Nutrition and Social Inclusion Specialist at Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development

Job Purpose

• The Nutrition and Social Inclusion Specialist will lead the integration of nutrition-sensitive and socially inclusive approaches across all INReMP components. The role focuses on improving dietary diversity, promoting equitable access to programme benefits, and ensuring that women, youth, persons with disabilities (PWDs), Indigenous Peoples (IPs), and other marginalized groups are meaningfully engaged in programme planning, implementation, and decision-making. The Specialist will work closely with technical teams to ensure that interventions contribute to improved nutrition, social equity, and sustainable livelihoods.

Key Responsibilities

Nutrition-Sensitive Approaches

• Design and oversee nutrition-sensitive agricultural interventions, including promotion of nutrient-dense crops, kitchen gardens, and improved post-harvest handling practices.
• Collaborate with Agronomist and Livestock Specialist to integrate nutrition education into farming.
• Conduct nutrition assessments and monitor dietary diversity and food consumption patterns among target households.
• Support development of nutrition-sensitive value chains and facilitate nutrition education campaigns using culturally appropriate behavior change communication (BCC) strategies.

Social Inclusion and Equity Advocacy

• Develop and implement strategies to ensure equitable participation and benefitsharing among women, youth, PWDs, PLWHAs, IPs, and other vulnerable groups.
• Work with Community Development Specialist to address structural barriers to access such as land tenure, financial inclusion, decision-making.
• Ensure that programme guidelines such grants, training and targeting reflect inclusive principles and prioritize marginalized populations.
• Promote use of gender-transformative methodologies such as Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) and youth-sensitive approaches in community engagement and planning.

 Capacity Building and Community Awareness

• Advocate for inclusive and nutrition-sensitive policies with county governments and relevant stakeholders.
• Support the development and dissemination of inclusive training materials and toolkits.
• Contribute to donor reports and programme communications, highlighting crosscutting impacts and innovations.
• Train project staff, county teams, and implementing partners on nutrition-sensitive agriculture, gender equality, disability inclusion, and participatory tools.

Monitoring, Learning, and Reporting

• Collaborate with M&E Specialist to develop and track indicators for nutrition and social inclusion outcomes.
• Document success stories, lessons learned, and best practices to inform adaptive management and knowledge sharing.

 Other Duties

• Undertake any other duties assigned by the NPC.

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, Public Health, Agricultural Sciences, Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Community Development, or a related field from a recognized institution.

Applicable Professional Experience

• Minimum of seven years of progressive experience in nutrition programming and social inclusion, with at least five years in a senior role within GoK/Development
• Partners-funded rural development projects
• Proven expertise in mainstreaming gender, youth, and disability inclusion in agriculture, livelihoods, or natural resource management programmes.
• Strong technical knowledge of nutrition-sensitive agriculture, dietary diversity, and behavior change communication.
• Familiarity with Kenya’s nutrition and social protection frameworks (e.g., National Nutrition Action Plan, Social Protection Policy).
• Experience working with diverse stakeholders including NGOs, government agencies, and community-based organizations.

Competencies and Skills

• Proficiency in participatory methodologies and gender-transformative tools.
• Excellent facilitation, training, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Strong analytical and reporting skills; proficiency in MS Office and qualitative data tools.
• Fluency in English and Kiswahili; knowledge of local languages in target counties is an asset.
• Ability to travel extensively and work in rural and remote settings.
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and community empowerment.