Senior community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) specialist

Project Summary

FANTA-2 works to improve nutrition and food security policies, strategies and programs through technical support to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partners, including host country governments, international organizations and NGO implementing partners. Focus areas for technical assistance include maternal and child health and nutrition, HIV and other infectious diseases, food security and livelihood strengthening, and emergency and reconstruction. FANTA-2 develops and adapts approaches to support the design and quality implementation of field programs, while building on field experience to improve and expand the evidence base, methods and global standards for nutrition and food security programming. The project, funded by USAID, is a five-year cooperative agreement.

Position Summary

The Senior CMAM Specialist will provide technical assistance to the USAID/Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)/Niger and the Ministry of Health (MOH) in strengthening technical capacities for continuous quality improvement of community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) integrated into the national and regional-level health systems and for the response to emergency nutrition crises. The aim of this position is not only to respond to recurrent nutrition crises, but also to initiate disaster risk reduction activities to sustainably build national capacity within Niger. The support will contribute to reducing dependency on external actors to rapidly respond to nutritional crises, which are endemic to the country, and to improve the quality of the management of acute malnutrition. The Senior CMAM Specialist will work with the MOH in Niger, and other West African countries upon request, at the national and regional levels and with international stakeholders.

Essential Job Functions

The Senior CMAM Specialist will support and strengthen technical capacities for improving quality of CMAM of national and state partners in Niger through the following activities:

- Strengthen technical capacities of the ministry of health (MOH) Nutrition Division CMAM focal points and partners for CMAM quality improvement, including their capacity to scale-up CMAM activities during nutrition crises.
- Adapt continuous quality improvement tools and provide support for their use.
- Support the updating of national CMAM guidelines based on international standards and best practices, as well as individual country contexts.
- Provide technical assistance to MOH and partners in linking to and integrating quality CMAM and other nutrition services into their activities.
- Provide support to strengthen training materials and job aids and their use.
- Provide support to strengthen monitoring and reporting tools and their use
- Strengthen technical capacities of national training and research institutes for CMAM training and research, and facilitate the development of training curricula and country-specific CMAM training materials
- Carry out reviews and assessments of CMAM and responses to nutrition crises to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities to improve emergency response and disaster risk reduction efforts, and document these.
- The Senior CMAM Specialist may support and strengthen technical capacities for improving quality of CMAM of national and state partners in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania through the following activities upon request:
- Strengthen technical capacities of the ministry of health (MOH) Nutrition Division CMAM focal points and implementing partners, including their capacity to scale-up CMAM activities during nutrition crises.
- Provide capacity development TA on continuous quality improvement for CMAM.
- Provide technical assistance to OFDA implementing partners on CMAM as needed.

Other responsibilities

- Contribute to FANTA-2 work planning and reporting, in particular drafting language for activities managed by the Senior CMAM Specialist
- Contribute to and participate in FANTA-2 learning related to CMAM and emergency nutrition.
- Respond to requests from USAID/OFDA/Niger with support from other FANTA-2 team members.
- Participate in FANTA-2-organized CMAM capacity development activities in other countries as assigned.
- Perform other job-related activities as assigned.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with a job.

Education

Masters in one of the following or related fields: Medicine, Nutrition and Public Health required or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

Experience

10 year(s) of relevant experience required

Specific Knowledge Requirements

- At least ten years of emergency health and nutrition and/or CMAM experience.
- Experience in program management or the provision of technical assistance to programs at the national and local levels.
- Experience with USAID programs preferred.
- Experience working with national governments and health systems.

Special Requirements

This job will require a criminal background check.

Skills

- Ability to manage and work in a team consisting of people with different technical backgrounds and varying levels of technical training.
- Demonstrated managerial, leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to facilitate relationships and interact smoothly and effectively with clients, colleagues, and partners including donors, national governments, sub-recipients, and peer organizations.
- Ability to work with others to translate technical materials into practical tools and approaches and be able to communicate these options using print, electronic and presentation services.
- Ability to undertake problem analyses and organize diverse information in a systematic way while thinking creatively to propose approaches to improve program design, implementation and results reporting.
- Strong analytical ability is essential.
- Ability to write high quality technical documents in English.
- Fluency in English and French.

Equipment To Be Used

Typical office equipment

Working Conditions including Travel and Overtime

Up to 30% travel expected.