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

1. Background
Nutrition International (NI) strives to transform the lives of vulnerable people, especially women, adolescent girls and children, by improving their nutritional status. Formerly the Micronutrient Initiative, NI brings over 25 years of on-the-ground experience. We multiply impact by partnering with governments, donors, and implementing agencies to reach millions of people in more than 60 countries worldwide. In Bangladesh, NI has been working since 1996, focusing on child survival, maternal and newborn health, and food fortification. We work closely with the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), and in particular the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare among other partners.

The Program Coordinator Health Systems (PCHS) will support NI’s Technical Manager (TM) of Child Survival and Women’s Health to plan, manage, monitor, and report on two national-level grants: Micronutrient Program for the Survival and Health of Mothers and their Children (MPSHMC) and Right Start. The PCHS will carry out the day-to-day tasks of program implementation within the child survival and maternal nutrition thematic areas; this will include partner selection and management, program planning, and coordination. The PCHS will work closely with the GoB at national and district levels and other key stakeholders.

2. Objective

To support planning, budgeting, coordination, monitoring and reporting for the following thematic areas:

• maternal nutrition, including iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation during pregnancy, including the IFA urban pilots;
• child survival, including zinc and low-osmolarity oral rehydration salts (LO-ORS) for treating childhood diarrhea and preventive Vitamin A supplementation for children 6-59 months of age;
• other relevant pilots and research under the MPSHMC and Right Start grants.

3. Scope of work

3.1 Project Development and Planning

• Assist the TM to prepare Terms of Reference (ToR) with budget required to support the three thematic areas.
• Assist the TM to develop Requests for Proposals and Requests for Quotations; to review proposals; and and select consultants/agencies to implement program activities.

3.2 Advocacy and liaison with the government and relevant organizations

• Support the government in strengthening training, communication and monitoring systems at the sub-national level through relevant field visits, meetings and workshops with the TM.
• Act as NI’s focal person for the urban maternal nutrition program and act as a liaison with government and development partners to oversee the progress of program, identify gaps using monitoring data, and advocate for corrective action.
• Prepare meeting minutes for the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) and Urban Advisory Committee meetings for the child survival and maternal nutrition programs; follow up on the action points.
• Support TM to monitor the availability of micronutrient supplements in the field and to advocate with national, sub-national, and municipal partners to prevent or manage supply chain gaps for IFA, Vitamin A, and zinc/LO-ORS.
• With NI’s National Information Systems (NIS) consultant, support the TM to incorporate key nutrition indicators in the District Health Information System (DHIS 2).

3.3 Monitoring and Reporting

• Provide technical assistance to NI’s District Coordinators to prepare monthly reports.
• Coordinate the collection of monthly Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) and Project Specific Monitoring System (PSMS) data and reports from the District Coordinators of both grants and ensure data quality.
• Provide regular feedback to the District Coordinators for the improvement, compilation, and analysis of monthly data for review at country and regional office level.
• Monitor for district-level stocks of micronutrient supplements as reported monthly by District Coordinators and flag any issues to the TM.
• Participate with the National Program Officer in weekly and monthly project management calls and take part in preparing the action plans.
• Monitor and supervise the urban maternal nutrition pilot project with periodic field visits to ensure proper implementation. Compile NI MIS data on a monthly basis for review.
• Undertake field visits to monitor the implementation status of both the maternal nutrition and child survival programs and propose corrective actions in consultation with the TM.
• Assess the need for behavior change intervention (BCI) materials at field level and help the TM to calculate the required number; initiate the printing process; select the vendor and provide technical specifications for printing; proof read; ensure proper distribution; and facilitate the administrative process of the final payment to vendor by collecting challan copies.

3.4 Supervision and capacity development of the DC

• Act as a first point of contact for all District Coordinators to troubleshoot field operations and follow up on instructions given by the TM through email, telephone, and field visits.
• Participate in bi-monthly District Coordinators meetings with the TM. Review the meeting minutes and update the TM to ensure decisions are carried out in the field.
• Ensure timely submission of invoices and activity reports by District Coordinators and support the TM to review them.
• Follow up the payment status of payments to vendors and sub-grantees with the finance team.
• Assist the TM to review the performance of the District Coordinators and develop their capacity through meetings, field visits, and training.  Assist to develop necessary materials for capacity building as requested.
• Help the TM to develop a standardized template of power point presentations for district and upazila-level coordination meetings for District Coordinators and incorporate updated data.
• Synthesize information from District Coordinators and their reports to prepare quarterly reviews of lessons learned and best practices across the maternal nutrition and child survival programs.

3.5 Support NI Bangladesh in other functions

• Support in program documentation, proposal development, preparation of reports and presentations as needed.
• Support in monitoring agencies for research/surveys related activities.
• Facilitate and support advocacy meetings, trainings or other activities at the district and national level.
• Support in coordinating and planning various visits and events.
• Any other task assigned by CD/TM Bangladesh.

4. Reporting

The PCHS reports to the TM CS and WH, NI, Bangladesh. The work schedule is from Sunday to Thursday. The responsible officer will set hours and days in consultation with the TM

5. Required Experience and educational qualifications

Educational Requirements:

• Minimum Master’s degree
• Either a first degree or Master’s degree in in public health or nutrition or medical science from a recognized institution.

Experience Requirements:

• Five years of working experience preferably in the field of health and nutrition preferred. In the case of highly-motivated, exceptional candidates fulfilling other requirements, experience less than five years may be considered. Previous experience working with the GoB health system a distinct advantage.

Other Requirements:

• Good understanding of the government health system at the national, district and sub district level
• Ability to network and negotiate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, especially at district and sub-district level to achieve the objectives of the program.
• Good skills in planning, organizing and monitoring field level activities.
• Ability to innovate, analyze issues critically, and understand local context, culture, norms and power structures
• Ability to work independently and with minimum supervision.
• Computer operating skill in MS word, MS excel and power point is mandatory.

6. Remuneration
Monthly fees for this position is BDT 120,000. Travel and other expenses will be provided in addition.

7. How to apply?
Please submit the following documents electronically in one file:  curriculum vitae, a suitability note for the position of “Program Coordinator - Health Systems" and names of three (3) referees to the following email address- proposalsbangladesh@nutritionintl.org.
 
The applications should be in MS Word, and should have subject “Program Coordinator - Health Systems”.  The closing date for receiving applications is June 30, 2018. Only short listed candidates will receive an acknowledgment and will be called for interview.

NI is a non-smoking work environment