International Consultant to Support Nutrition Information Systems Strengthening in Lao PDR, Vientiane, Lao PDR, 10 months

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built. We offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to nutrition

UNICEF has been working on strengthening multisectoral nutrition information systems since 2018 through the EU funded National Information Platform for Nutrition (NIPN) programme and also through a joint programme with WHO (also EU funded) that sought to strengthen health system data on nutrition through DHIS2. UNICEF is currently supporting the Government of Lao PDR to the scale up nutrition interventions in 11 out of 18 provinces in the country under Child Nutrition Fund (CNF). To continue supporting both the information needs for the new NPAN monitoring, support strengthening capacities of Government officials on nutrition evidence-based planning as well as to monitor progress of the CNF, UNICEF is looking to hire an International Consultant with strong experience in management on nutrition data and information systems.

How can you make a difference?

The consultant shall be partially based in UNICEF office with frequent interactions at the Ministries of Health and Finance. She/ he shall work closely with Nutrition section teams and other sectoral departments to ensure smooth coordination for reporting on nutrition data. The consultant will also work in collaboration with a National Consultant. More specifically, in consultation with the UNICEF Nutrition Team, the consultant will support on the following areas:

Data Generation, Quality and Analysis

• Collaborate with MOH and WHO to support individual health trackers as part of DHIS2, including tracking for treatment of severe acute malnutrition.
• Support analysis of national/ provincial nutrition data for trends and program performance. Support MOH to conduct routine data quality assessments and provide feedback.
• Develop templates for dashboards and scorecards for decision-makers.
• Support data generation and dissemination through research, surveys, etc.

Capacity Building

• Organize and deliver training for government staff on data collection, quality assurance, and analysis.
• Develop user-friendly SOPs and guidelines for nutrition data management as required.
• Carry out programmatic visits to assess the quality of implementation and to provide support to government officials at all levels.

M&E, reporting and Knowledge Sharing

• Assist in preparing CNF reports (quarterly, 6-monthly, annual), nutrition situation analysis and other reports.
• Support tracking of progress against national and global nutrition targets.

Innovation and Digital Solutions

• Support the use of digital solutions for real-time nutrition data collection.

System Strengthening

• Support integration of nutrition indicators into sectoral systems.
• Assist in harmonizing indicators across sectors aligned with national nutrition strategy.
• Explore interoperability solutions between systems (e.g., DHIS2, EMIS).

Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement

• Facilitate multi-sectoral coordination for nutrition data management.
• Collaborate with WB, ADB, WHO and other partners working on nutrition information systems
• Support the consolidation and analysis of multisectoral nutrition data for submission to the National Nutrition Committee.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: Terms of Reference for Individual consultant_NIS international VA.pdf

Financial Proposal Template to be filled by the consultant: Financial Proposal Template-updated Oct 2024.doc

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Masters or an advanced university degree in Data sciences, Public Health, Nutrition, Epidemiology and Social science.
• Work Experience: At least 8 years of relevant work experience in capacity building in nutrition data analysis and use, data quality and management, planning, monitoring, reporting and knowledge management.

• Skills:
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, all eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.