Nutrition Specialist

UNICEF has been working in Liberia for close to 30 years, turning our vision for children into practical action.

With our child-focused mandate, country presence and operational capacity, we support the Government of Liberia and other partners to help every child reach their full potential.

The goal of our current country programme for 2013-2019 is to:

Make sure that every child and adolescent has access to basic education and a variety of post-basic education and improved learning outcomes.
Improve the health, nutrition and welfare of children and women on an equitable basis.
Increase access to the basics of life – safe water, sanitation and hygiene
Protect the poorest and most vulnerable children and women from all forms of violence.
Our interventions are supported by a robust monitoring and evaluation system that helps us track and improve results for children. Behaviour change communication is a key strategy across all our programmes, while advocacy and resource mobilization ensure that policies and funding are in place to bring about positive change for children in Liberia.

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. Boys, girls, and women in Liberia continue to be deprived of their rights to health care, optimal nutrition, clean water and adequate sanitation, a situation that is reflected in the country’s continued high rates of under-five, neonatal and maternal mortalities. UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. Malnutrition is a key contribution to adolescents under development, with 55% of adolescent girls experiencing anemia (hemoglobin <10g/dl). Anemia further exacerbates adolescent pregnancy outcomes, especially in undernourished girls, thus increasing the risk of Low Birth Weight or Small for Gestational Age babies who are more likely to grow and develop stunting and go on to become stunted mothers themselves, resulting in intergenerational stunting. Babies of adolescents are at higher risk of undernutrition due to the poor dietary choices, influenced by factors such as peer pressure and inadequate childcare support and experience marketing of unregulated baby foods and consumption of unhealthy foods.
With the support of UNICEF, Liberia has drawn up a multi-sectoral plan for the period 2024-2028 to provide a holistic response to nutrition problems, mainly among children, adolescent girls, and pregnant women.
The coordination of this plan is under the leadership of the Vice President’s office President’s
which also coordinates the strategic coordination of the SUN movement (Scaling-Up Nutrition in the country) with the technical support of the United Nations. UNICEF is the chair of the UN SUN network ensuring that different UN agencies (like WHO, WFP, FAO, and IFAD) work together effectively to support national nutrition plans. As its name suggests, the LMNCSP sets out to combine the efforts of all sectors (Health, Education, Gender, Child Protection and Social Protection, Youth and Sports) to counter the multifactorial causes of malnutrition and nutrition problems.
The nutrition programme contributes to Liberia’s efforts towards SDG 3, ensure healthy lives, SDG 5, gender equality and women’s empowerment. The approach is aligned to Goal Area 1 of the UNICEF Strategic Plan (2018-21).

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:
▪ Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading
relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in
events that mark International Volunteer Day).
▪ Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.
▪ Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

The UNV Nutrition Specialist will lead the coordination and provide technical guidance around the Protect, Empower, Nurture (PEN) - Harnessing the Full Potential of Adolescent Girls’ project in Liberia. The project will be implemented jointly with UNFPA/UNICEF in Montserrado, Grand Gedeh and Rivercess.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Chief of Child Survival and Development the UNV Nutrition Specialist will support with the below deliverables:

• Support with the revision and finalization of the situation analysis of adolescent girls report and use the outcome to revise/update the Programme Results Framework with realistic baselines, and target values for each of the key indicators.

• In coordination with UNFPA, the UNV will support adolescents in fostering innovation in nutrition which involves establishing school and community gardens as educational spaces for adolescents to cultivate nutritious foods. In addition, educational workshops focusing on the significance of healthy eating and the impact of nutrition on overall well-being.

• In coordination with UNFPA, UNICEF SBC team and the County health teams the UNV will work to promote adoption of positive social norms and practices on adolescent nutrition at household and community level by using a combination of media delivery platforms, including non-traditional media (internet and digital technologies, social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and with interpersonal communication channels.

• Work closely with the Consultant for the development of a national strategy specifically for adolescents to promote healthy eating habits and improve their nutrition through the participation of the National and sub-national stakeholders.

• Support with the revision/update of the operational guidelines and training package on nutrition for adolescents (both in and out of school) in coordination with UNFPA.

• Work with the Information Management officer for the integration of adolescent nutrition indicators into the national reporting channels for both school and community to prevent parallel programming and improve the quality of data.

• Support the integration of nutrition supplies into National Supply Chain Management system to promote government ownership and strengthen supply chain management at all levels.

• Support with the provision of a package (nutrition education, deworming and IFA) of direct nutrition intervention for adolescents at community, health facility level, and schools including training of Community Health Workers in collaboration with Community Based Organizations (CBOs)

• In coordination with UNFPA and UNICEF Child Protection Section, the UNV will support referral with formal and informal communities’ structures and networks (Adolescent Friendly Centres, Adolescent Mother Support Groups, adolescent Peer to Peer support groups, buddy clubs etc.) to promote adolescents’ development on life skill building activities.

• Prepare regular programme/project reports for management, donors, and partners to keep them informed of programme progress.

• In coordination with UNFPA the UNV will work along with the county Health Teams in providing education and leadership skills through mentorship and role model programs where adolescent girls can learn from women in leadership roles.

• Participate in strategic programme discussions/meetings with stakeholders and partners on the planning of the adolescent nutrition programmes.

Other duties

• Work closely with the UN Nutrition Network Facilitator in convening of the UN SUN Network meeting and develop meeting notes, presentations etc.

• Provide technical support to the SUN national Secretariat for the implementation of the Liberia Multisectoral Nutrition Costed Strategic Plan and increase advocacy efforts around government’s commitment.

• Draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and/or consideration.