UNICEF contributes to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria with a mandate to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.
Experience5 years
Location Abuja
Background:
- The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, leaving no one behind. In partnership with the government and other stakeholders, UNICEF aims to deliver good quality nutrition services at scale, to build resilience and protect the most vulnerable, particularly during the First 1000 Days of Life, from pregnancy to when a child is two years of age. Currently, Nigeria is off track to achieving the nutrition targets of the World Health Assembly 2025 and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The focus, in keeping with UNICEF Nigeria’s new Country Programme Strategy (2023-2027), is to (i) strengthen the enabling environment, including data, to inform policy and programming; (ii) strengthen systems, especially the health, food and social protection system to deliver high-quality services; and (iii) address social and behavioural practices that influence diets and practices.
- The Child Nutrition and Development programme supports the government to implement high-impact nutrition interventions through the health, food and social protection systems in an integrated fashion and at scale in both emergency and development contexts. Over the years, coverage and scale of interventions such as micronutrient supplementation for children and pregnant women, treatment of acute malnutrition, and nutrition counselling have increased significantly. Currently, UNICEF is supporting the government to roll out the Nigeria Health Logistics Management Information System (NHLMIS) as well as the District Health Information Management System (DHIS 2) for routine data collection.
How can you make a difference?
UNICEF seeks to hire a systems strengthening consultant to support the implementation of key activities as part of the acceleration plan for 2025. This will ensure the implementation of key interventions under the systems strengthening output.
Under the overall guidance of the Nutrition Manager – System Strengthening Abuja, the consultant will,
- Provide sound technical support for the integration and delivery of nutrition services (prevention and treatment) at the national and sub-national levels.
- Strengthen national capacity for quantification, forecasting, delivery and reporting of nutrition commodities at the national and sub-national level.
- Provide support to the nutrition programme through efficient management of organizational resources and monitoring of results
Expected Results:
The consultant will contribute to the following system strengthening results;
- Draft and finalize MNCHW Round 1 Report (including data validation)
- Round 2 of Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) conducted across all 36+1 states, with improved integration (bundling of services)
- Multiple micronutrient supplements are incorporated into national and state-level implementation plans and state annual operational plans.
- At least ten states have the capacity and use the Nigeria Health Logistics Management Information System to report on nutrition commodities.
- DHIS-2 campaign module deployed at the national level and all 36 states + FCT.
Scope of work
- The consultant will undertake key activities as outlined below (but not be limited by them).
Round 2 of Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) conducted across all 36+1 states, with improved integration (bundling of services)
- Facilitate the delivery of Vitamin A Capsules (VAC) and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) commodities to all states of the federation.
- Facilitate the implementation of the 2025 round II bi-annual MNCHW.
- Initiate the procurement and freight of Vitamin A Capsules
- Track VAC/MMS commodities for round II MNCHW implementation.
- Review the overall monitoring plan and make recommendations for MNCHW round II.
Multiple micronutrient supplements are incorporated into national and state-level implementation plans and state annual operational plans.
- Support the finalization process of the national MMS scale-up road map development and costing of MMS.
- Facilitate state-level roadmap domestication and costing with a focus on states with existing resources.
- Support the capacity strengthening of health workers on MMS integration and service delivery.
At least ten states have the capacity and use the Nigeria Health Logistics Management Information System to report on nutrition commodities.
- Facilitate NHLIMS operational needs assessment and support addressing the gaps to enhance operationalization.
- Facilitate national forecasting and quantification exercise for nutrition commodities (Vitamin A capsule, MMS, Deworming, RUTF, etc) for the year 2026.
DHIS-2 campaign module deployed at the national level and all 36 states + FCT.
- Facilitate reporting of nutrition service delivery (Campaign and Routine) through DHIS-2
- Facilitate the finalization and dissemination of revised NHIMS tools to the sub-national level.
- Lead the coordination of partners to support the government in the printing and dissemination of the revised NHLIMS.
Deliverables and Timeline
Deliverable 1 (August – September 2025)
- MNCHW round 1 data validation conducted.
- MMS costed roadmap finalized.
- At least five targeted states have developed their costed road map and implementation plans.
- Second round distribution of MMS and VACs completed.
Deliverable 2 (October-November 2025)
- Third-party and federal monitors recruited, trained and deployed for MNCHW round 2.
- Monitoring of MNCHW conducted using the online platform and DHIS 2.
- NHLMIS rolled out in at least ten targeted states.
Deliverable 3 (December 2025 – January 2026)
- Needs assessment for IT equipment conducted and equipment procured.
- National forecasting and quantification exercise for nutrition commodities done.
- Government staff trained on the NLMIS
Deliverable 4 (February – March 2026)
- MNCHW round 2 data validation conducted.
- Ten states using the NLHMIS for supply monitoring.
- End of assignment report submitted.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
Education:
- A bachelor’s degree in public health nutrition/public health or project management or any field relevant to global health
Experience:
- A minimum of five years’ progressively responsible professional work experience relevant to implementation of national/international development programmes.
- Experience working in public health/food security/nutrition-related activities.
- Experience identifying and defining nutrition issues/problems within a country.
- Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
- Experience in health/nutrition program/project development, especially within a UN system agency or organization, is an asset.
- Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and Word
- Experience in Nigeria’s Health System
- Experience in project management
- A master’s degree will be an advantage.
Method of Application
Interested and qualified? Go to UNICEF on jobs.unicef.org to apply
