, report writing and presentations) ;
• Computer literacy and good Microsoft Excel Skills.

 

Key relationships/contacts :

Internal :

• Emergency director ;
• Nutrition advisor ;
• Nutrition supervisor ;
• Area manager.

External :

• Ministry of health-Puntland/Somaliland/Juba land ;
• UNICEF ;
• WFP ;
• INGO’s ;
• Nutrition cluster.

Reporting Lines :

Senior Project Officer/Nutrition supervisor.

 

Working conditions :

The Nutrition Project officer will be based in one of the field offices in Puntland, Somaliland and Kismayu implementing day to day outreach activities with field travels to target locations to monitor & implement project activities. The target locations has hot spots; the officer will be required to comply with and be facilitated to operate within the framework of CARE Somalia safety and security protocols