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For every child, the right to a Champion

How can you make a difference?

Country Context: 

South Sudan in 2026 remains entrenched in polycrises, with cascading and mutually reinforcing shocks affecting communities at every level. The country grapples with escalating climate-induced disasters, intensifying violence, political-economic crisis, and multiple concurrent disease outbreaks. Deepening political polarization and renewed armed clashes further compound an already fragile environment, demanding strategic and resilient programmatic leadership.

The national economy contracted by an estimated 23.8 per cent in 2025, driven by the year-long shutdown of the Dar Blend oil pipeline—affecting 63 per cent of oil exports—and compounded by monetary expansion that fuels sharp currency depreciation and spiraling inflation. Extreme poverty has surged, now affecting nearly nine in ten people, up from seven in ten five years ago, with GDP per capita plummeting to just US$313. These economic shocks continue to deepen vulnerabilities, leaving 9.3 million people—including 5 million children—in need of humanitarian assistance. South Sudan ranks last on the global Human Development Index, reflecting chronic underinvestment in health, education, and essential services.

The ongoing conflict in neighbouring Sudan intensifies pressures on South Sudan's fragile systems, with over 1.3 million refugees and returnees—including more than 404,000 children—arriving in 2025 alone, and an additional 380,000 projected by end of 2026. This massive influx stretches already limited resources while the country battles multiple disease outbreaks. The health system, chronically under-resourced is unable to meet the increasing health demands, hence the implementation of an ambitious Health Sector Transformation Program since 2024. 

Food insecurity and malnutrition have reached alarming levels, with over half the population facing crisis-level hunger (IPC Phase 3+) between April and July 2026. The burden of acute malnutrition continues to rise sharply, with 2.11 million children under five affected in 2025—up from 1.65 million in 2023—and approximately 670,000 children projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2026 up from about 480,000 in mid-2024. Concurrently, an estimated 2.81 million children (65 per cent of the school-aged population) remain out of school, exposing them to armed recruitment, child labor, sexual violence, exploitation, and early marriage. 

Due to the deteriorating situation, South Sudan activated L2 response in March 2026, this was in response to renewed clashes across Jonglei since late December that have continued to drive large scale displacement and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian conditions. More than 328,000 people have been displaced across Jonglei, Lakes, Upper Nile, Central Equatoria, and Akobo.  Humanitarian access across Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile remains severely restricted, resulting in nutrition treatment centers being overwhelmed, and supply chains remaining strained. Since the beginning of the year 28 health and nutrition facilities in Jonglei have been destroyed, looted, or suspended, including the complete closure of Akobo Hospital. Acute malnutrition has surpassed emergency thresholds, with screenings in Duk and Twic East recording 24.3% Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM). 

These cascading crises leave South Sudan severely off track in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, underscoring the urgent need for strategic, coordinated, and sustained humanitarian and development action. In order to meet the growing demands while focusing on mandate and to scale, the UNICEF SSCO developed 5 ‘strategic reset’ pillars in 2025 to guide programming. This included: Strengthening National Government and State Level System, diversifying Partnerships and Prioritizing Innovation, aligning Humanitarian and Development efforts, prioritizing Operational Efficiency and Accountability and lastly, commitment to inclusive and longitudinal storytelling

Purpose for the job: 

The Chief, Nutrition reports to the Deputy Representative Programs for general guidance and direction. The Chief is responsible for managing and supervising all stages of the nutrition programme, from strategic planning and formulation to delivery of results. The Chief is also responsible for leading and managing the Nutrition team. The Chief is accountable for ensuring that concrete and sustainable results in maternal, infant and child nutrition programmes are achieved in accordance with plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance, and accountability framework.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities: 

1.    Managerial leadership
2.    Programme development and planning
3.    Programme management, monitoring and quality control of results
4.    Advisory services and technical support
5.    Advocacy, networking and partnership building
6.    Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  JD Chief Nutrition P5.docx

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

• Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: fields is required: nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, nutritional epidemiology, or another health-related science field.
• Work Experience: A minimum of ten years of professional experience in a developing country in one or more of the following areas is required: nutrition, public health, nutrition planning and management, or maternal, infant and child health/nutrition care.

• Skills: advocacy, planning and leadership skills, experience in partnership management, monitoring, reporting, programming, and emergency preparedness
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language.
• Experience in policy development, project management, strategic planning, technical expertise.
• Experience in health/nutrition programme/project development and management in a UN system agency or organization.

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others
(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates from high-income countries are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.