Project Officer-Nutrition

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For nearly 60 years, CRS has taken the lead in responding to natural and man-made disasters affecting Ethiopia's most vulnerable communities. Moving beyond emergency response, CRS' disaster mitigation and recovery projects in drought and flood-prone areas have rebuilt individual and community assets through non-food aid in the form of agriculture, livestock, health, nutrition, and water and sanitation assistance. CRS's humanitarian work in Ethiopia also provides livelihoods support to farmers and entrepreneurs and promotes equality and inclusion. 

Position: Project Officer – Nutrition 

Job Grade: 7

Duty Station: Addis Ababa

Required number: 1

Employment term: Definite term (i.e. up to August 31, 2027)

Application deadline: September 12, 2024

Job Summary: 

The Nutrition Project Officer is responsible for the planning, implementing, and monitoring of nutrition activities. This role includes data collection, analysis, and reporting related to nutrition programs, as well as ensuring effective implementation of nutrition interventions and providing support for the overall implementation of the IYCF-E initiatives with the JEOP emergency nutrition response efforts. The position will assist consortium partners in applying IYCF-E approaches for all pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and caregivers of children under five years (CU5) in JEOP emergency nutrition response Woredas. With the direct supervision of the JEOP Nutrition Program Manager, s/he will support partner technical teams by providing regular supportive supervision, monitoring, and coaching to health professionals. They will also be responsible for ensuring timely reporting and offering support to communities regarding any nutrition-related activities in target Woredas. The individual will implement effective systems and processes that promote high-quality programming, furthering Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) mission to aid the poor and vulnerable. His/her technical skills and knowledge will ensure that the team continuously works towards improving the impact of emergency nutrition interventions within the JEOP’s nutrition programming.

Roles and Key Responsibilities: 

• Oversee the development and execution of nutrition programs in collaboration with CMAM technical advisor and implementing partners

• Ensure quality of services (screening, treatment of SAM without complication, referrals, and IYCF-E) provided at health facilities through regular monitoring.

• Along with other partner staff, conduct regular follow-up site visits to provide support for quality intervention implementation.

• Ensure adequate availability of Therapeutic food supplies and ensure stock is pre-positioned as planned by discussing with consortium partners and logistics.

• Ensure proper documentation and reporting of the stock distributed through OPD/OTP/Outreach activities.
• Coordinate with logistics to ensure proper stock prepositioning, management, and appropriate storage.
• Produce maps, charts, and infographics to convey nutritional data effectively.
• Support program managers in producing accurate reports during updates on nutritional situations. 
• Provide technical support on the overall implementation of the IYCF-E interventions in the JEOP emergency nutrition response Woredas.
• Provide technical support in collaboration with CMAM technical advisor and implementing partners to ensure that all the target project participants benefit from IYCF-E community-level interventions including the use of PD/Hearth and CCFLS to prevent malnutrition and address behavior issues around nutrition practices. 
• The nutrition program officer collaborates with the meal team to monitor project activities effectively. This includes prepare monitoring reports, sharing lessons learned and conducting filed visits for oversight purpose
• Provide technical support to HF and partner staff on the establishment and activation of breastfeeding corners at all service delivery points offering CMAM services for IYCF-E promotion. 
• Liaise with woreda health office and health facilities and ensure the quality of nutrition capacity-building activities is technically sound, aligned with the proposed implementation plan, and adhered to standard guidelines and maintain data base report of trained health Wokers and HDAs 
• Perform any other duties assigned by line manger 

Qualifications 

• BSc degree in Health, Nursing, Nutrition, or Public Health required.

• Minimum of three years relevant work experience with progressive responsibilities, ideally with an international NGO

• Experience in managing nutrition programs or related fields.

• Strong analytical skills with proficiency in data management tools.
• Ability to communicate effectively with various stakeholders and consortium partners. 

• Knowledge of technical principles and concepts in IYCF-E, CMAM, and SBC. General knowledge of other related disciplines to ensure a proper cross-sectoral approach.

• Experience in conducting assessments and an understanding of nutritional data and information systems.

• Knowledge and experience of capacity strengthening and SBC.

• Experience with program monitoring evaluation and analysis.

• Experience and skills in networking and relations with peer organizations, and faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.

• Proven capacity to supervise, train, and coach staff.
• Ability and willingness to frequently travel and stay in the field.

Required Languages - Proficiency in spoken and written English and Local language. 

Travel - 80% of travel to communities and health facilities is required. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities  

• Knowledge, training, and experience in IYCF-E and CMAM and community mobilization/BCC

• Strong relationship management skills with the ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings.

• Good technical writing skills

• Presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills

• Proactive, resourceful, and results-oriented

Preferred Qualifications 

• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, and knowledge-sharing networks.

Agency REDI Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and are used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results. 

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s actions.
• Acts with Integrity - Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission.  Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust - Shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

How To Apply

If you are ready to take on this rewarding opportunity and make a difference in the lives of others, you may fill out the application form through this link:https://form.jotform.com/242460653218555and attach your up-to-date CV on/before the application deadline of August 29, 2024. You will be contacted only if selected for a written exam/interview. Phone solicitations will not be accepted. These job opportunities are open to Ethiopian nationals only