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Terms of Reference
- Purpose of the assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to appoint a Nutrition Specialist and Coordinator to support the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) in Lebanon, under the Minister’s office with the primary objective of coordinating efforts among three key departments within MOPH - the mother and Child Department, the Primary Health Care Department, and the Preventive Health Care Department to strengthen the coordination in implementation of the national nutrition strategy and UNICEF Nutrition and child development Rolling Workplan in the country. The incumbent will also take the lead on the nutrition sector affairs within MOPH, ensuring effective coordination with the Nutrition Sector team co-led by UNICEF to coordinate the implementation of Lebanon Response Plan for nutrition, with a strong focus on the well-being of infants, children, school age children, adolescents, and pregnant/lactating women. Furthermore, the Nutrition Specialist will advocate raising the profile of nutrition internally at the Minister’s office, but he/ she will support the cross-sectoral advocacy with other engaged ministries, parliament, municipalities, donors, embassies, and relevant stakeholders for the high positioning of the nutrition in their agendas and enforcement of Lebanese Law 47/2008, which adopts all provisions of the International Code for Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes
- Background
Lebanon is experiencing a growing triple burden of malnutrition (stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity) among children and adolescents and high rates of undernutrition among women. The prevalence of stunting for children aged 6–59 months is 7% nationally,[1] compared with 25% among Syrian refugees in informal settlements,[2] an increase from 17% in 2013.
Despite massive food assistance programs in the country, still 1 out of 4 children under the age of five experience food poverty in Lebanon. These children are not fed the minimum diverse diet they need to grow and develop to their full potential, meaning they are fed extremely poor diets that include at most only four food groups. Even more troubling, more than 2 in 10 children under five – or 85,000 children – live in and suffer from severe food poverty, meaning they are fed extremely poor diets that include at most two food groups, often cereal and some milk, which prevents them from reaching their full growth and development potential. The most vulnerable families face difficulties to access even PHC services, including nutrition services.
The provision of childcare service to support parents with early stimulation and responsive caregiving is dominated by private providers (80%), services are unevenly distributed and affordability of Early Childhood Development (ECD) services has also become a major concern since the economic crisis in 2019. In 2021, families with payment difficulties doubled, reaching 41%.
This position will work closely work under the supervision of Minister’s office to facilitate, coordinate and ensure high level leadership on National Nutrition Strategy, the LRP nutrition response and UNICEF Rolling Work Plan on Nutrition and child development and across different departments in coordination with the Ministers advisors.
Despite massive food assistance programs in the country, still 1 out of 4 children under the age of five experience food poverty in Lebanon. These children are not fed the minimum diverse diet they need to grow and develop to their full potential, meaning they are fed extremely poor diets that include at most only four food groups. Even more troubling, more than 2 in 10 children under five – or 85,000 children – live in and suffer from severe food poverty, meaning they are fed extremely poor diets that include at most two food groups, often cereal and some milk, which prevents them from reaching their full growth and development potential. The most vulnerable families face difficulties to access even PHC services, including nutrition services.
The provision of childcare service to support parents with early stimulation and responsive caregiving is dominated by private providers (80%), services are unevenly distributed and affordability of Early Childhood Development (ECD) services has also become a major concern since the economic crisis in 2019. In 2021, families with payment difficulties doubled, reaching 41%.
This position will work closely work under the supervision of Minister’s office to facilitate, coordinate and ensure high level leadership on National Nutrition Strategy, the LRP nutrition response and UNICEF Rolling Work Plan on Nutrition and child development and across different departments in coordination with the Ministers advisors.
- Planned timelines
The consultant will be contracted on a full-time basis for an expected period of 12 months.
- Work to be performed
Output 1:
Coordination implementation of National Nutrition Strategy and aligned UNICEF Nutrition and Child development program: The specialist will coordinate and facilitate the efforts of multiple MOPH Departments (Mother and Child Department, the Primary Health Care Department, and the Preventive Health Care Department) to ensure coordinated, collaborative, complementary and timely implementation of National Nutrition Strategy and UNICEF’s Nutrition and Child development program (Rolling Workplan) within MOPH. This will involve regular meetings, joint planning, and the development of a unified approach to addressing nutrition-related challenges. The Nutrition Specialist is assigned the task of facilitating this coordination. Their role is to act as a liaison or a central point of contact for matters related to nutrition between UNICEF and MOPH.
Output 2:
Co-coordinating the Nutrition Sector: The incumbent will take a co-coordinator role in the nutrition sector within MOPH. This includes actively participating/ co-leading the nutrition sector coordination jointly with UNICEF and ACF and including development, monitoring an coordinating the implementation of national nutrition response plan.
The Specialist will ensure that these initiatives are effectively executed and monitored to achieve desired outcomes through interdepartmental collaboration between the relevant departments within MOPH to create holistic approach to Nutrition, co-organize regular nutrition sector coordination and other relevant review meetings to assess progress, and address challenges and adapt nutrition initiatives/ response as needed, promote the sharing of best practices and lessons learned from nutrition initiatives within MOPH and with external partners, joint planning to create comprehensive plans that consider the nutritional and child development needs of mothers, children, and adolescents. This approach ensures that different aspects of healthcare are integrated into the planning process.
Output 3:
Systematic Advocacy on Nutrition and Child Development: Internal advocacy to raise the profile of nutrition and child development higher in the agenda of the Minister’s office, as well as cross-sectoral advocacy with other engaged ministries, parliament, municipalities, donors, embassies, and relevant stakeholders for the high positioning of the nutrition in their agendas and enforcement of Lebanese Law 47/2008, which adopts all provisions of the International Code for Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes. The specialist will support implementation and updating of the nutrition advocacy strategy developed in 2023, which will serve as the backbone for this output. The specializes will also support UNICEF and MOPH to develop a nutrition leadership course for mid and high-level managers from all concerned ministries in Lebanon, to enhance the leadership capacities in Nutrition in Lebanon.
Coordination implementation of National Nutrition Strategy and aligned UNICEF Nutrition and Child development program: The specialist will coordinate and facilitate the efforts of multiple MOPH Departments (Mother and Child Department, the Primary Health Care Department, and the Preventive Health Care Department) to ensure coordinated, collaborative, complementary and timely implementation of National Nutrition Strategy and UNICEF’s Nutrition and Child development program (Rolling Workplan) within MOPH. This will involve regular meetings, joint planning, and the development of a unified approach to addressing nutrition-related challenges. The Nutrition Specialist is assigned the task of facilitating this coordination. Their role is to act as a liaison or a central point of contact for matters related to nutrition between UNICEF and MOPH.
Output 2:
Co-coordinating the Nutrition Sector: The incumbent will take a co-coordinator role in the nutrition sector within MOPH. This includes actively participating/ co-leading the nutrition sector coordination jointly with UNICEF and ACF and including development, monitoring an coordinating the implementation of national nutrition response plan.
The Specialist will ensure that these initiatives are effectively executed and monitored to achieve desired outcomes through interdepartmental collaboration between the relevant departments within MOPH to create holistic approach to Nutrition, co-organize regular nutrition sector coordination and other relevant review meetings to assess progress, and address challenges and adapt nutrition initiatives/ response as needed, promote the sharing of best practices and lessons learned from nutrition initiatives within MOPH and with external partners, joint planning to create comprehensive plans that consider the nutritional and child development needs of mothers, children, and adolescents. This approach ensures that different aspects of healthcare are integrated into the planning process.
Output 3:
Systematic Advocacy on Nutrition and Child Development: Internal advocacy to raise the profile of nutrition and child development higher in the agenda of the Minister’s office, as well as cross-sectoral advocacy with other engaged ministries, parliament, municipalities, donors, embassies, and relevant stakeholders for the high positioning of the nutrition in their agendas and enforcement of Lebanese Law 47/2008, which adopts all provisions of the International Code for Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes. The specialist will support implementation and updating of the nutrition advocacy strategy developed in 2023, which will serve as the backbone for this output. The specializes will also support UNICEF and MOPH to develop a nutrition leadership course for mid and high-level managers from all concerned ministries in Lebanon, to enhance the leadership capacities in Nutrition in Lebanon.
- Specific requirements
Qualifications required:
- A Master's or higher degree in nutrition
Experience required:
- At least 5-7 years of relevant work experience in nutrition and child development programs in Lebanon
- Proven experience in coordinating multi-departmental efforts and leading nutrition initiatives
- Experience working with government institutions such as MoPH
- Work experience with academic institutions, NGOs, international agencies, or local authorities on research
- Experience in preparing in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies including the development of research tools, data collection, analysis and reporting
Skills / Technical skills and knowledge:
- Strong knowledge of nutrition national strategies, policies, national and global nutrition guidelines and best practices.
- Strong knowledge of UNICEF Nutrition Program as well as National Nutrition Sector Response Plan
- Excellent coordination, communication, and advocacy skills.
- Demonstrated ability to advocate for policy changes and engage with donors and stakeholders.
- Proficiency in data analysis and reporting
Language requirements:
English/Arabic (Read – Write – Speak). French is a plus.
- Place of assignment
Beirut – Lebanon.
[1] National SMART Nutrition Survey, Lebanon 2021,
https://www.unicef.org/mena/media/1574/file/National%20Nutrition%20SMART%20Survey%20Report%20.pdf
[2] Ibid.
[1] National SMART Nutrition Survey, Lebanon 2021,
https://www.unicef.org/mena/media/1574/file/National%20Nutrition%20SMART%20Survey%20Report%20.pdf
[2] Ibid.
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