The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is founded in 1933 on the initiative of the famous physicist Albert Einstein. Today, the IRC is one of the world leaders in relief, rehabilitation, protection, post-conflict development, reintegration and advocacy for people affected by crisis. IRC’s mission is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and take control of their futures.
In 2019, following the humanitarian crisis in Burkina Faso, the IRC launched an emergency response. At the heart of that response was the EAHU team which helped position IRC in Burkina Faso as fit for purpose to face this unprecedented humanitarian crisis which severely affected population in the Sahel, North region.
In June 2020, Burkina Faso country program was officially transferred from EAHU management to regional management with a new full management team in country.
Since, the IRC is implementing a multisectoral humanitarian assistance focused on health, nutrition, wash, protection including child protection and WPE and economic wellbeing in the regions of Sahel, North, Centre Nord, Centre and recently in the eastern region.
IRC Burkina Faso is seeking the Nutrition Policy Technical coordinator to be based in Ouagadougou. The ideal candidate must have excellent coordination, advocacy and communication, networking, innovation skills. He/she must be able to work effectively with program teams and other departments.
Job overview
Based in the Country Office, the National Nutrition Advocacy Coordinator will lead IRC’s policy, advocacy, and communications work to create systemic change in nutrition policy in country. Globally, about 52 million children currently suffer from acute malnutrition, with the global food crisis and climate change threatening to increase cases imminently. To reduce child mortality, access to treatment for acute malnutrition must be increased.
IRC seeks to support the policy development, planning, and implementation for scaling treatment. The National Nutrition Advocacy Coordinator will jumpstart the implementation of this initiative at the national level by laying the groundwork for an emerging partnership on scaling treatment.
Major Responsibilities:
1. Map and analyze the national nutrition policy landscape.
o Conduct a political economy/landscape analysis of national and subnational level nutrition policies, stakeholders, influencers and decision makers with a focus on wasting treatment.
2. Develop and begin implementing a targeted strategy to advance practice and policy shifts to scale wasting treatment including through simplified approaches at national and subnational level.
o Frame key context specific asks based on the landscape analysis
o Identify targets and key stakeholders for advancing policy recommendations.
o Identify working groups and other key fora that IRC join.
o Identify and assemble the information, tools, and products to support advocacy
3. Foster knowledge management systems and engage in internal learning and coordination within the IRC regarding evidence and tools for scaling nutrition treatment.
o Document and share useful tools, presentations, analyses, good practices and lessons learned and exchange learnings with other Nutrition Policy Technical Advisors in different Country Offices.
o Gather, analyze and synthesize data documenting the process and barriers to national level scaling of wasting treatment, with a focus on the policy environment.
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Country Director of the Country Office and Regional Advocacy Communications Coordinator – West Africa
Position Directly Supervises: N/A
Other Internal and/or External Contacts:
· Airbel Nutrition GRIP
· Health Unit Policy, Advocacy, and Communications Team
· Nutrition Technical Advisors (particularly the TA for West Africa)
· Nutrition Coordinator in the CO
· Ministry of Health, National Nutrition Cluster, and relevant national nutrition working groups
Job Requirements:
· At least 7 years of experience in global health or humanitarian policy, advocacy, or research uptake required.
· At least three years of health or nutrition policy, advocacy, research uptake, or communications required.
· Master’s degree in nutrition, public health, public policy, or another closely related field strongly desirable
· Demonstrable technical understanding of nutrition and/or public health
· Prior experience working directly with stakeholders in the Ministry of Health and with national partners and civil society organizations.
· Advocacy experience achieving national policy change strongly desired
· Expertise in communications: proven ability to develop materials and presentations for external audiences.
· Excellent written and oral communications skills; ability to communicate with many and diverse audiences; you listen intently and actively to all audiences; your communications are direct, simple, and respectful.
· Strong negotiation, influencing and networking skills.
· Fluency in French required, fluency in English highly desirable, knowledge of local languages an asset.
The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.