Head of Department Nutrition and Health at Action Against Hunger | ACF-International

Key responsibilities:

• Nutrition and Health Assessment (SMART/Rapid SMART/SQUEAC/SLEAC etc.) and analysis of the prevailing context of nutrition and health in the country;
• Develop new proposals for intervention in medical and nutritional programme areas for submission to funding bodies in collaboration with Program Managers and Field Coordinators [Development grants];
• Collection and quality control of monitoring, follow up and evaluation data for development grants;
• In collaboration with the regional nutrition and health coordination team, development of an ACF nutrition and health strategy specific to the mission;
• Reviewing the standard of nutritional and medical proposals submitted by his/her teams
• Production of quality reports for the health and nutritional situation analysis;
• Identifying challenges and proposing research projects and innovative approaches in the field of malnutrition;
• Liaise with finance and logistics departments to establish budgets for new programmes in nutrition and health [Development grants];
• Frequent engagement with Heads of Departments in other technical areas to develop an integrated multi-sectoral approach;
• Compile a synthesis of all data collected by Nutrition and Health Programme Managers and inform the Mission’s Country Director and relevant HQ personnel of the key indicators having a bearing on the programmes;
• Support the development of the technical skills of Nutrition and Health teams;
• Manage overall planning and dispatching of work as well as individual action plans for the Nutrition and Health team in the capital;
• Evaluation of the technical performance and skills of Programme Managers;
• Work closely with the Field/Area Coordinator to identify any team-related challenges and also provide practical solutions;
• Dissemination of the ACF nutrition and health strategy at the country level to partners and funding bodies;
• Establishing MoU to define the terms of various partnerships with national/sub-national Government partners;
• Negotiation with local partners on work organisation, protocols, action plans, and training at all levels (local, regional and national) taking account of all those involved in the area;
• Coordinating the implementation of programmes with representatives of national and local government;
• Liaise with partners and participate in meetings with other agencies (WFP, UNICEF, other NGOs etc)  with a view to defining partnership agreements;
• Lending technical support to the development of national and local strategies in the struggle against malnutrition;
• Setting out a common strategy and action plan (ACF and partners) concerning specific projects;
• Collaborating with partners by the ongoing provision of useful information and regular meetings;
• Building a long-term strategy for the programme, with a view to enabling the partner to achieve autonomy, with particular attention, where necessary, to cost recovery aspects;
• Influencing the definition of national protocols through negotiation with representatives of partner structures (notably the Ministry of Health) with a view to disseminating ACF's technical standards for dealing with malnutrition;
• Representing ACF in dealings with national and international authorities on matters of health and nutrition in close collaboration with the regional coordinator and Deputy CD – Programmes;
• Developing and maintaining relations with current and potential donors (visits to projects, presentations of ACF and its work, requests for funding);
• Promoting the philosophy and protocols of ACF to local partners (NGO, MoH, etc.);
• Representing the areas of health and nutrition in the national coordination of ACF;
• Producing technical, strategic and activity reports in the fields of health and nutrition (for partners);
• Producing and/or publishing information, both internally and externally, concerning technical progress in the fields of health and nutrition in the country of intervention;
• Elaborating communication tools for disseminating information on ACF and the nutrition and health dimensions of its programmes.

Position Requirements:

• Advanced Degree (Masters) preferably in Human Nutrition, Medical Sciences or Social Sciences
• Minimum of 5 to 7 years of previous experience working with NGOs specifically in nutrition and/or health;
• Proven management and coordination skills (HR, projects, and stress management);
• Proven ability to translate analysis and evaluation into operational planning and strategy;
• Experience with evaluations and monitoring as well as Project Management Cycle;
• Experience with external representation and knowledge of Nutrition & Health Cluster mechanisms;
• Advanced knowledge of Nutrition and Health guidelines and procedures including those of donors and international standards (e.g. SPHERE);
• Ability to work in a mainstreamed manner and analyze/capitalize institutionalized information;
• Excellent written and spoken English, including the ability to write clear and engaging reports;
• Disciplined and able to work and arrive at decisions autonomously and with minimal guidance;
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly to ACF field locations;
• Experience working with multiple donors (BHA, ECHO, UNICEF…) including compliance reporting and regulations.