Nutrition Officer at Action Against Hunger | ACF-International

Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Starting date: As Soon As Possible

Objective 1

• Represent AAH and the program within the community

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Know and understand AAH mandate, Humanitarian principles and the current program strategy and approach.
• With the program manager, develop coherent messages and pass them to the community about AAH mandate, program objectives and approach.
• Build trust between AAH and the community.

Objective 2

• Health facility capacity  assessments and profiling

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Conduct capacity assessment of health facilities: baseline, progress and end line and to come up with reports of the same.
• Identify issues/problems and solutions as a result of the capacity assessment and progress assessment and in collaboration with the RRM Health/Nutrition adequately implement solutions in order to resolve problems.
• Support emergency nutrition assessment among displaced population in newly accessible areas as well as Hard To Reach (HTR) areas.

Objective 3

• Ensure community nutritional screening is functional and linking to health facilities

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Ensure the supervision and monitoring of the implementation of active screening activities
• Assist in the supervision and monitoring of the implementation of home visits of beneficiaries by community actors for follow-up of non-respondents, defaulters and potential defaulters.
• In collaboration with the community volunteers and as needed the health facility staffs, mobilize the community for nutrition activities (early detection of case, referral, follow-up).
• Support the community volunteers in the building up of the community mobilization network system in communities and follow-up implementation of activities
• Under the responsibility of the Deputy nutrition program manager identify key areas of training for the community actors
• Inform the Program Manager of training needs.

Objective 4

• Implement community health groups (CHGs) within the catchment population for each health facility targeted by the CMAM component and for IYCF activities.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Implement community health groups (according to methodology)
• Ensure outlined participation in the CHGs by all registered participants.
• Draw an action plan after every CHG session, and follow up this action plan at the beginning of the next session.
• Involve community volunteers in the CHGs.
• Follow up the community volunteers to make sure that they follow up the communities to achieve the set action plans after the public health sessions.
• Listen to the community volunteers and give them any necessary support in the field and report this to the office.
• Follow up the community volunteers and be sure that they are conducting CMAM activities.

Objective 5

• Assist the RRM Health&Nutrition/PM to work with the logistics and admin departments to plan, procure appropriate supplies and follow up community based activities.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Follow logistical purchasing procedures.
• Ensuring correct budget lines are utilized as expected.
• Ensure that the proper project codes are utilized in all document.
• Ensure proper records are kept of all expenditure and usage of materials.

Objective 6

• Identify training needs of Health workers and Community Volunteers attached to facilities as well as conducting theoretical training if necessary followed by On Job Training (OJT)

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Contact the key nutrition stakeholders and identify training needs in each facility/mobile clinic.
• Under the responsibility of the RRM Health&Nutrition Manager/Nutrition Program Manager, identifies key areas of training for the health and nutrition actors.
• Conduct training to facilities on IMAM, IYCF, micro-nutrient supplementation as per the needs identified through capacity assessment.
• Facilitate on the job training on all aspects of activities as per the
• proposal and to ensure that the health facility is able to move to the next phases of the project timeline.
• Organize supportive supervision sessions to identify gaps in CMAM and IYCF services, proffer solutions and strengthen the quality of services provided.
• Work with the health facility staffs and CVs attached to the health facility to identify properly and on time when the beneficiaries who must be transferred from the OTP to the stabilization centre or any major medical site for treatment and different branches of the programme. Ensure that the transfers are actually well done.
• Build the capacity of the health staffs and CVs attached to the health facility to perform the appetite test for each potential OTP beneficiary and be sure that after the admission and consecutive visits.

Objective 7

• Participate in regular internal and external coordination for the program at LGA level and at state level when required.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Establish good Relationship with Community leaders.
• Establish a network with the other actors in the working area (I/NGOs)
• Establish a good understanding of the program within the Community.
• Establish linked and meetings with the Community leaders and different group existing in the working area.

Internal & External Relationship
Internal:

• RRM Health&Nutrition Manager/Sector Manager - Nutrition: hierarchical relationship – technical support - exchange of information.
• Regional Nutrition and Health Coordinator/Nutrition & Health Program Manager: technical support.
• Nutrition Assistant: Supervisor.

External:

• State Primary Health Care Agency (SPHCDA), State Nutrition Officer, SMOH: exchange of information, coordination, training, supervision, influence on choice of technical options.
• LGA Team/HF team/CV: Training, supportive supervision, influence of choice on technical options.

Position Requirements/Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Health, Nutrition, Nursing or related field. Higher level Degree preferred
• Minimum 2 years work experience in humanitarian contexts, with at least 1 year in conflict/insecure contexts.
• Experience in IYCF-E is an asset.
• He/she must have experience in CMAM, IYCF and community mobilization.

Skills & Experience
Essential:

• Ability and willingness to frequently travel to villages, remote areas and stay at the field.
• Willingness and capacity to be flexible and accommodating when faced with difficult and frustrating working conditions like long distance walking to screening sites.
• Capacity to supervise and coach health workers.
• Ability to work in an environment where there are physical discomforts associated with change in weather or discomforts associated with noise, dust or dirt.
• Professional, motivated, open, creative, mature, responsible, flexible and, culturally sensitive.
• Excellent team, budget and project management and representation competencies

Preferred:

• Proficient in statistical and other softwares (Microsoft Office package, SPSS, SPHINX, STATA, EPI Info, ENA for SMART, GIS, etc.)
• Willing and able to be based and travel regularly within remote areas, where services are limited.
• Fluency in English.
• Commitment to AAH mission, values and policy.
• Proficiency with local languages (Kanuri, Fulani, Hausa).
• Previous NGO experience managing mobilization in different interventions (i.e. Cash Transfers, WASH, Nutrition).
• Previous experience with AAH.