Program Associate at Helen Keller International

Job Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the Program Officer /M&E Lead, the Program Associate supports the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of HKI Nigeria’s nutrition programs and projects in Adamawa state in accordance with national protocols and policies.

Technical Capacity:

• Liaise with the nutrition unit of the State Ministry of Health (SMOH) or State Primary Health Care Development Agencies (SPHCDA) and other relevant Ministries to develop costed nutrition strategic work-plans
• Train beneficiaries on Enhanced Homestead Food Production (EHFP) including the provision of small agriculture inputs (like seeds, seedling and cuttings) to grow a variety of nutrient-rich food crops such as orange-fleshed sweet potato, green leafy vegetables, yellow cassava (vitamin A cassava), vitamin A-enriched maize, etc., at household and community levels.
• Provide technical assistance in training beneficiaries on Community-led Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), Mother-led Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MAUC) measurement including active case identification, screening, and referral while working with local authorities, public health service providers and community members to improve access to key services for the management and treatment of acute malnutrition
• Build the capacity of project beneficiaries in planning and implementing Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) interventions including promoting Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) and Essential Hygiene Actions (EHA)
• Work with families, health workers and leaders in these communities to develop and implement a social behavior change communication (SBCC) strategy to improve IYCF practices (especially on appropriate breastfeeding and complementary feeding) of mothers of young children and ensure adequate intake of diversity nutritious diets by adolescent girls and pregnant and lactating women in selected communities
• Support training on appropriate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices and promote access to clean water among IDPs living within the host communities of Fufore LGA
• Facilitate program planning and review meetings on all key nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions being implemented by the program (Enhanced Homestead Food Production, Community-led Management of Acute Malnutrition, Essential Nutrition Actions and Essential Hygiene Actions)
• Collaborate with partners to develop /roll out IEC / SBCC strategies and tools to support nutrition programs
• Maintain regular communication with state nutrition program partners and other relevant stakeholders.
• Actively participate in key relevant national and state level nutrition technical forums
• Work closely with State Nutrition Officers to strengthen technical reporting in accordance with defined reporting schedule and program indicators
• Track program progress using mutually agreed indicators, targets, and recommend remedial action to keep programs on course
• Supports program monitoring and evaluation and the implementation of baseline and end-line Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) surveys among project beneficiaries
• Assists the Program Officer to analyze, interpret and present program data in useful formats and disseminate findings to relevant stakeholders to promote timely decision making and course correction
• Contribute to and support the maintenance of an updated data base of technical program reports including site visits, monthly reports, quarterly and annual reports
• Support the capacity building of nutrition program officers on relevant nutrition interventions
• Support the implementation of other relevant nutrition activities such as vitamin A supplementation, food fortification, healthy lifestyle project e.t.c.
• Perform any other duty as assigned

Competencies Required:

• Demonstrates sound technical knowledge pertaining to job requirements.
• Prior experience working in the fields of Enhanced Homestead Food Production, Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) and Essential Hygiene Actions (EHA) and Community-led Management of Acute Malnutrition will be an added advantage.
• Able to work under pressure, minimal supervision and able to meet up deadlines.
• Ability to work well with others and to develop and maintain good working relationship with staff and other project partners
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, especially in terms of reporting.
• Ability to use computer software (including, at a minimum, the standard applications in MS Office) and the internet
• Ability to analyze and interpret program data using SPSS statistical software will be an added advantage
• The ability to speak Hausa language is highly desirable and an added advantage.
• Demonstrated excellent personal integrity and confidentially.

Qualifications Required:

• Minimum of Masters’ degree in Nutrition or Food and Dietetics
• Or Bachelors’ degree in Nutrition plus a Master’s in Public Health or similar related field
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience