National Consultant to support capacity building on nutrition specific interventions

The consultant will strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Health in Lao PDR to plan, implement, monitor, and report on nutrition interventions through the health system. The role involves coordination with multiple health departments and providing technical assistance for nutrition programmes including MIYCN, MMS, IMAM, and salt iodization.

Responsibilities

• Strengthen institutional capacity of Ministry of Health departments related to nutrition interventions.
• Facilitate stakeholder coordination and support multisectoral coordination mechanisms.
• Support implementation and monitoring of key nutrition interventions including MIYCN, MMS, IMAM, and salt iodization.
• Provide technical assistance for rollout of priority nutrition initiatives.
• Work closely with Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion, Food and Drug Department, Mother and Child Health Centre, Centre of Nutrition, Department of Health Care and Rehabilitation, and other relevant departments.
• Enhance coordination and support evidence-based programming for nutrition services and interventions.
• Contribute to effective delivery of nutrition services through the health system.

Requirements

• Bachelor`s university degree in medicine, nutrition, public health or a related field.
• At least 10 years of proven experience of working with government health system and good understanding of nutrition specific interventions in the Lao context.
• Demonstrated knowledge and practical experience in the implementation of nutrition-specific preventive programmes, particularly Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and micronutrient supplementation programmes.
• Proven experience working with development partners in the nutrition sector.
• Experience in providing technical assistance, capacity building, training, and supportive supervision for nutrition programmes.
• Experience working with provincial and district health authorities and conducting field monitoring, supportive supervision, and programme implementation activities.
• Experience in stakeholder coordination, facilitation of technical working groups, and organization of consultations, workshops, and training events.
• Familiar with innovative and technology-based applications to monitor nutrition programmes (optional).
• Strong understanding of government systems, internal processes, and administrative procedures related to the planning, implementation, coordination, and monitoring of nutrition programmes (optional).
• In depth understanding of nutrition programming, namely the implementation and monitoring of nutrition sensitive interventions (optional).
• Familiarity with national nutrition policies, strategies, and coordination mechanisms in Lao PDR (optional).
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple tasks, and maintain effective working relationships with government counterparts and partners (optional).
• Excellent Lao language oral and written.
• Working knowledge of English.
• Previous experience working with UNICEF, UN agencies, international organizations, or development partners in nutrition, maternal and child health, or public health programmes (desirable).
• Experience in supporting the development, adaptation, and rollout of nutrition guidelines, training packages, and capacity-building initiatives (desirable).
• Knowledge of key nutrition interventions, including IYCF, IMAM, MMS, Vitamin A supplementation, and Universal Salt Iodization (USI) (desirable).
• Previous experience in monitoring and implementation of the Breast-milk Substitutes (BMS) Code would be an asset (desirable).

Skills

• Nutrition Sensitive Interventions
• Infant and Young Child Feeding
• Micronutrient supplementation
• Nutrition Program Implementation
• Technical assistance in nutrition
• Capacity Building in Nutrition
• Supportive Supervision
• Field Monitoring
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Facilitation of technical working groups
• Organization of training events
• Government health system knowledge
• Nutrition Programme Monitoring
• Development Partner Engagement
• Nutrition guideline development
• Training package adaptation
• Breast-milk Substitutes Code monitoring
• Public Health Nutrition
• Lao language proficiency

Languages

Lao, English