Nutrition and Food Safety Officer at World Health Organization

Program Objectives and Immediate Strategic Objectives

The overall objective of the Nutrition and Food Safety, including Diet and Obesity (NUT) programis to provide leadership and define actions to encourage the adoption, adaptation, implementation and monitoring at the national level of regional and global standards for universal access to regimes healthy and sustainable food for people of all ages in the WHO African Region through effective nutrition measures and services. 

This Program enables Member States to formulate, implement and monitor policies, strategies, guidelines, multisectoral action plans and integrated and evidence-based programs aimed at preventing disease and promoting health. and well-being through access to highly effective interventions at all stages of life. These include the prevention of undernutrition, overweight or obesity, diet-related noncommunicable diseases and foodborne illnesses. In collaboration with the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) unit, the NUT program monitors antimicrobial resistance for food-borne bacteria by facilitating collaboration between the sectors of agriculture, animal health, human health and environment to address the food safety aspects of antimicrobial resistance. 

This program promotes preparedness and response to disease outbreaks or food and nutrition-related health emergencies, including humanitarian crises. It also contributes to the generation and use of data for effective program management and service delivery to address all forms of malnutrition. It promotes effective monitoring, evaluation and implementation research for program strengthening and ensures the promotion of strategic partnerships and integration with other teams within the organization to improve the delivery of people-centered services and with global and regional partners to provide harmonized support to Member States in nutrition and food safety. 

The aim is to enable countries in the WHO African Region to have evidence-based policies and strategies, through effective evaluation and implementation research for program strengthening and ensures the promotion of strategic partnerships and integration with other teams within the organization to improve people-centered service delivery and with global and regional partners to provide harmonized support to Member States on nutrition and food safety. 

The aim is to enable countries in the WHO African Region to have evidence-based policies and strategies, through effective evaluation and implementation research for program strengthening and ensures the promotion of strategic partnerships and integration with other teams within the organization to improve people-centered service delivery and with global and regional partners to provide harmonized support to Member States on nutrition and food safety. 

The aim is to enable countries in the WHO African Region to have evidence-based policies and strategies, through strengthened and resilient health systems to ensure universal access to quality, integrated and people-centered health services, to increase the coverage and quality of interventions, and to create mechanisms to measure the impact of these strategies and interventions.

Responsibilities

Description of tasks

The incumbent will perform the following tasks:

• apply innovative working methods to facilitate collaboration and the establishment of strong links with programs, clusters and partners (WHO collaborating centers, research and educational institutions, regional and subregional economic entities , NGOs, etc.), in order to ensure appropriate, efficient and rapid support to countries, including in emergencies;
• provide technical expertise to strengthen national capacities to develop, implement and monitor evidence-based policies, strategies, action plans and programs that improve people’s access to high-impact interventions. nutrition and food safety impact for promoting lifelong health and well-being;
• establish effective partnerships (within and between designated countries) with other UN entities, civil society organizations and research institutions to help governments develop and implement integrated approaches and multisectoral to improve food safety and reduce all forms of malnutrition;
• provide technical guidance for countries to adapt and integrate essential nutrition actions into health service delivery packages for the care of mothers, children, adolescents, adults and individuals older people, in collaboration with other regional programs that provide lifecycle, disease and health systems oriented services;
• participate in the design, testing and dissemination throughout the WHO African Region of approaches to integrate evidence-based nutrition and food safety content and adapted to the context in initial training programs for physicians, nurses, midwives, dieticians, nutritionists, food scientists and public health specialists;
• help build country capacity in age-appropriate nutritional assessment, prevention and management of wasting, other forms of malnutrition, and food and nutrition-related illnesses in food and nutrition-related settings stable and humanitarian;
• help countries develop and implement food safety guidelines and tools to prevent, assess and manage foodborne risks;
• in the context of emergencies and epidemic outbreaks, provide content on nutrition and food safety and support its integration and implementation as part of the humanitarian response, in collaboration with the cluster in charge of emergency preparedness and response capacities (EPR – health) and partner institutions working in the sectors of food security, nutrition, food safety, water and sanitation, disease control, etc. ;
• identify, document and share experiences, best practices and impact case studies with countries, the Regional Office, other MCATs and partners;
• help establish and strengthen strategic partnerships in designated countries, including by drafting inter-agency proposals for resource mobilization to support nutrition and food safety activities and contributing to joint support for implementation, program monitoring and evaluation;

• support the development of work plans and related budget proposals, as provided for under the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules of WHO; Financial Regulations and accepted procedures in the WHO African Region and ensure the integration of value-for-money assessment, analysis and reporting into all activities implemented implemented;
• Carry out other related responsibilities as assigned, including replacing colleagues and providing assistance as necessary.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

WHO competences

• Promote the position of WHO as an authority in the field of health.
• Move forward in a changing environment.
• Produce results.
• Build and promote partnerships across the Organization and beyond.
• Communicate in a credible and effective manner.
• Respect and promote individual and cultural differences.

Knowledge and functional skills

• In-depth knowledge and skills to provide training in the management of malnutrition with medical complications;
• Proven experience in the field of nutrition in emergency situations;
• An ability to interpret scientific evidence for use in clinical and public health;
• Proven experience in multisectoral action;
• Proven ability to innovate and motivate, guide and strengthen national capacities and partnerships.

Education

Essential  : a postgraduate degree in clinical or public nutrition and related fields, or in food science and technology.

Desirable  :

• A university degree in medicine, public health or in the fields of food and nutrition.

Experience

Essential  :

• At least seven years of experience in managing the development and implementation of national nutrition or food safety programs, including nutrition monitoring and surveillance, particularly in the Region African.
• Proven experience in implementing nutrition actions as part of routine health care services or monitoring and screening for foodborne illness .

Desirable  :

Diverse professional experience, including the private sector, NGOs, other United Nations system agencies or public health-related bodies, is an asset.