Nutrition Specialist, NO-3, Fixed Term Position, Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi, #00137616 (Open to Malawian Nationals Only)

Organizational Context

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential. We are committed to promoting the rights of every child, offering diverse opportunities for professional and personal development. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, serving children and communities across the world.

Job Purpose

Under the guidance of the Chief, Nutrition, the Nutrition Specialist will transform the diets and futures of children, adolescents, and women in Malawi, where many still experience food poverty. This role drives strategies to increase the availability, access, and consumption of diverse, nutritious foods at scale, advancing community-based approaches and supporting behaviour change for improved food utilization, preparation, and consumption. The specialist will lead the development and rollout of a minimum package of child-sensitive, nutrition-responsive agriculture actions, including biofortified crops, nutrient-rich value chains, food innovation, and local processing initiatives, aligned with national priorities. The position aims to improve dietary diversity and nutritional outcomes for women, adolescents, and children across Malawi by providing technical assistance, generating evidence, monitoring programme implementation, and contributing to strengthening nutrition systems, ultimately delivering high-impact programmes for vulnerable populations.

Responsibilities

The Nutrition Specialist will drive strategies to increase the availability, access, and consumption of diverse, nutritious foods at scale, advancing community-based approaches and supporting behaviour change to improve food utilization, preparation, and consumption. They will lead the development and rollout of a minimum package of child-sensitive, nutrition-responsive agriculture actions aligned with national priorities, including biofortified crops, nutrient-rich value chains, food innovation, and local processing initiatives. The specialist will support implementation through community and district coordination structures, aligning with broader food systems efforts to improve the availability, affordability, and accessibility of healthy diets. Strengthening partnerships with UN agencies, government ministries, and other stakeholders is crucial for joint planning, multisectoral coordination, scaling up nutrition-sensitive value chains, knowledge sharing, and learning. This collaboration will unlock resources, scale innovations, and embed nutrition within agriculture, food systems, social protection, health systems, and community programmes. Additionally, the role involves monitoring programme performance, strengthening data systems and evidence use, and documenting best practices and lessons learned to inform scale-up and policy advocacy. Through proactive coordination and a strong drive for results, the specialist will enhance programme quality and reach, maximizing effectiveness and efficiency for lasting impact.

Work Experience

A minimum of five years of professional experience in a developing country is required in nutrition, public health, nutrition planning and management, or food systems strengthening. Experience implementing both preventive and treatment nutrition interventions, strong expertise in child-sensitive nutrition-responsive agriculture and food systems, and ability to design and implement scalable, community-based interventions are essential. Experience in household-level production, processing, preservation, value addition, and consumption of diverse, nutrient-dense foods is also needed.

Skills

Nutrition Programme Design, Food Systems Strengthening, Community-Based Interventions, Behavior Change Communication, Partnership Building, Multisectoral Coordination, Data Analysis and Monitoring, Policy Advocacy, Technical Assistance, Programme Implementation, Resource Mobilization, Innovation Scaling

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