Nutrition and SBCC Officer At World Food Programme

JOB TITLE:

Programme Policy Officer – Nutrition & SBCC

TYPE OF CONTRACT:

CST – II

UNIT/DIVISION:

Programme and Policy

DUTY STATION (City, Country):

Port-au-Prince

DURATION:

11 months

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the frontline UN agency in the fight against hunger. Since its creation in 1963, WFP staff around the world have worked tirelessly to eradicate hunger. Each year, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in over 70 countries. Recently, WFP has been diversifying its portfolio along the humanitarian and development spectrum with preparedness and immediate response emergency operations; recovery and resilience activities, including the implementation of capacity strengthening for social safety nets, school meals, nutrition- sensitive activities as well as progressive local purchases; and the provision of emergency logistics, telecommunications and aviation services.

Haiti’s Human Development Index (HDI) ranks 163 out of 191 countries in 2022. Rates of extreme poverty are high, and their cause are multidimensional. This poverty is manifested in particular by high illiteracy rates, a life expectancy of 63.7 years in 2018, high infant mortality and significant gender inequalities. A large majority of the population does not have access to basic services such as drinking water, electricity, sanitation, nutrition and health coverage.

In addition, Haiti is vulnerable to natural disasters. It is considered the fifth most exposed country to natural disasters. The country has suffered, in less than ten years, more than four major disasters from which the country is still struggling to recover: the earthquake of 2010, tropical storm Isaac and hurricane Sandy in 2012, hurricane Matthew in 2016, hurricane Irma and Maria in 2017 and the earthquake of 2021. The country is therefore exposed to earthquakes, the passage of cyclones and also to drought waves linked to the El Nino phenomenon (2018).

Beyond these factors, food insecurity is driven by the poor performance of the agricultural sector combined with the strong dependence on imports of food products (more than half of the food products present on the market) in particular for rice (83%). Product prices are largely influenced by logistical challenges, high production costs, precarious market structures and high inflation rates in recent years.

According to the latest IPC analysis (March – June 2023) published in March 2023, nearly 5 million people in Haiti (almost half of the population) are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, classified in IPC Phase 3 and above. This is a slight increase on an already high magnitude, compared to the 4.7 million which was projected in the September 2022 analysis, confirming that acute food insecurity remains extremely worrying in Haiti. Of the total 4.9 million people, 1.8 million are estimated to be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), up from 1.7 million in the September 2022 analysis. The number of people in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) has also slightly increased from 3.04 million to 3.08 million in the recent analysis

These worrying results are largely linked to [1] the political crisis that has taken hold in the country since July 2018 which has led it into an economic and social crisis, [2] to an agro-climatic crisis with significant pockets of drought in the country causing a significant decrease in agricultural production. In addition, [3] the growing insecurity and the blocking of certain roads since June 2021, have worsened the indicators of food insecurity.

In Autumn 2022 the Country further endured 2 months of heavy socio-economic turmoil and blockade of most imported goods, but especially fuel, leading to a de-facto paralysis of the entire Country with continued and protracted consequences on inflation, fuel and food availability until today.

Thus, the World Food Programme in Haiti has defined its strategy to fight hunger in the Country Strategic Plan (CSP 2019-2023), which includes activities related to emergency food assistance to populations affected by a shock, the establishment of social nets oriented towards nutrition, capacity building and livelihoods of small producers and their resilience to climate change, and capacity building of national and local actors for the fight against hunger. A new CSP exercise has been taking place to determine the 2024-2028 plan and since the Autumn events, WFP Haiti CO keeps growing its targets and operations.

WFP has adopted new approaches to support efforts in the prevention of malnutrition, with the aim of breaking the intergenerational cycle of transmission of malnutrition; through the implementation of SBCC (Social Behavior Change Communication) nutrition-sensitive activities, the distribution of nutritional supplements for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women, the implementation of specific nutrition programs for people with of HIV/AIDS. These activities are planned across the board within emergency, resilience, social protection, and school feeding projects.

The WFP then requires a person to lead the nutrition, hygiene, HIV and SBCC activities at the level of the Port au Prince office, to provide technical and strategic advice to all levels of the organization (HQ, Regional Bureaux and Country Offices) on nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programmes and policy issues.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reporting to the Head of Enablers, the Programme Policy Officer Nutrition & SBCC will be responsible for:

Support the strengthening of nutrition initiatives, including the development of national government policies related to nutrition (Agriculture, Education, Health, HIV and TB, Resilience, Social protection policies), as well as nutrition strategies, action plans, protocols, programme guidance, implementation modalities and operations in compliance with international guidelines, WFP policies, Executive Board (EB) decisions, and multi-stakeholder platforms guidance such as the SUN Movement.
Work in collaboration with senior management, School-based Programmes, Supply Chain, Programme, Cash Based Transfers, Vulnerability Analysis Mapping, Monitoring & Evaluation and other units/ divisions which support WFP Nutrition, to ensure effective advocacy, design and delivery of quality WFP nutrition, HIV and SBCC programming.
Ensure inclusive planning, management and M&E by involving stakeholders towards fostering ownership and ensuring sustainable end results.
Contribute to emergency preparedness actions, providing technical recommendations on contingency planning, risk analysis and early warning related to nutrition risks, providing response capacity as required.
Prepare accurate and timely reporting and learning, contributing to a knowledge base that informs decision making of WFP and other stakeholders.
Build capacity of WFP staff, partners and national governments to prepare for and respond to nutrition, HIV/AIDS problems.
Support operational partnerships, including inter-agency collaboration, to ensure a strong multi-sectorial response to nutrition, HIV in both emergency and non-emergency settings, including SBCC activities.
Represent WFP at national, regional and international meetings to contribute into technical discussions, exchange experiences, advocate for nutrition interventions and identify areas of potential collaboration.
Provide guidance and supervisor to junior staff members, acting as a point of referral and support on more complex analysis and queries.
Take responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives in all areas of work.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

Nutrition, HIV and SBCC are strategically integrated in WFP projects as a transversal component in line with WFP nutrition policies and guidance and national guidelines.
Project proposal developed with the integration of Nutrition, HIV and SBCC.
Nutrition assessments, analysis completed.
Coordination of nutrition, HIV and SBCC activities strengthened internally and externally, WFP is represented during relevant meeting at national, regional and interregional level (One UN, Nutrition Cluster, SUN movement)
Monitoring and evaluation of WFP nutrition activities, field visits and support donor and VIP visits.
Reports are timely consigned.
Nutrition inputs for emergency preparedness and response plan are given.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK: COMMON STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOUR:

Leads by Example with Integrity

Upholds WFP values, principles, and standards Demonstrates and encourages others to uphold the WFP values, principles and standards

Respects others and values diversity Values diversity using respectful and inclusive language, and encourages others to do the same

Stays focused and calm under pressure

Stays focused and calm when under pressure, encourages others to do the same, and offers guidance and support to manage difficult situations

Demonstrates humility and a willingness to learn Demonstrates humility and a willingness to learn and share knowledge, frequently seeking and acting on feedback, and pursuing opportunities to develop

Drives Results and

Delivers on Commitments

Delivers results for maximum impact

Identifies and aligns objectives to the required outcomes, holding self and/or others accountable for the delivery of results for maximum impact

Delegates appropriately Delegates responsibly and provides appropriate support empowering others to

deliver results

Adapts readily to change

Responds readily to change in different contexts and adapts

accordingly,

Fosters Inclusive and Collaborative

Is inclusive and collaborative Promotes inclusive teamwork and psychological safety by encouraging colleagues to collaborate by sharing ideas and openly raising issues

Gives timely and constructive feedback

Supports development for others by giving timely and

constructive feedback

Builds and shares new perspectives Seeks out, trusts and listens attentively to diverse views to capture, learn, build and share new perspectives

Seeks out, trusts and listens attentively to diverse views to capture, learn, build and share new perspectives

Applies Strategic Thinking

Communicates and

fulfils WFP’s vision Communicates and

fulfils WFP’s vision and operational outcomes to deliver meaningful solutions

Embraces curiosity and new ways of doing things Demonstrates curiosity, designs and implements new ways of doing things when relevant

Analyses and evaluates data Gathers data and different perspectives, shares knowledge and uses evidence to inform decision making

Considers the impact of decisions

Implements decisions, considering the risks and implications of actions for teams, projects and other initiatives

Builds and

Maintains

Sustainable

Partnerships

Builds partnerships Initiates and builds partnerships by identifying and promoting opportunities for mutual areas of interest and benefit

Collaborates to deliver common objectives Collaborates with partners to deliver common objectives by sharing information and

working together on agreed solutions

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced University degree in Public Health, Nutrition, Food Technology, Medicine or other relevant fields.

Experience:

At least five (5) years of professional experience in the management or implementation of humanitarian or development projects related to nutrition, public health and SBCC (including health and hygiene promotion, RCCE, C4D)

Experience in management and implementation of nutrition activities integrated with emergency, school feeding, resilience, social protection, and safety nets, health, and hygiene.

Experience in writing proposals and reports, analyzing data and setting the parameters for formative research.

Experience in inter-institutional coordination with different humanitarian actors (international organizations, NGOs…), government institutions, civil society organizations.

Knowledge

& Skills:

Knowledge of nutrients and WFP nutrition programmes.

Knowledge on nutrition situation Analysis and assessment.

Knowledge on behavior change and community engagement.

Strong motivation to carry out the required responsibilities.

Ability to work in a team with national and international staff (multicultural environment) and supervising other staff.

Knowledge of programme & Policy Standards

Good computer skills

Languages:

Fluency in English and French is required. Knowledge of Haitian creole would be an

advantage.