Senior Regional Nutrition Specialist - USAID

The United States Agency for International Development’s Regional Mission for East Africa (USAID/EA) seeks to fill the position of Senior Regional Nutrition Specialist for its Regional Health & HIV/AIDS (RHH) Office.

The incumbent will be one of a team of senior staff providing technical assistance on health and HIV/AIDS technical and program issues in the region.

The primary duties will be to:

1) provide broad expertise on nutrition and food security in support of USAID/EA Mission’s nutrition programming, as part of the overall objectives of USAID, including the Global Health and Feed the Future Initiatives;

2) work collaboratively across various offices ofthe USAID/EA Mission, including health, agriculture, economic growth and humanitarian assistance; provide strategic leadership in building capacity among U.S. Government (USG) staff in the region on nutrition programming and integration; identify and provide targeted technical assistance to ministries of health, ministries of agriculture, African-led regional institutions, and other regional and national partners to strengthen management and oversight of nutrition resources; and advocate for best practices and facilitate the sharing of experience within the region;

3) establish and maintain USG, donor and partner collaboration in the area of nutrition;

4) provide technical advice, data analysis and reporting, and managerial oversight, including monitoring and evaluation, to support the implementation of nutrition components in selected programs as an Activity Manager or as a Contracting or Agreement Officer Technical Representative.

Applicant should be a Kenyan citizen.

Required Qualification:

Any applicant that does not meet the minimum requirements stated below will not be evaluated.

Only short listed applicants will be contacted.

If you have not been contacted within one month from the closing date of advertisement, please consider your application unsuccessful.

Education: A Masters degree in a relevant discipline such as public policy, public health, or other field related to nutrition is required.

Experience (40%): Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in design, implementation and management of nutrition and health programs in developing countries. Demonstrated experience with inter-sectoral coordination and advocacy activities. International experience working with the USG, USAID/Washington and Missions, host country governments, cooperating agencies, private voluntary organizations, and the private sector.

Knowledge (40%): Expert knowledge of current public health nutrition standards and evidence-based practices. In-depth knowledge of the concepts, principles and practices employed in nutrition and food security development programs by the USG or international organizations. Knowledge of sound management procedures, including financial management, is essential.

Skills and Abilities (20%): The incumbent should have the ability to develop strategies and detailed implementation plans for nutrition and related health and agriculture elements under the USAID/EA Operational Plan, and work with government officials to strengthen nutrition in the regional health agenda.

The incumbent requires proficient analytical skills that demonstrate an understanding of current nutrition policies, priorities and issues. He/She should have the skills necessary to assure that nutrition activities are implemented in a timely and quality manner; ensure the development of evaluation plans and utilization of evaluation findings; and, prepare the nutrition-related sections of the Mission’s annual reports.

The incumbent should have strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to work well and communicate with diverse teams. The incumbent requires maturity, ingenuity and originality to interpret strategy and to analyze and present nutrition information.

Short listed candidates will be requested to submit a writing sample demonstrating technical writing skills.

Those fulfilling the requirements of the position should submit their application together with detailed Curriculum Vitae and all relevant attachments to the following address:

The Human Resource Office
United Sates Agency for International Development
P.O. Box 629, Village Market, 00621,
Nairobi, Kenya

Re: Senior Regional Nutrition Specialist

Application must reach the USAID HR office by COB July 27, 2011