Nutrition Associate Position Open at UNHCR

Position Title: Nutrition Associate

Employer: UNHCR

Employment: Full-Time | Contract

Place of Work: Bokh - Ethiopia

Posted date: 9 hours ago

Deadline: October, 03/2025 (13 days left)

Terms of Reference

General Background and Operational Context – Ethiopia

• Ethiopia, situated in the Horn of Africa, faces multifaceted humanitarian challenges stemming from internal conflicts, climate shocks, and regional instability. As of 2025, it hosts over 1 million refugees mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan, ranking as the second-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa.
• The country is highly vulnerable to climate change, with displaced people and host communities experiencing frontline impacts of rising temperatures. Research shows that climate change will heavily affect human health and global healthcare systems. Displacement, health, and climate are deeply interconnected, highlighting the urgent need to strengthen Ethiopia’s overstretched health services while minimizing environmental harm caused by the health sector and humanitarian response.
• The growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) poses a significant challenge due to limited capacity for prevention and management within both national and humanitarian health systems. Currently, donor funding for NCDs accounts for only 1-2% of the total health development assistance, with humanitarian health responses focusing mainly on communicable diseases and acute emergencies.
• Ethiopia maintains an open-door policy for refugees and asylum seekers, though refugee management remains encampment-based with limited access to essential services and notable public health needs. The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan cites 21.4 million people requiring humanitarian aid, including 4.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) driven by conflict and climate-related droughts and floods.
• UNHCR’s 2025–2029 multi-year strategy prioritizes inclusion into national systems, climate action, and sustainable programming aligned with Ethiopia’s Global Refugee Forum commitments. Public health programming is foundational, aiming to strengthen primary health care, NCD management, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and nutrition for refugees and host populations.
• The Nutrition and Food Security Associate supports UNHCR efforts in ensuring that international standards are met to protect and correct nutritional status and minimise avoidable morbidity and mortality among affected populations of concern (POC) in the country.
• UNHCR prioritizes improving refugee inclusion within national frameworks, including health insurance and social protection programs. This collaboration offers an opportunity to expand services for refugees and host communities living with NCDs, promoting sustainable health and nutrition interventions that focus on prevention, slowing disease progression, and treatment in line with nutrition and clinical dietetics guidelines.
• Ethiopia is at a pivotal moment concerning durable solutions, with progress at national and local levels toward policies fostering refugee inclusion and a ‘solutions from the onset’ approach to emergencies. This includes reinforcing national services such as health to serve both refugees and host communities. Support for this transition is strong, aligning with responsibility-sharing principles in the Global Compact on Refugees. However, recent funding cuts by major donors affecting Ethiopia, the broader region, UNHCR, and the humanitarian-development sectors pose uncertain challenges.
• UNHCR is launching a new initiative to strengthen NCD care for refugees and host communities in Ethiopia. Partnering with Novo Nordisk A/S (NNAS), the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF), and the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF), this initiative aims to tackle the growing NCD burden sustainably and in a climate-resilient way.

The initiative’s focus areas include:

• The integrated approach to addressing the nutritional challenges among NCD patients.
• Developing context-specific nutrition guidelines to empower healthcare staff and community workers to provide nutrition information and counseling to refugees and host communities with NCDs.
• Supporting the shift from parallel humanitarian health services to inclusive national health systems.
• Promoting environmentally sustainable healthcare infrastructure and supply chains.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment

The Nutrition and Food Security Associate supports UNHCR efforts in ensuring that international standards are met to protect and correct nutritional status and minimise avoidable morbidity and mortality among affected populations of concern (POC) in the country.

The incumbent provides timely technical support to UNHCR senior management and partners on nutrition and food security programming in line with global and national technical standards, supports nutrition and food security monitoring and assessments. The Nutrition and Food Security Associate normally reports to a more senior Programme Nutrition and Food Security staff.

Standard Job Description

• Nutrition and Food Security Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships

• The Nutrition and Food Security Associate supports UNHCR efforts in ensuring that international standards are met to protect and correct nutritional status and minimise avoidable morbidity and mortality among affected populations of concern (POC) in the country.
• The incumbent provides timely technical support to UNHCR senior management and partners on nutrition and food security programming in line with global and national technical standards, supports nutrition and food security monitoring and assessments.
• The Nutrition and Food Security Associate normally reports to a more senior Programme, Public Health, Nutrition and Food Security staff.
• All UNHCR staff members are accountable for performing their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties -

• Support the design and implementation of nutrition and food security programmes based on up-to-date assessment and identification of needs in support of national health systems.
• Support the planning and implementation of UNHCR Standardized Expanded Nutrition Surveys, joint food security assessments with WFP and partners.
• Support staff and partners to implement the Health Information Systems, SENS data base, Post Distribution Monitoring.
• Analyse and interpret related nutrition, food security and health data for reporting and advocacy and support the exchange and analysis of information on nutrition and food security at the national level with government and other partners.
• Provide technical assistance on nutrition and food security to UNHCR's staff and partners.
• Advise on matters related to procurement of sector-related materials and equipment, and regular update on new development and specifications of such items.- Work with stakeholders, including UN agencies, NGOs, Ministries of Health and academic institutions in the development of Nutrition and food security plans associated with refugee movements (including in repatriation programmes).
• Maintain and update contingency plans for potential outbreaks, refugee and returnee movements.- Advocate with government and partners for refugees, returnees and other POC's access to local public health and nutrition services as well as for their inclusion as a specific group in government policies, plans and social protection programmes.
• Undertake and/or support capacity strengthening of UNHCR and its implementing partners to ensure the technical integrity of nutrition and food security programmes in a co-ordinated, multi-sectoral way.
• Ensure close coordination with other humanitarian actors involved in nutrition, food security and related areas.
• Undertake regular missions to camps in order to support, monitor and evaluate the implementation of nutrition activities to ensure quality services.
• Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision-making is based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

• For G6 - 3 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education

• Not applicable.

Certificates and/or Licenses

• Public Health; Nutrition;
• Food Security;
• (Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)Relevant Job Experience

Essential

• Knowledge and experience in working in the area of nutrition (including Community Management of Acute Malnutrition) and food security with UNHCR or partners.
• Proven technical expertise in the area of nutrition and food security assessments and programme design.
• Experience in the collection and use of routine health and nutrition monitoring data.
• Analytical and creative thinking abilities with a solutions-oriented approach. Ability to provide formal and informal technical training to partner staff.
• Strong communication skills both verbal and in writing.
• Proficiency in computer software such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

Desirable

• Experience in multi-sectoral nutrition programming, including understanding and experience in public health, WASH, agriculture and cash programming.

Functional Skills

• IT-Computer Literacy
• NU- Nutrition
• Nu-Food Supplements, Smart Methodology, CMAM, IYCF Voucher Cash Transfer
• NU-Nutrition Treatment & Prevention of Micronutrient Deficiencies and Anaemia
• PG-Programme Management (programme cycles and reporting standards)
• (Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements

For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.

For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.