Contractor for Interim Support to Nutrition Sector/Cluster Coordination Tender, Niger - 33203663

Procurement Summary

Country : Niger

Summary : Contractor for Interim Support to Nutrition Sector/Cluster Coordination

Deadline : 31 May 2019

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 33203663

Document Ref. No. :

Competition : ICB

Financier : United Nations Secretariat

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND
2, Rue des Oasis, BP: 12 481 Niamey, Niger Phone : +227 20 72 71 00 Fax : +227 20 73 34 68
Niger
Email :niamey@unicef.org
URL :www.unicef.org

Tender Details

Tenders are invited for Niger: Individual Contractor for Interim Support to Nutrition Sector/Cluster Coordination, Niamey, Niger.

1.Background & Purpose The Nutrition Section, UNICEF Niger Office is seeking an individual contractor to provide technical support to the Nutrition Directorate of the MOH in facilitating and coordinating a timely and effective nutrition response. Niger is a landlocked country of 20.7 million people, most of whom live in rural areas (84%). The population is young, with 52% of Nigeriens being under 15. Nearly half of the population is poor (45.1%), despite reductions in the poverty rate over the past decade. The country, which ranked 188/188 on the 2018 Human Development Index, sees its development constrained by several factors: climatic conditions that hinder rural development, vulnerability due to the absence of economic diversification, high population growth, gender equality issues, low levels of literacy and education, and the size and landlocked nature of the country, which obstruct the provision of essential goods and services to the population. In addition, Niger is confronted to recurrent crises. For many years, the country has suffered from chronic food insecurity, and faced food and nutrition crises in 2010 and 2012. It also regularly experiences epidemics, including cholera, as well as floods. Moreover, instability in the region has in recent years led to insecurity and population displacement, especially in the eastern part of the country and at its border with Mali and Burkina Faso. Niger relies strongly on external support provided by technical and financial partners, such as non-refundable aid, budget support and loans. Except for the education sector, budgetary allocations to social sectors remain far below international recommendations or national commitments. For more information, please visit our webpage: https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/niger.html

2.Objective(s) of the consultancy Under the supervision of the Nutrition Section Chief and in collaboration with the UNICEF Nutrition section staff, the Nutrition Directorate and the NGO playing the co-facilitator role, i.e., the Nutrition Technical Group (GTN)/Cluster coordination team, the individual contractor will work toward the specific objectives as stated in this ToR and described below. On behalf of the IASC Humanitarian Coordinator and UNICEF as the lead agency for the IASC Nutrition Cluster and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Nutrition sector/cluster Coordinator will facilitate and coordinate a timely and effective nutrition response through building capacities of national and local institutions to respond to and coordinate emergency and transitional nutrition interventions that are effective and context specific. In addition, with the recent official endorsement of a National Policy for Nutrition Security (PNSN) and it’s multisectoral plan of action for Nutrition, the Nutrition sector/cluster Coordinator will play a key role in steering one of the technical working groups of the PNSN hosted under the President’s Initiative “les Nigériens Nourrissent les Nigériens” (i3N). Niger being a signatory country of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, the Nutrition Technical Working Group animated by the Nutrition sector/cluster Coordinator will foster synergies with and between the different SUN networks under the umbrella of the PNSN governance mechanism and encourage partnerships across various sectors and coordination platform toward Nutrition goals.

3.Specific activities to be completed to achieve the objectives Within the delegated authority and the given organizational set-up, the incumbent may be accountable for all or assigned areas of the following major duties and end results.

Objective 1: To strengthen Nutrition coordination

Support the Nutrition Directorate of the MOPH to maintain and expand partnerships among nutrition stakeholders, and to ensure a functional coordination mechanism for Nutrition through notably facilitation of Technical Working Groups’ meetings, knowledge and information management and sharing and ensure the full participation of current nutrition cluster/sector partners.
Identify additional key partners for the Nutrition Cluster/sector response, considering their respective mandates and program priorities - including government, national and international humanitarian and development organizations as well as national institutions, the private sector, etc. Provide relevant information in order to adequately communicate with donors, NGOs, government and other relevant stakeholders.
Maintain up to date mappings of Who is doing What Where When to identify response gaps and avoid duplication.
Ensure that Nutrition Cluster/sector participants are aware of and up-to-date with relevant policy guidelines, technical standards and relevant commitments that the Government/concerned authorities have undertaken under international human rights law. Ensure that the Nutrition Cluster/sector responses are in line with existing policy guidance, technical standards, and relevant Government human rights legal obligations.
Maintain up-to-date GTN’s online platform and humanitarian response info website Nutrition page content.
Objective 2: To promote and to support governance mechanism that aligns humanitarian and development goals for Nutrition

Support cluster/sector coordination mechanisms at national and sub-national levels including working groups (IMAM, IYCF, Emergency Preparedness, Advocacy, survey/monitoring and evaluation, etc.).
Establish a regular communication with regional coordination bodies for Nutrition and decentralized multisectoral platforms (in collaboration with the GTN/Cluster Co-facilitator) and ensure that their needs are adequately considered.
Secure commitments from Nutrition stakeholders in responding to needs and filling gaps; to ensure full integration of the IASC's agreed priority cross-cutting issues, namely human rights, HIV/AIDS, age, gender mainstreaming and environment, utilization of participatory and community-based approaches while embracing longer term and sustainable Nutrition actions. In line with this, to promote gender equality by ensuring that the needs, contributions and capacities of women and girls as well as men and boys are addressed; and foster mainstreaming of accountability to affected population principles in the Nutrition response.
Promote emergency and lifesaving response actions at times of chocs/stresses while at the same time strengthening the integration of Nutrition into the health system.
Ensure appropriate coordination between all Nutrition partners working both on treatment and prevention of under-nutrition, as well as with national authorities and local structures.
Ensure effective links with other clusters/sectors, especially Health, WASH, and Food Security/Agriculture and Livelihoods.
Represent the interests of the GTN/Nutrition Cluster in discussions with the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) and the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) as well as donors on prioritization, resource mobilization and advocacy. Act as focal point for inquiries on the GTN/Nutrition Cluster's response plans and operations.
Objective 3: Planning and strategy development, advocacy and resources mobilization

Contribute to situation and gap analysis and monitoring of the nutrition situation in collaboration with the UNICEF IMO and the GTN’s sub-working group on Nutrition information/surveillance.
Contribute to the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group’s work of toward humanitarians needs evaluation.
Lead and coordinate the GTN/Cluster’s analysis toward developing the annual Humanitarian Needs Overview document and to define the Humanitarian Response Plan for the Nutrition sector.
Develop/update agreed response strategies and action plans for the Nutrition Cluster/sector and ensuring that these are adequately reflected and aligned to the overall country strategies.
Contribute to resources mobilization for the Nutrition sector notably through facilitation of CERF funds allocation decision and development for CERF proposals.
Draw lessons learned from past activities and revising strategies and action plans accordingly.
Contribute to defining the transition strategy toward strengthened capacity of the Nutrition Directorate to lead and steer an effective sector coordination and for the MoPH and Government of Niger to gradually increase its engagement for acute malnutrition treatment (and allocation of domestic funds for Nutrition).
Identify core advocacy concerns, including resource requirements, and contribute key messages to broader advocacy initiatives. Advocate vis à vis donors to fund Nutrition actors to carry out priority activities, while encouraging Nutrition stakeholders to mobilize resources for their activities through the usual channels. Act as the focal point for reviewing and ensuring quality control for all the Nutrition project submitted for Flash Appeal, CERF and other funding mechanisms.
Objective 4: Monitoring and reporting

Provide an analytical interpretation of best available information in order to benchmark progress of the Nutrition programs over time in collaboration with the UNICEF IMO and ensure regular updating of the RPM system and FTS of OCHA-supported monitoring platforms.
Ensure regular reporting against the Nutrition Cluster/sector indicators of service delivery and support analysis of the Nutrition sector/Cluster in closing gaps and measuring impact of interventions.
Facilitate a process to review Cluster Coordination Performances (CCPM process).
Ensure the GTN’s work done at central level also benefit and trickle down to regional and district levels and ensure adequate knowledge and information management in collaboration with the UNICEF Nutrition Specialist in charge of the IMO role and the Co-facilitator.
4.Specific outputs/products/results (with delivery dates to be defined)

Monthly reports (by the 5th day of every following month).
Outputs as per work assignments and work schedule (such as meetings presentation and minutes; provision of situation update to OCHA; maintenance of 4Ws, of the list of contacts, of the GTN/Cluster online platform and humanitarian response info website; a CCPM report and deliverables linked to the 2020 HNO/HRP process).
End of assignment report including overall recommendations for the GTN/Cluster (tied to the last monthly report 5 days before end of mission)
5.Qualifications and/or specialized knowledge/experience required and desirable for undertaking the assignment

An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, nutritional epidemiology, or another health-related science field.
A minimum of eight years of professional experience in a developing country in one or more of the following areas is required: nutrition, public health, nutrition planning and management, or maternal, infant and child health/nutrition care. Experience in health/nutrition programme/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset Previous experience with multi-sectoral multi-stakeholder program coordination and/or planning is an asset.
Previous experience in collaboration with government counterpart / MoH preferred.
Excellent representation skills and coordination competency.
Confident workshop facilitator and trainer.
Ability to work independently and to meet deadlines.
Demonstrated ability to effectively work with others and communicate in a multicultural environment.
Experience and familiarity of the Niger and Sahel is an asset.
Fluency in English and French.
6.Duration of the assignment 17th June – 30 November 2019 (about 5.5 months) 7.Supervision Chief of Nutrition Section

8.Fees As a general principle, the fees shall follow the “best value for money” principle i.e. achieving the desired outcome at the lowest possible fee. Interested candidates are requested to submit their proposed monthly professional fees in USD to be paid monthly upon approval of the monthly report by the supervisor. The individual contractor is requested to also submit a travel cost proposal from home base to Niger. Please note the air tickets under UNICEF contract shall be re-routable, refundable type (economy class and most direct route). The individual contractor will be responsible for own travel insurance, visa fee and terminal expenses.

9.Travel The individual contractor will also travel to a UNICEF Field Office (to support coordination at sub-national level) at least once during this assignment and possibly attend the annual meeting of the Global Nutrition Cluster.

10.Duty Station and work arrangements The work will be performed in Niamey, Niger at UNICEF office (and partly at the Nutrition Directorate – Ministry of Health) where work space and equipment will be made available.

11.How to Apply Qualified candidates are requested to submit :

P11 form
Updated CV
Cover letter
Diploma from highest education level
P11 form (http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_apply.html)
Candidates are requested to submit an all-inclusive financial offer (Honorarium, daily subsistence, travel, etc.).
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Documents

 Tender Notice