Northeast Syria (NES) Nutrition Working Group Coordinator At Relief International

Position: Northeast Syria (NES) Nutrition Working Group Coordinator

Location: Derek Syria

Reports to: Administrative line to RI NES Hub Team leader,

Technical to Whole of Syria (WOS) Nutrition Sector Coordinator

Duration: One-year Contract

About Relief International.

Relief International (RI) is a leading nonprofit organization working in 16 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty.

Relief International combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach — which we call the RI Way—emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.

Relief International includes the four members of the RI Alliance in the USA, UK, France, and Belgium. Under our alliance agreement, we operate under a single, shared management structure with one CEO and one Board of Directors.

About our Programs

RI is active in 16 countries around the world, including some of the most fragile: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen. Often, RI is the only organization providing assistance to highly vulnerable communities.

• RI employs 7,000+ staff and auxiliary workers
• 97% of staff are in-country nationals
• We only have some 90 ex-pat staff out of 7,000+
• RI spent $125 million in 2019 on our programs.

RI invests in four broad program sectors: Economic Opportunity, Education, Health, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). We design our programs to incorporate The RI Way: local participation, integrated programming, the development of civic skills, and partnerships including with local NGOs, governments, and the private sector.

RI supports solutions that reinforce and improve upon existing in-country systems. Where such systems do not exist or are chronically underperforming, RI’s crisis response lays the foundation for long-term, sustainable change.

About the NES Nutrition Working Group:

The Nutrition Working Group in NES works to ensure coordinated and equitable access to Nutrition services and assistance for vulnerable persons in 4 governorates (Aleppo, Raqqa, Hassakeh and Der er Zor). In addition, the role supports in developing and standardising tools, guidance and strategies that ensure timely and adequate support in line with national and international guidance for vulnerable communities, IDPs and refugees.

The WG is composed by 11 partners targeting 28 subdistricts with four distinct active type of programs:

• screening and referral of children under 5 and Pregnant Lactating Women
• Infant and Young Child Feeding programs
• outpatient therapeutic programs
• Inpatient and stabilization centers

The NES Working Group coordinators work with the NES Forum Inter Sector Working Group (ISWG) Coordinator for strengthening coordination and program implementation strategies in NES response. The Nutrition Working Group must adhere to the GTAM guidance and seek support from the WoS Nutrition Sector Coordinator on technical issues and strengthening of capacities support for NES partners, in line with most updated international protocols.

Position Summary:

To support the most urgent coordination needs, RI is supporting and strengthening the coordination, information sharing, and data management for Nutrition Working Group for NES. This coordination structure will assist field level and strategic coordination and provide systematic linkages between NGOs in NES and other stakeholders, such as the NES Forum Inter Sector Working Group (ISWG), UN counterparts, the Whole of Syria architecture, and local health authorities at central and local level.

In the absence of the cluster system in NES, the NES Forum and thematic working groups are coordinating the humanitarian response in NES in line with IASC standards. The Nutrition Working Group (NWG) was established in line with the existent IASC guidance to ensure adherence to protocols, timely, and effective humanitarian response for affected population in Northeast Syria (NES).The NWG, in part of the overall humanitarian coordination architecture under the NES Forum ensures representation in all inter-sector products, such as advocacy pieces, Inter Sector Working Group (ISWG) visibility, Whole of Syria (WoS) level coordination and general area based or camp coordination platforms. The NWG is a coordination unit under the NES Forum umbrella through which partners who operate in NES involved in the Nutrition response coordinate interventions, seek technical support, avoid duplication of services and better link with other organizations to prioritize resources based on needs.

The main purpose of this role is to lead the Nutrition Working Group in NES and ensure coordinated, timely and accountable nutrition response of NGOs in NES, strengthening the strategic development of the sector as well as boosting advocacy on Nutrition response related matters. The Nutrition Working Group Coordinator will have key interfaces with the Health Working Group, the WASH WG and the FSL WG, as part of the NES Inter-Sector Working Group, and will also coordinate closely with WoS Nutrition Cluster.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

Coordination Mechanisms and Strategy Development

• Establish and maintain effective coordination mechanisms with Nutrition actors in Northeast Syria. This includes meeting with humanitarian agencies to coordinate the response, , and collaborating with the WoS Sector Coordinators and NES NGO Forum ISWG Coordinator.
• Coordinate with WOS Nutrition Sector and other Nutrition Hubs on programming/technical issues and 4Ws reporting based on established NES Forum data-sharing protocols; and ensure/facilitate contextual analysis, needs assessments and access evaluation of beneficiaries to sites/structures supported by humanitarian actors or de facto authorities
• Escalate critical needs to WoS Nutrition cluster and donors, both on an ad-hoc basis and by providing relevant inputs to key humanitarian deliverables including HNO, HRP and critical funding appeals.
• Actively participate in key NES Forum meetings, ISWG meetings, WoS Nutrition Sector Coordination meetings and general coordination camp meetings, presenting nutrition updates and flagging key needs and gaps in service provision or access to underserved areas
• The NWG Coordinator will support technically other task forces established to look into technical issues concerning context tailored approaches and to support the their harmonization across cross-cutting themes
• Facilitate proactive inter-partner engagement to maintain stable communication channels at area level across actors delivering nutrition services and to ensure resources and capacities are employed in an efficient and rational way

Information management

• Work in collaboration with the WoS and NES NGO Forum Information Management functions to maintain 4Ws planning, reporting and information sharing in order to identify gaps and mitigate the risk of duplication and overlapping
• Facilitate effective sharing of information and data management among NWG partners and across ISWG stakeholders
• Produce Sit-Reps on the Nutrition Situation in NES using existing data of 4Ws, consultations with partners on specific gaps, engagement with local authorities and undertake trend analyses for tracking needs in NES and better utilization of available data for tracking quality of services in NES

Needs assessments and analysis

• Work in collaboration with the WoS Nutrition Coordinators and NES NGO Forum ISWG Coordinator to initiate and support Nutrition assessments and analysis. This includes making relevant contributions to multi-sector assessments, providing inputs into the HNO and analyzing feedback from key partners. This responsibility includes liaising with NGO partners and WoS assessment and monitoring staff
• As part of the Humanitarian Program Cycle, ensure harmonized criteria to assess common needs, definitions and benchmarks. Ensure response monitoring, reporting, and contribution to HPC processes, which includes but not limited to HRP

Technical Guidance, program implementation and strengthening capacities

• Work in collaboration with the WoS Sector Coordinators and relevant technical leads in the sector to discuss, develop, and share relevant technical standards and guidelines for best practice. This includes working with the WoS coordinators to develop and promote common or rationalized and context tailored approaches for NES
• Work in collaboration with the WoS Sector Coordinators and relevant technical leads in the sector to facilitate technical trainings and coaching of partners
• Ensure consideration and mainstreaming of cross-cutting themes (Including, Protection, Age, Gender and Climate Change) in the inter-agency Nutrition response in Northeast Syria
• Widely disseminate, orientate, and ensure adherence to international standards, such as IYCF-E Guidelines, CMAM protocols and WoS technical SOPs
• Ensure coordination of Nutrition programs and activities among partners engaged in the NES response. Monthly NWG meeting, meetings ad-hoc as per requested
• Facilitating fostering partnerships and integrated projects between Child Protection, MHPSS, Protection and other sectors for supporting highly vulnerable PLWs and CU-5
• Work in collaboration with the WoS Sector Coordinators and NES NGO Forum ISWG Coordinator to develop Nutrition emergency preparedness and response plans with NGO partners, including funding requirements.

Advocacy, reporting and resource mobilization

• Ensure that Nutrition is represented in all NES Forum inter-sector products, such as advocacy pieces and NES Forum updates on critical needs, funding gaps, and appeals
• Engage regularly with other Nutrition stakeholders such as local authorities, civil society, donors, and the UN to ensure increased commitment of the stakeholders towards expansion of the Nutrition sector efforts to address Nutrition challenges in NES
• In collaboration with the WoS Sector Coordinators and NES NGO Forum ISWG Coordinator, draft reports and briefing notes on the situation and developments in the context and needs for the use by the WoS Nutrition sector and the NES NGO Forum. In addition, provide inputs into resource mobilization needs and strategies, provide technical guidance for humanitarian pooled funding allocations, and liaising with donors

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

1. Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Relief international
2. Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance.`

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Relief international, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale while keeping at sight the contextual peculiarities

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, NGO members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

• Experience in leadership and coordination roles, including direct experience in Cluster / Sector Coordination or Nutrition Sector Working Group.
• Experience of developing and negotiating successful partnerships with institutional donors
• Significant experience of undertaking a MEAL related role in an on site or remote management humanitarian context, including:
• training and management of enumerators
• capacity to clean and analyze sizeable datasets
• planning/participating in evaluations
• excellent writing and reporting skills
• Education to University degree level (master’s in public health and nutrition preferred) in a relevant subject or equivalent field experience.
• Experience of applying relevant interagency humanitarian frameworks and standards in nutrition in emergencies
• Ability to work both in an advisory and a hands-on implementation capacity
• Ability to facilitate/conduct large technical trainings for staff
• Experience in strategic planning and coordination of strategy development
• Experience of representation and ability to represent Nutrition Working Group partners effectively in external forums.
• Demonstrates commitment to Humanitarian Principles and Principles of Partnership
• Excellent communication and influencing skills with experience in advocacy
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact, and diplomacy
• The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances
• Commitment to the aims and principles of Relief International

Desirable

• Experience in conducting and coordinating SMART Assessments and MSNAs, use of STAT or SPSS Softwares for data manipulation and analysis
• Language skills in Arabic and/or Kurdish.
• Experience or knowledge of working and living in relevant regions/contexts.
• Formal training in cluster coordination an advantage

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Relief International is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination based on race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Relief International (RI) is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to always adhere to RI’s Code of Conduct Policies and values. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

RI Values:

We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities.

We value:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparency and accountability
• Agility and innovation
• Collaboration
• Sustainability