UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Health & Nutrition 

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, advocacy, and operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

In November 2014, at the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), Member States committed to eliminate malnutrition in all its forms and articulated a common vision for global action.

In September 2015, Member States placed high priority on addressing malnutrition by committing, under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”.1 and under SDG 3 to improve health and reduce NCD burden.

In April 2016, the UN General Assembly, through its Resolution 70/2592, reinforced the ICN2 call for action by endorsing the ICN2 outcomes and proclaiming 2016 to 2025 the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition3, providing a unique opportunity for governments, academia, civils society and other stakeholders to work together for the coming ten years toward eradication and prevention of all forms of malnutrition in their countries.

In 2017 Food system For Healthy Diets Symposium in Budapest recommended Central Asia and Caucasus to develop a regional mechanism to enhance the capacity of key actors engaged in nutrition.

In July 2018 ECOSOC resolution calls UN Task Force and its members to strengthen its capacity to provide technical and policy advice to Governments in order to implement Multisectoral strategies and enhance multi-stakeholder action.4 On July 20-21, 2018, multi-sectoral delegations from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and relevant academicians and development partners (UNICEF, WHO, FAO and WFP) participated in a two-day consultative meeting where they discussed the existing gaps in nutrition governance in the region and ultimately the Regional Nutrition Capacity Development and Partnership Platform and its Secretariat was launched in July 2018.

This platform aims at enhancing the capacity of the building block of nutrition sector in Central Asia and Caucasus including but not limited to; technical capacity of workforce in nutrition at all levels of service delivery, management/ policy making and education, leadership and governance competencies and skill set of the national food and nutrition managers and policy makers, targeted knowledge management and evidence generation across the region to address the shared food and nutrition priorities and finally cross-border initiatives to address the triple-burden of malnutrition, and sharing the best practices and lessons learned. This platform is building on the proceedings and the recommendation of the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) and the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2015-2025) to support the countries in the region to develop needed capacity in nutrition governance to address the double burden of malnutrition.

It was agreed that the regional Secretariat will be hosted and chaired by a member state among the eight on rotational basis and for the minimum period of two years. For the first round Kazakhstan Government has volunteered and accepted to chair the Secretariat. During 2020-2022 Turkmenistan hosted the Secretariat and in 2025 it is Tajikistan to host it.

UNICEF supports the MoHSPP to establish and chair the Secretariat for the Regional Nutrition Partnership and Capacity Development Platform. The MoHSPP has appointed the Republican Scientific and Clinical Center of Pediatrics and Child Surgery (RSCCPCS) as the secretariat of the regional platform. The Secretariat will be the mechanism to coordinate the operationalization of the Platform' s actions. Thus, a dedicated consultant is required to serve as a secretary of the secretariat of the regional platform.

How can you make a difference? 

DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

Duration: 112 working days between June 2025 - December 2025
Supervisor: Nutrition Officer, UNICEF Tajikistan

The purpose of the consultancy is to run the Secretariat of the Regional Platform hosted by the RSCCPCS and provide day-to-day leadership and coordinate the agreed implementation of the workplan of the Secretariat with the Tajikistan MoHSPP and the focal agencies of the 8 member states, and contribute to the development of the new workplan, organization of online meetings and webinars, organization of an annual regional in-person workshop on nutrition in Dushanbe.

TOR with detailed deliverables and concrete frameworks is at the following link  TOR_Nat_consultancy_RNPP Secretary.docx

Key objectives

The overall objective of the consultancy is to coordinate the activities of the Secretariat, improve collaboration between the member countries on exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of nutrition, focusing on the areas for capacity building, promote showcasing innovations and documentation of best practices. Specific objectives of the Secretariat are as follows:

• Strengthen leadership and governance capacity in the nutrition and food security sectors in the region.
• Strengthen regional policy advocacy to increase financing for nutrition outcomes by promoting and applying practical examples of investments in nutrition and sustainable development.
• Identify and targeting nutrition services to prevent the double burden of malnutrition in the subregional public health (PH) system.
• Collaborate across the region to generate applied data, develop evidence-based regional guidelines, and share lessons learned and replicable best practices for evidence-based policy development and scaling up nutrition program delivery.
• Coordinate the functions of the Secretariat through defining and agreeing on modalities of the work.
• Support to operationalization and monitoring of progress of the two-year Work Plan.
• Coordinate the documentation of the work and information sharing among the members.
• Coordinate the organization of periodical sessions of the Partnership’s Platform (twice a year) each session in addition to general coordination will have capacity development on a thematic area.
• Encourage, support, utilize and showcase the innovation for nutrition results for children and other vulnerable groups in the region
• Identify and call for synergistic planning and actions among regional wide efforts supported by development partners and to consolidate, incorporate and make hybrid

The consultant will work and consult closely with the UNICEF ECARO Nutrition Specialist and UNICEF TCO Nutrition team and engage with key government stakeholders in eight member countries and development partners to promote the objectives of the Regional Platform. Briefly, the assignment will consist of the following key activities:

• Assuming responsibility for the Platform’s Secretariat, acting as a person in charge to represent the Secretariat;
• Maintaining dynamics in partnership with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to ensure that all member states accept responsibility and fulfill obligations.
• Coordination and contributing to the design and implementation and monitoring of the Platform’s multi-year work plan, also through available partnership mechanisms;
• Identifying potential areas for exchange of experience, learning and areas for capacity building, joint evidence generation and fund-raising engaging the member states.
• Leading in the conduct and organization of periodic coordination meetings of the Secretariat (for example, twice a year), joint reviews of the Platform's work plan, webinars and thematic online meetings of the Platform.
• Identifying and formation of further partnerships with other relevant development partners, donors and other financial institutions, as well as the non-governmental sector, following consultation and consensus with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• Education: Advanced degree in Medicine, Nutrition, Public Health or other related social sciences fields
• Working experience: At least 10 years of experience working closely with national government counterparts, in particular Ministry of Health in areas of child nutrition, school nutrition, health and multisectoral coordination in nutrition
• Knowledge of existing organizational systems and mechanisms in health and nutrition, school feeding and other relevant social areas in public sector
• Experience in working with international partners on coordination of joint plans
• Languages: Fluency in Tajik, English, Russian.

Qualified candidates are requested to submit:

• CV and cover letter.
• Technical proposal describing approach/methodology to achieve the tasks of the TOR, workplan with concrete timeframes
• Financial proposal in TJS-all inclusive, indicting fee per day. Annex 3 at the link  Annex 3.docx
• Two samples of previously delivered similar assignment.
• Applications without technical and financial proposals will not be considered.

Applications must be received in the system by 5 June 2025 on UNICEF website.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit  here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.