Nutrition International www.nutritionintl.org (formerly Micronutrient Initiative) is an international Non-Governmental Organization dedicated to ensuring that the world's most vulnerable -especially women and children in developing countries - get the vitamins and minerals they need to survive and thrive. With headquarters in Ottawa, Canada Nutrition International maintains regional offices in New Delhi, India and Nairobi that manage country offices in Asia and Africa.

POSITION PROFILE

Background

Technical Assistance for Nutrition (TAN) is a project supported by UK aid from the UK government, and seeks to improve the capacity of countries who have joined the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement to design, deliver, and track the progress of nutrition programs and to generate, learn from and adopt knowledge of what works. NI is contributing to TAN by coordinating the provision of technical assistance (TA) to help national SUN Focal Points (SUN FPs) in select countries to overcome gaps in capacity for the design and delivery of multi-sectoral national nutrition plans, tapping into its global hub to source and deploy the expertise needed.

Under-nutrition is a major public health concern in Bangladesh, severely limiting the development of individuals and the country. Though there has been a significant progress in tackling undernutrition, still 36.1% of the children under five years of age are stunted, 14.3% are wasted and 32.6% are underweight.

Access to adequate nutrition as a basic human right is enshrined in the Constitution of Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is committed to invest in nutrition, and has been developing various policies and policy instruments integrating food security and nutrition. The National Nutrition Policy (NNP) endorsed in October 2015 provides the necessary direction to implement and strengthen strategies and actions to improve the nutritional status of the population. Aligning with the objectives of the NNP and expressing the country’s continued commitment to combat malnutrition in all its forms, the second National Plan of Action for Nutrition (NPAN2) 2016-2025 has been formulated with identified priority strategic actions. The NPAN2 is in continuation of the nutrition actions planned under NPAN1 of 1997 and has recently been approved by the Honorable Prime Minister. The multi-stakeholder platform, with representation from government departments, UN agencies, donor network, SUN CSA group and business community, has steered the development of the NPAN2.

The NNP 2015 and NPAN2 also emphasize the need for strengthening of multi-sectoral, multi-level collaboration and coordination under revitalized Bangladesh National Nutrition Council (BNNC) chaired by Honorable Prime Minister, which will be responsible for nutrition governance, and policy coordination and leadership.

Currently, with endorsement of the NNP 2015 and the high priority accorded to the BNNC, there has been rigorous efforts by the GoB for revitalization and restructuring of the BNNC, which has been reformed with the Honorable Minister of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) as the vice-chair and 35 other members from all relevant ministries. Space for BNNC has been reserved within the premise of the Institute of Public Health (IPH) with plans underway to staff the BNNC with qualified human resources and allocation of adequate and sustained financial support to carry out the planned functions. Also, the GoB plans to establish five core nutrition platforms under the BNNC, namely nutrition-specific, nutrition-sensitive, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), advocacy and communication, and capacity building, to strengthen the agency to steer and guide nutrition decisions and actions in the country.

Under TAN, NI is currently supporting the BNNC with a long-term TA provider for its revitalization and restructuring, and is preparing to support the operationalization of NPAN2 at national and sub-national levels through another long-term TA. Successful implementation of NPAN2 also necessitates an effective mechanism for monitoring, evaluation and reporting of nutrition data across sectors and their use for program review and decision making. Select partners including European Union and UNICEF are providing specific support to the government for strengthening of multi-sectoral nutrition surveillance mechanism. Ensuring availability of up-to-date and quality nutrition data from nutrition sectors is also an area where support is required.

In this context, the SUN FP of Bangladesh has sought TA from NI under the TAN project to support strengthening of the existing sectoral monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems for monitoring of nutrition data and their integration into the national level platforms/systems being established.

Objectives

Overall objective

Support the BNNC in strengthening of multi-sectoral nutrition data monitoring, evaluation and reporting for effective use in program review and policy decisions

Specific objectives

1. Identify gaps in existing national and sub-national level sectoral monitoring and reporting systems for tracking nutrition indicators as outlined in M&E framework under NPAN2
2. Make specific recommendations about ways to address the existing gaps in sectoral monitoring and reporting systems for tracking nutrition, to be responsive to objectives and M&E framework under NPAN2
3. Support integration of prioritized nutrition indicators into the existing monitoring and reporting systems of key sectors, and their consolidation at national level
4. Build the capacity of the BNNC technical team for effective M&E, nutrition data management and reporting in order to establish M&E platform envisaged under NPAN2

Expectations

This TA is expected to bring a significant contribution to the capacity of the BNNC to strengthen its monitoring and reporting systems for nutrition and data analysis to better inform strategic decisions.

It is expected that this consultancy will lead to the following results:

1. Relevant in-country sectors and partners plan and agree upon coordinated actions for strengthening of multi-sectoral nutrition surveillance
2. Priority nutrition indicators identified for integration into the existing sectoral monitoring and reporting systems, and agreed upon by the relevant sector partners

Nutrition International is committed to gender equality. Consultant(s) are required to indicate how he/she/they will ensure that gender equality considerations are included in the provision of TA. The consultant(s) will be part of technical assistance team envisaged under the BNNC.

Scope of Work

It is expected that the consultant(s) will undertake the following activities and produce the listed deliverables.

Under objective 1: Identify gaps in existing national and sub-national level sectoral monitoring and reporting systems for tracking nutrition indicators as outlined in M&E framework under NPAN2

Activity 1 – Review existing M&E plan under NPAN2 in light of planned strategies and actions for formulation of detailed M&E framework

Deliverable:

• Detailed M&E framework

Activity 2 – In light of M&E framework, review and analyze existing monitoring and reporting systems of key sectors in the country at national and sub-national level to assess

• Nutrition-related indicators collected and reported
• Gaps in monitoring of nutrition indicators

Deliverable:

• Desk review report

Activity 3 – Undertake stakeholder mapping to identify ongoing/planned support to GoB including key sector partners, for supporting/establishing multi-sectoral nutrition M&E and surveillance mechanism

Deliverable:

• Stakeholder mapping report

Under objective 2: Make specific recommendations about ways to address the existing gaps in sectoral monitoring and reporting systems for tracking nutrition, to be responsive to objectives and M&E framework under NPAN2

Activity 4 – Conduct Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with relevant stakeholders to identify and prioritize key nutrition indicators of relevance that need to be monitored

Deliverable:

• Summary report on KIIs, including the list of sector-specific nutrition indicators to be monitored

Activity 5 – Facilitate multi-sectoral multi-stakeholder consultation workshop to discuss key findings from desk review, stakeholder mapping and KIIs, and deliberate upon ways to strengthen nutrition monitoring at different levels

Deliverable:

• Consultation report

Activity 6 – Develop a guidance document detailing the process of integrating identified priority nutrition indicators into existing sectoral sub-national level monitoring and reporting systems and their consolidation at national level

Deliverable:

• Guidance document developed

Under objective 3: Support integration of prioritized nutrition indicators into the existing monitoring and reporting systems of key sectors, and their consolidation at national level

Activity 7 – Garner consensus of all relevant sector partners and stakeholders for dissemination of the guidance document

Deliverable:

• Multi-stakeholder workshop conducted and report produced

Activity 8 – Undertake sector-level workshops to support integration of prioritized nutrition indicators into their monitoring and reporting systems

Deliverable:

• Sectoral workshops conducted and reports produced

Activity 9 – Support to establish functional multi-sectoral M&E platform under BNNC as envisaged under NPAN2

Deliverable:

• Multi-sectoral M&E platform established and functional

Activity 10 – Support BNNC in undertaking planned M&E initiatives and assist in producing periodic reports

Deliverable:

• M&E reports produced periodically

Under objective 4: Build the capacity of the BNNC technical team for effective M&E, nutrition data management and reporting in order to establish M&E platform envisaged under NPAN2

Activity 11 – Assess capacity of BNNC’s technical team in nutrition data management and reporting

Deliverables:

• Capacity assessment tools developed
• Capacity assessment of BNNC’s technical team completed, and report shared

Activity 12 – Assist and guide development of capacity building modules and other relevant materials

Deliverables:

• Stakeholder consultations held to gain inputs for development of training module and other material
• Training module and materials on nutrition data management and reporting finalized

Activity 13 – Conduct capacity building sessions for BNNC’s technical team

Deliverables:

• Capacity building plan, including detailed costing developed
• Capacity building sessions completed, and report submitted

Other relevant tasks needed by the BNNC/MoHFW to support the advancements of the stated objectives, as agreed to by NI may be incorporated in the due course of the assignment.

This TA could be delivered by either one consultant or a team of consultants. In case this support is provided by a team of consultants, the lead consultant will share the list of consulting team members with NI for agreement on roles and responsibilities of each team member. The lead consultant will be assigned the overall role of managing this assignment and be responsible for the work completed by other team members and all resulting deliverables.

The consultant(s) providing this TA will work in close collaboration with the BNNC, MoHFW and NI, and with other relevant in-country stakeholders.

Duty Station/Location

This is a full-time consultancy for a period of 12 months, with potential for renewal depending on need and performance. The consultant(s) will be embedded with the BNNC office for the duration of the assignment and expected to visit NI Country Office regularly to apprise the Country Director and team of the progress made.

The consultant(s) will be expected to undertake some domestic travel within the country. All travels required under this consultancy will be provided for by NI and/or BNNC/GoB.

Timeline
This support to the BNNC would be for a period of 12 months from 01st July 2018 to 30th June 2019, with potential for renewal depending on need and performance.

Management and reporting/Coordination mechanism

1. The consultant(s) will directly report to the Additional Secretary, MoHFW who is also the Government SUN Focal Point, and work closely with Joint Secretary, MoHFW. The consultant(s) will also work closely with Secretary and other officials of BNNC and MoHFW, and NI team members.
2. The BNNC will facilitate the operational linkages with all the other relevant sectors and stakeholders under this TA.
   
3. The consultant(s) will be expected to work in close coordination and harmony with other consultants/development partners working with the BNNC and MoHFW.
   
4. NI will provide the funding for the assignment, and payment will be subject to performance and reaching deliverables as agreed upon at the moment of contract signing.
   
5. NI will provide technical input into the assignment and is responsible for assuring the quality of the work being delivered by the consultant(s).

Profile/qualifications of consultant
The lead consultant will be selected following a competitive recruitment process.

The consultant(s) will possess expertise in the fields of monitoring/evaluation/reporting related to nutrition/health/food security/agriculture/any other related area. In case the TA is provided by a team, the lead consultant would be responsible for work completed by the team members.

The profile of the lead consultant/team has been presented below.

Education:

• At least post-graduate level qualification in Statistics/Monitoring and Evaluation/Economics/ Demography/Development Policy/Development Studies/any other related field(s)
• Qualification in Nutrition will be an advantage

Language Skills:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is mandatory
• Fluency in written and spoken Bengali is mandatory

Experience:

1. At least 10 years of relevant experience in reviewing and/or designing and/or establishing and/or implementing health/food/agriculture and/or nutrition reporting and monitoring mechanisms in developing countries, especially Bangladesh
2. Excellent working knowledge of GoB nutrition, food security and health portfolios, policies and programmes
3. Similar experience of formulating M&E framework(s) of national plan(s) or plan(s) of action and rolling out of the same using multi-sstakeholder platform(s)
4. Strong evidence of writing reports/papers to be an asset
5. Excellent analytical and communication skills
6. Proven experience of engaging with relevant stakeholders including development partners, and managing and working with multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral working groups in national and/or sub-national settings
7. Experience of working in a multi-cultural environment is an asset

Application Process

Interested consultants are invited to submit the following by email to TechnicalAssistance@NutritionIntl.org before 18th March 2018.

1. Up-to-date curriculum vitae of consultant/all team members.
2. Technical proposal: not exceeding five pages, describing the consultant(s) understanding of the task, proposed methodology, roles and responsibilities of each team member (clearly linking their expertise to the role required) and detailed work plan that breaks down activities and outputs as per timeline.
3. Financial proposal: including monthly/daily fee rate(s) for each member, suggested number of trips/days to/within the country and any other expenses required to fulfill the terms of the consultancy (meetings, materials, etc.).

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered.

Kindly mention ‘BGD-04 – MER Support’ in the subject line of the email.

Nutrition International (NI) is committed to the fundamental principles of equal employment opportunity. Women are encouraged to apply.

NI is a non-smoking work environment