National Maternal Nutrition Consultant

The consultant will review existing health and nutrition policies and strategies to adopt the essential maternal nutrition package within primary health services, develop training packages for health workers, and strengthen maternal nutrition service delivery platforms. The role includes capacity building, data system strengthening, and coordination with government and partners to improve maternal and adolescent nutrition services in Somalia.

Responsibilities

• Review existing health and nutrition policies, strategies and guidelines for adoption of the essential maternal nutrition package within the Essential Primary Health Services
• Develop maternal nutrition training package for health workers including job aids
• Strengthen existing delivery platforms for maternal nutrition and health service focusing on MMS/IFA and MNP programming, anemia prevention and control
• Capacity building of health workers and partners
• Establish and strengthen maternal nutrition screening, weight gain monitoring, nutrition education, diet counselling, SBCC and referrals
• Supply planning and needs‑based release, SBC rollout
• Data systems strengthening including DHIS2/HMIS integration and data quality assessments
• Coordinate with FMoH/MoH, clusters, and partners to improve quality, coverage, and adherence of maternal and adolescent nutrition services across the country

Requirements

• Master’s degree in public health, Nutrition, or related field
• 4–8 years’ experience in development and review of nutrition policy and programs, and in design and development of training curriculum/packages for maternal and child health and nutrition
• Experience in capacity building, training and skill development in maternal adolescent and child health and nutrition areas within RMNCAH with experience in humanitarian settings
• Excellent written/spoken English
• Ability to travel within Somalia as security permits
• Knowledge of Policy and Legal Framework for health and nutrition in Somalia
• Experience in strengthening integration of the Essential Maternal Nutrition Package into the Essential Package of Health Services (EPHS)
• Proven experience of Capacity Development and Service Delivery with Integration of Multisystem, mainly health, social protection/cash transfer and livelihoods
• Strong experience in Maternal nutrition programming, knowledge of current WHO recommendations on maternal nutrition and micronutrient supplementation (e.g., MMS, IFA, BEP)
• Solid understanding of Anemia prevention and control strategies, Maternal nutrition and diet counselling and assessments of anemia and weight gain monitoring, Screening and Referrals of PBW to tailored counselling, supplementary feeding/Balanced Energy Protein, Cash transfer, livelihood and Community‑based nutrition approaches
• Strong skills in capacity building, supportive supervision, and developing training materials
• Proven experience in programme planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation
• Knowledge on integration of maternal nutrition across ANC, PHC, community health, and humanitarian response programme
• Excellent analytical, writing, and reporting skills
• Strong interpersonal and coordination abilities with government, UN, and partners
• Desirable: Experience with DHIS2, national HMIS tools, data quality assessments, and dashboard development
• Desirable: Familiarity with Somalia’s Health and Nutrition sector, including FMoH/MoH structures, Cluster coordination, and SUN platforms
• Desirable: Understanding of SBCC (Social and Behaviour Change Communication) for maternal nutrition
• Desirable: Knowledge of supply chain consideration for nutrition commodities and effective stock monitoring to ensure uninterrupted service delivery

Skills

• Nutrition Policy
• Training Curriculum Development
• Capacity Building
• Maternal Nutrition Programming
• Micronutrient supplementation
• Anemia Prevention Strategies
• Maternal Nutrition Counseling
• Programme Planning
• Programme Implementation
• Programme Monitoring and Evaluation
• Integration of Nutrition Services
• Supportive Supervision
• Data Quality Assurance
• DHIS2 Knowledge
• Health Management Information Systems
• Stakeholder Coordination
• Social Protection Integration
• Community-Based Nutrition Activities
• Social and Behaviour Change Communication
• Supply Chain Management

Languages

English