Nutrition & Livelihood - Technical Lead

Overview

With 75 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Join our 33,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Employee Contract Type

Local - Fixed Term Employee (Fixed Term)

Job Description

The Nutrition and Livelihood Technical Lead provides sector-specific technical leadership, thought leadership, donor engagement, and resource acquisition to position World Vision Ethiopia (WVE) as a partner of choice for high-impact programming.

Core Responsibilities

• Donor Engagement: Lead donor engagement and drive resource acquisition for the sector.
• Team Leadership: Foster a collaborative team environment, providing mentorship and supporting professional development for staff.
• Capacity Building: Support and mentor local institutions and smaller NGOs to enhance their capabilities.
• Resource Stewardship: Enforce accountability by ensuring efficient resource utilization.
• Technical Guidance: Provide strategic technical guidance to ensure programs are evidence-based and contextually relevant.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Collaborate with MEAL teams to define sector-specific indicators.
• Engagement with Government: Represent WVE in national technical working groups and stakeholder meetings.
• Collaboration with Global Teams: Actively engage with WVI Global and Regional Sector Communities of Practice.

Key Functions

• Resource Mobilisation: Lead technical input for proposals and donor engagement.
• Sector Strategy: Lead the development and periodic review of the sector strategy.
• Program Quality Assurance: Provide ongoing technical coaching and mentoring to project staff.
• Field Support: Conduct regular field visits to monitor technical quality.
• Learning and Adaptation: Document and share lessons learned and promising practices.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Master’s degree in nutrition, Public Health, Food Security, Agricultural Economics, Rural Development, Livelihoods, or other related fields.
• Bachelor's degree with significant relevant professional experience may be considered.

Training & Professional Development

Specialized training in:

• Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM/IMAM).
• Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and Maternal, Infant, Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN).
• Food security and livelihoods programming (e.g., value chains, market systems, resilience).
• Cash and voucher programming for nutrition and livelihoods.
• Climate-smart agriculture, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and resilience building.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) for nutrition and livelihoods programs.
• Knowledge on climate change and land restoration practices.

Certifications (preferred/advantageous)

• Certification in CMAM/IMAM and IYCF programming.
• Certification in Climate change, land restoration, Food Security, and Livelihoods in Emergencies (e.g., FAO/WFP/INGO recognized training).
• Certification in Gender, Disability, and Social Inclusion in nutrition and livelihoods.
• Safeguarding/Child Protection certification.

Required Professional Experience

• Minimum 7 years’ experience in technical leadership roles within international development or humanitarian contexts.
• Proven track record in resource mobilization and donor engagement, with experience leading technical input for large, competitive proposals.
• Demonstrated expertise in technical strategy development, program quality assurance, and evidence-based programming.
• Strong external representation and negotiation skills with donors, government, and global networks.
• Excellent leadership, people management, and communication skills.
• Strong understanding of Ethiopian policies, strategies, and regulatory requirements.
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills, with the ability to motivate and manage diverse teams.
• Strong report writing, analytical, and presentation skills in English.

Required Language(s)

• Amharic
• English

Required Travel and/or Work Environment Accommodations

• Based in Addis Ababa or project location, with frequent travel to field offices and project sites.
• Regular external engagement with donors, government, UN agencies, and INGO consortia.
• Willingness to travel internationally as required.
• Field conditions may include challenging terrains, limited infrastructure, and security-sensitive areas.
• Extended hours may be required during donor submissions, evaluations, or emergency responses.
• Role requires strong representation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills in diverse settings.

Preferred Experience, Knowledge and/or Key Competencies

• Be Safe and Resilient
• Build Relationships
• Learn and Develop
• Partner and Collaborate
• Deliver Results
• Be Accountable
• Improve and Innovate
• Embrace Change
• Proven track record of securing and managing large-scale donor funding (bilateral, multilateral, foundations, corporates, and private donors).
• Demonstrated success in working collaboratively with Resource Acquisition and Management (RAM) teams to design and win complex, multi-sectoral proposals.
• Experience representing an organization at high-level donor forums, technical working groups, and multi-stakeholder platforms.
• Previous experience leading technical teams across multiple sectors (Health & Nutrition, WASH, Education, Livelihoods, Child Protection,

Skills Required:

• Agricultural / Studies
• Economics / Statistics
• Food / Technology / Science / Engineering
• Health / Medical
• Social / Science / Project / Management / Development