Nutrition Senior Officer - Akkar

Background

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. In more than 40 countries and over 20 U.S. cities, IRC provides clean water, shelter, health care, education and empowerment support to refugees and displaced people.

The IRC has operated in Lebanon since 2012, delivering lifesaving care and life-changing assistance projects to vulnerable population in the education, early childhood development, protection and rule of law, women’s protection and empowerment, child protection, livelihoods and health programming.

With the aim of improving the nutritional and health status of children, reducing the incidence of morbidity, mortality and malnutrition, and enhancing the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and nutritional needs of the child through proper health and nutrition education, the IRC Lebanon is currently delivering integrated activities for children, caregivers, mothers and pregnant and lactating women.

Job Summary

The Nutrition Senior Officer will support the health program in the implementation and supervision of the nutrition component, ensuring that the related activities of the program are delivered properly, providing quality care to all beneficiaries.

Day-to-day activities

• Manage nutrition activities and staff (such as IYCF activities, malnutrition screening, breastfeeding counseling, IYCF counselor).
• Provide IYCF technical support to concerned staff.
• Ensure that concerned staff understand and implement recommendations and guidelines when assessing the mother-child pair and advise the best feeding options and follow-up as appropriate.
• Facilitate the development and scheduling of outreach activities related to the nutrition component.
• Prepare field visit plans and supervision checklists.
• Facilitate cross sectoral programming, particularly to promote communication and referral between health program and partners, IYCF, Early childhood development program.
• Facilitate the Focus group discussions with caregivers, mother/father, and pregnant and lactating women to identify specific barriers, opportunities and communications related to IYCF practices and knowledge.
• Develop tools to assess the knowledge of beneficiaries before and after services as per need.
• Contribute to the development of awareness sessions content and messages for adolescents, children, and caregivers according to the needs.
• Contribute to the development of education materials on breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices.

Capacity building and Training

• Monitor the education and awareness sessions conducted by the outreach workers.
• Conduct orientations and training to build the capacity of IRC and partners staff and volunteers, for key messages on IYCF, danger signs, screening, referral and follow-up of clients.

Referral and Coordination

• Oversee the referral of children and mothers for intensive nutritional/medical care as required.
• Coordinate with other humanitarian actors, nutrition Sector/UNICEF/MoPH as appropriate to maximize collaboration and ensure proper coordination and delivery of services.

Reporting

• Ensure that the outreach workers and staff are maintaining records of mothers and children attending education sessions, receiving skilled assessment and support.
• Submit monthly reporting of activities to the Health Manager.
• Document case studies regularly and share with team members.

Experience and Skills

• (Preferably)Dietitian, Nurse, midwife with lactation/breastfeeding qualification and experience.
• Knowledge of optimal IYCF practices, able to support breastfeeding mothers, and a willingness to learn.
• Knowledge of the MoPH and Nutrition sector strategies and SOPs.
• Proven capacity of leadership and teamwork.
• Fluency in local working language.
• Excellent communication skills and a willingness to be respectful, kind, sensitive and empathize with all clients.
• Capacity to keep accurate records of activities and report in a timely manner.
• Demonstrable ability at report writing.
• Ability to make a work plan and direct work independently.
• Knowledge of trauma-based care desirable.