ROLE PURPOSE:
The Nutrition Counselling Officer performs a variety of specialized duties related to the nutrition counselling to families and children. He/ She will actively help programme participants make healthier nutrition choices including but not limited to support for pregnant and lactating women, best practices on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) for families with children aged 0 – 24 months, weight management, and malnutrition/weight gain. The Nutrition Counselling Officer will also be responsible to identify acute malnutrition cases and referring them to specialized services.
In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.
CHILD SAFEGUARDING:
Level 3 - the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Food Security and Livelihoods Coordinator
Staff reporting to this post: N/A
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY :
Programme implementation
- Conduct assessments to identify acute malnutrition cases and provide the relevant support.
- Refer cases to the proper NGO or PHC and ensure that follow up and update is in place.
- Support pregnant and lactating mothers in topics around maternal nutrition and IYCF and promoting Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF).
- Work directly in the field with children, youth, families and other stakeholders of the project location he/ she is allocated to, ensuring that information and support provided to beneficiaries is appropriate and reaching the most vulnerable
- Assist in organizing, implementing and monitoring awareness sessions for children, adolescents, families (pregnant and lactating women in particular) and communities at large.
- Collect information regarding the overall nutrition situation and needs of children and their families in the community and submit weekly and monthly reports
- Work with program participants to develop individualized nutrition plans that address specific health needs
- Conduct assessments of program participants eating habits and patterns, including physical activity levels, in order to identify areas that need improvement
- Counsel families on diet and nutrition principles, including how to read food labels, store food safely, how to eat healthy on a budget, how to choose healthy foods, etc
- Develop plans to help individuals improve their eating habits and lifestyles through counseling and group programs
- Provide support to individuals with chronic illnesses such as diabetes or heart disease by helping them manage their conditions and adhere to treatment plans
- Support and cooperate with other SCI sector to issues related to health and nutrition
- Conduct awareness sessions and capacity building to SCI and NGO partner staff on health and nutrition.
- Provide technical advice to SCI and NGO partner staff when needed.
- Keep confidential records of families and children’s assessments and nutrition plans
- Comply with Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
- Ensure that the implementation of activities is gender sensitive, inclusive of vulnerable communities and people with disabilities, participatory, relevant to the context and conflict sensitive as well.
Programme reporting and monitoring
- Develop weekly and monthly planning and provide weekly reports as needed.
- Report any deviance from the program plan in a timely manner.
- Make sure the reporting of activities related to nutrition indicators is done on activity info, IPTT and other reporting channels.
- Participate in nutrition and health related working groups or meetings at the level of the area office or national level when required.
- Collect needed data from the partners and the field for the purpose of activity and donor reporting.
- Organize monitoring visits and home/field visits when needed.
- Participate in internal and external coordination meetings as required, and interact regularly with Save the Children’s other sectors (education, child protection, health/nutrition, shelter) to ensure coordinated and efficient programming.
- Contributes to lessons learnt/ best practices workshops and ensure their implementation on the field.
- Work with logistics staff for program procurement and logistics for the preparation of workshops and training, according to SCI’s procurement guidelines and manuals.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor degree in nutrition, Dietetics, Food Science or a related field.
- Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English.
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
- Proven experience in developing effective prevention/treatment plan
- Good time management skills
- Aptitude to empathize with participants and help them open up
- Previous experience as a nutrition counsellor
- Minimum 2 years of experience in nutrition programs
- Experience in field work and community mobilization
- Training facilitation
- Computer skills
- Strength in interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
Additional job responsibilities:
The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.
Equal Opportunities:
The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.
Child Safeguarding:
We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
Safeguarding our Staff:
The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy
Health and Safety:
The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.
