Job Vacancy: Consultant (Nutrition) -UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Consultant (Nutrition) -Multi-Sector Review of Food Assistance in select refugee settings
Consultant (Nutrition) -Multi-Sector Review of Food Assistance in select refugee settings
Organization: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Job Title: Consultant (Nutrition)
Closing date: 27 Oct 2016
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Multi-Sector Review of Food Assistance in select refugee settings –Ethiopia & Kenya
BACKGROUND
Global funding shortages combined with insecurity have dramatically reduced food assistance supplied to refugees in UNHCR’s operations globally. UNHCR’s Public Health Section has conducted two global analyses of the cuts to food assistance (September 2015 and February 2016) to quantify the range and depth of cuts to food assistance across UNHCR’s operations. Over 5 million refugees received food assistance in 33 countries[1] in Africa, the Middle East and Asia as of January 2015. From September 2015 to February 2016, approximately 61% of refugees (3.42 million) across 20 countries suffered a cut to their food assistance or a break in the food pipeline. Food assistance continues to be precarious in a number of countries with the prospect of cuts in additional countries moving into 2017.
Food assistance is being cut in contexts where the nutrition situation is often precarious and it is expected that cuts to food assistance will ultimately have severe impacts on the nutrition situation of refugees. However it is understood that a decline in nutritional status will not be immediate as those affected will employ coping strategies to mitigate nutritional impact. UNHCR is keen to monitor the multi-sectoral impacts of cuts to assistance.
Specific sites in Ethiopia and Kenya that have faced cuts to food assistance have been identified for this project. Some country specific secondary information has been collected[2] though there remain significant gaps in data in both countries.
AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this work is to document the history of food assistance alongside the nutrition, food security, protection and education situation since 2013/2014[3] to inform a multi-sectoral analysis and monitoring system moving forward.
Objectives
- Review and document history of food assistance (from when it was cut) and changes across sectors during this time in collaboration with country teams;
- Interpret findings in collaboration with UNHCR technical and programme staff, partner staff and refugees; and
- Make recommendations for a multi-sectoral monitoring system for food assistance.
ACTIVITIES
- Review documents and identify gaps in data available at site and country level;
- Follow up with UNHCR and partner staff to access additional, relevant data;
- Document the history of the food assistance ration since initial cuts (what was cut when and to whom) across identified refugee sites in the three countries;
- Document any population influx/outflow to the refugee sites of focus;
- Review and chart the nutrition (GAM, SAM, anaemia)[4] and food security[5] (food consumption, household diet diversity, coping strategies) situation since the food cuts across each site;
- Review and chart the protection[6] and education (drop outs, enrolment) situation since the food cuts across each site;
- Conduct focus group discussions and key informant interviews with refugees in identified sites to inform interpretation of findings and perceived impacts of the cuts to food assistance;
- Present findings to UNHCR multi-sectoral team and partners for discussion and interpretation; and
- Propose monitoring framework for multi-sectoral analysis of food cuts moving forward.
Deliverables
- Country report/s documenting the history of the cuts to food assistance, associated changes in other sectors and interpretation of associated impact of the cuts by country
- Details of food assistance over time for each site – if possible for entire country (for uploading into PHS’s Food Assistance Coordination Monitoring tool)
- Synthesis of issues and challenges across contexts (if review in both countries conducted by same person/team)
- Recommendations on how countries can monitor the multi-sectoral impact of changes to food assistance
Timeframe: October to December 2016
For each country
Activity
Number of days
Desk review of existing documents: 3
Key informant interviews (UNHCR capital and sub-office staff, partners): 5
Chart/document food assistance, nutrition, food security, protection, education, population over time: 5
Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, documentation: 6
Presentation to staff and partners – discuss interpretation of findings: 2
Write up report: 3
Internal travel: 3
Total: estimated 27 days/country depending on number of sites visited.**
It is envisaged that this work could be conducted by one or a team of consultants or independent consultants.
Management
The UNHCR Country Office will manage the day to day logistics of the project but the consultant/s will engage with Nutrition and Food Security Officers in Geneva and Nairobi on the technical review of findings, qualitative information, interpretation and analysis.
Required skills/competencies:
- Advanced degree in public health, nutrition or food security related field;
- 10 years’ experience working in emergencies or protracted crises;
- Experience with UNHCR beneficial;
- Documented experience conducting qualitative assessments and programme monitoring;
- Documented strong writing skills;
- Strong data management skills;
- Strong intra-personal skills;
- Strong analytical skills.
- Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Congo Republic, Djibouti, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
- An intern worked on this and prepared an outline and compiled some data on this July/August 2016
- Depending on when cuts to food assistance began
- Available in UNHCR SENS database
- Available in UNHCR SENS database as well as Post Distributing Monitoring (PDM) reports, vulnerability assessments and possible other reports by partners
- Indicators to be identified at country level based on what is currently measured over time
HOW TO APPLY:
Please send your complete CV as well as your daily rate for this work to hqphn@unhcr.org with in subject
“Consultant (Nutrition) -Multi-Sector Review”.