Senior Programme Associate (Nutrition Data) SC7

WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

Female applicants are especially encouraged to apply, this position is open to Ethiopia Nationals only.

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need. 

In accordance with its global nutrition policy[1], the Ethiopia WFP Interim Country Strategic Plan 2018-2020[2] (ICSP) supports supplementary feeding programming (Strategic Outcome no. 1, Activity no. 2). In the last years, WFP needs to support the GoE TSFP programme increased from 35 (2016) to 52 thousand metric tonnes (2018) of Specialized Nutritious Foods (SNF)[3].

[1] Source: WFP Nutrition Policy - link.

[2] Source: WFP Ethiopia Country Strategic Plan 2018-2020 – link.

In Ethiopia, malnutrition is a serious public health concern[1]. Ten percent of Ethiopian children under five years of age and 35.5 percent of women (15 to 19 years) have signs of acute malnutrition. The prevalence has not decreased in the recent years. Wasting contributes to paediatric stunting (38.4 percent), which costs at least sixteen percent of the national gross domestic product, yearly[2].

In May 2019, the Federal Ministry of Health has signed the new protocol of Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM), designed with support from UNICEF, WHO, WFP and several NGOs (Concern, ACF, GOAL among others). Since then, the rehabilitation of moderate and severe and acute malnutrition requires more coordination than before, among all the MoH partners engaged in fighting acute malnutrition. WFP target caseload of moderate acute malnutrition is the largest among the ones that the other UN Agencies are accountable for.

[1] Source: Global Nutrition Report 2018 – Ethiopia (link).

In 2019, the needs for SNF will reach 70 thousand metric tonnes, and WFP plans to reach a monthly average of 1.2 million of children and mothers with signs of acute moderate acute malnutrition. In 2019, WFP will manage more than 100 staff residing and working the top priority districts, selected by the Nutrition Cluster, to ensure that IMAM (both severe and moderate acute malnutrition) is well monitored, and that IMAM-related issues raised by district-level health authorities and WFP Cooperating Partners are promptly addressed. WFP programming fosters its partners to link moderated wasting rehabilitation to stunting prevention in innovative ways, evidence-based.  WFP Ethiopia Country Office, as per its ICSP (Strategic Outcome 3, Activity 6) supports the GoE to fight stunting as per the National Nutrition Plan[1] and the more recent Food and Nutrition Policy. Since 2018, under the umbrella of the Ethiopian national Productive Safety Network Programme (PSNP), in four districts of Amhara Region, WFP offers a restricted voucher to purchase fresh foods (fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs and meat) to more than 13,000 households with children under two years of age and/or pregnant and lactating women. The voucher is redeemed by rural market retailers enrolled into the programme. The ultimate goal of this project is generating evidence to inform the future nutrition-specific and -sensitive policy of PSNP action plans at federal and regional levels[2].

[1] Source: National Nutrition Plan 2016-2020 – link.

WFP Country Office seeks a Senior Programme Associatae (Nutrition Data) SC7 to support the Nutrition Data Manager at CO level in designing and implementing systems supporting the collection, the collation, the visualization and the dissemination of real time data and information from the district-based WFP Field Monitors. The Senior Programme Associate will provide support in outputs templates which will be customized under guidance from and used by (a) WFP high level Management for strategic decision making and for communication with its partners (GoE, donors, other UN Agencies); by (b) WFP Country Office Technical Units and Teams for assessments, strategic planning, and implementation monitoring; and by (c) WFP Sub Office Management to promptly address operational issues raised at field level, in agreement with district-level partners (district-level GoE authorities and NGOs field staff).

• Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, Public Health, Statistics, Sociology, Public administration and Epidemiology with documented experience in M&E, GIS or data management within humanitarian programmes
• MSc degree in related areas (e.g. M&E) is desirable

• At least 5 years of experience in humanitarian work, experience of working with UN will be an asset

• Proven on-job expertise in data collection, analysis, triangulating and M&E
• Experience of managing nutrition or related public health data and information
• Experience of working relations with Government counterparts, UN agencies and/or non-governmental organizations

Knowledge & Skills:       

• Demonstrated commitment to accuracy and the ability to work on multiple tasks often on a time sensitive basis
• Personal commitment, flexibility and efficiency and proven capacity to work under pressure.
• Computer software: MS Excel spreadsheets (database, statistics, data analysis and visualization), ENA for SMART, EPI-INFO,
• Advanced skills in Access and smartphone technology (ODK e.g.) and Application Development Technology

Languages:        

English fluency (written and oral)

Any Ethiopian traditional language is an additional asset.

The Senior Programme Associate (Nutrition Data) will provide support in:

1. Data collection and information from the district-based field monitors, using real time data collection tools (tablet and customized phone application technology), using corporate indicators requested by the WFP Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Team (MEAL)
2. Coordination and Liaison with WFP SOs for collection of programmatic data of WFP operations in the country, support in preparation of nutrition weekly/biweekly and monthly reports, updating the nutrition database, capturing key performance indicators (KPIs) and preparation of Monthly Nutrition Dashboard for WFP internal/external (Donors, Govt.)
3. Supporting the Nutrition Data Manager in preparation of outputs including monthly dashboard, briefs, reports compilation from the field, the capacity strengthening activities (training) targeting WFP staff (Sub Office and district-level Field Monitors) and Cooperating Partners.
4. Supporting in planning, designing, analyzing and reporting on Nutrition programme data. S/he will be responsible for documentation of all programmatic data in nutrition unit, analyzing and generating country wide and area specific nutrition program component and will be assisting for solving any nutrition data related problem in collecting and processing.
5. Capacitating and providing regular feedback to WFP colleagues based at Country Office, Sub-Office and district levels in collecting the data and the information from the field using real-time, internet-based tools (tablets and/or mobile phone devices).
6. Supporting the preparation of Nutrition inputs for WFP Country Office including dashboards, tables, graphs, briefings and by other Teams or Units - such as regular food and nutrition security assessments commissioned by the GoE, IPC reports among others
7. Supporting the data collection of the WFP MEAL and Nutrition Evidence Generation Teams during regular monitoring and/or baseline/end-line surveys (e.g. coverage surveys, operational research)

1. Regular collection of Nutrition inputs, Programmatic data through close engagement/ coordination with WFP SOs, CPs and compilation for draft reports generation.
2. Inputs for Monthly dashboards and/or infographics customized for (a) WFP Management and/or donors, (b) WFP Nutrition Units, (c) WFP Sub Office Management. Ad-hoc dashboards, graphs, maps, tables and briefings illustrating achievements, challenges and gaps on demand from (a), (b) and (c). Reporting rates from each district-level Field Monitor, MEAL plans for data collection, partners capacity maps, commodity tracking sheets that collect information on funding levels and commodity movements / pipeline will be part of the expected outputs. Capacity strengthening tools include Check-lists, Standard Operations Procedures and Field Manuals
3. Support in preparation of training material, pre- and post-training evaluation reports, refreshment courses
4. Generate tables, graphs, maps, etc. for WFP Nutrition Unit proposals, VAM, Donor Relations and other Units reports
5. Regular updated GIS maps illustrating nutrition programming (stunting prevention and acute malnutrition rehabilitation)

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Coaches team in the most effective ways to communicate WFP’s Strategic Objectives to WFP team and partners in the field.
•  Be a force for positive change: Implements new methods or tools to improve team’s work processes and productivity.
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Maps team’s activities and tasks to specific successes in beneficiary communities to showcase positive impact.
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Explains to teammates how each unit contributes to the overall WFP mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Identifies skill development opportunities such as training modules or on-the-job experiences for self, colleagues and direct reports.
•  Create an inclusive culture: Facilitates team building activities to build rapport in own unit.
•  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Facilitates the pairing of junior colleagues with coaches within own team.
•  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Proactively anticipates potential challenges and develops mitigation plans to ensure that team meets goals and targets.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Identifies opportunities to be creative in own work and to help team be more innovative and accurate in their respective tasks and areas of work.
•  Focus on getting results: Monitors team’s deliverables and provides feedback to ensure outcomes are delivered consistently and accurately.
•  Make commitments and make good on commitments: Provides accurate guidance to team on expected responsibilities and tasks, whilst also upholding own commitment to the team.
•  Be Decisive: Sets an example and provides guidance to junior team members on when to escalate issues when faced with challenging issues in the workplace or in the field.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Facilitates partnerships with other WFP units to accomplish missions in the field.
•  Build strong external partnerships: Sets an example and provides guidance to team on how to build relationships with external partners.
•  Be politically agile & adaptable: Articulates to colleagues or direct reports the value of contributing to other WFP teams and agency partnerships in fulfilling WFP’s goals and objectives.
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Organizes, monitors, and prioritizes own and team’s efforts to ensure that they will fulfil the needs of internal and external partners.

JOB TITLE:                     Senior Programme Associate (Nutrition Data)

TYPE OF CONTRACT:     Service Contract SC7

DUTY STATION:            Addis Ababa

DURATION:                   12 months

REPORTING LINE:         Nutrition Data Manger / Nutrition Team Leader

30th November 2019

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

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.