Back National Consultant: National Coordinator for National Micronutrient Survey 2025, Kathmandu, Nepal (Only for Nepalese Nationals)

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For every child, result The proposed National Micronutrient Survey 2025 is a large scale, complex and costly survey, however, it is important to carry out it to assess progress since the 2016 NNMMS and to assess trends in micronutrient status among young children. adolescents, pregnant and non-pregnant women of Nepal. The upcoming NMS 2025 survey is heavy in terms of scale of operation and type of information to collect. The survey is highly complex in nature since it aims to collect biological specimen (blood, urine) from children (6-59 months and 6-9 years), adolescent girls and boys (10-19 years), non-pregnant women (15-49 years), pregnant Women (15-49 years), and men from 11,200 households from 7 provinces and 3 eco-zones in order to generate information on the key biological indicators like anemia, iron status, vitamin A status, iodine status, folate status, vitamin B12 status, zinc Status, inflammation and / or infection, and lead . In addition, it also aims to collect the anthropometry for further analyses of the nutrition situation of the children, adolescents, pregnant and non-pregnant women in relation to their micronutrient status.   The challenge ahead is to effectively coordinate and facilitate the survey designing, planning, training, equipment and chemicals procurement, logistic management, field activities, survey supervision and monitoring, biological specimen transfer, data collection and analysis, report writing and quality assurance. In addition, there is also a need to coordinate and facilitate different committees formed for the survey like the “Survey and Research Committee” under NuTec. In the new federal structure, it is necessary to coordinate and communicate with almost all 753 Municipalities, 77 District Health/ Public Health Offices to ensure their support during the NMS 2025 survey in field information and biological specimen collection as well as cold chain maintenance to ensure safety and quality of the specimen.     Scope of Work: The overall goal of the consultancy services is to ensure the successful implementation of National Micronutrient Survey (NMS) 2025 through the external backstopping during the survey designing, planning, training, equipment and chemicals procurement, logistic management, field activities, survey supervision and monitoring, biological specimen transfer, data collection and analysis, report writing and quality assurance with the use of allocated fund from both the Nepal Government and UNICEF Nepal in consultation with the UNICEF and US CDC Atlanta. Furthermore, the consultancy services is to provide technical assistance and facilitation support to Nutrition Section, Child Health Division in coordinating with the NMS Steering Committee, Working Group, National Survey Organization (NSO), Logistic Management Division (LMD), National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), National Health Education Information and Communication Center (NHEICC) and District Health/ Public Health Offices in consultation with UNICEF and US CDC Atlanta during the survey implementation.

How can you make a difference?  This consultancy provides technical support, coordination, and communication with the different stakeholders of the National Micronutrient Survey (NMS) 2025 and then facilitates during the survey implementation. This assignment helps in smooth implementation of a complex and nationally representative micronutrient survey in the country.   Specific Tasks: Under the direct supervision of the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of UNICEF and overall guidance of the Chief, Nutrition Section, at UNICEF as well as the Child Health Division, the consultant will accomplish the following tasks, 1. Carry out desk review of national and international Micronutrient surveys and prepare inception report 2. Participate in NMS related meetings and provide technical backstopping. 3. Prepare meeting minutes of each meeting participated. 4. Develop and finalize the concept note in close coordination with the Ministry of Health and Population, UNICEF, USAID and US CDC 5. Prepare and finalize the Survey questionnaire in close coordination with the Ministry of Health and Population, UNICEF, USAID, and US CDC 6. Prepare and finalize the survey protocol in close coordination with the Ministry of Health and Population, UNICEF, USAID, and US CDC 7. The consultant will facilitate the allocation of Government funds for training activities during the training plan and survey implementation plan development. The consultant will also facilitate the training related to the survey in consultation with the Nutrition Section, Family Welfare Division. 8. Map out the laboratories in and out of Nepal to carry out bio-marker tests and other tests that will be required after data collection. 9. Prepare supervision/monitoring plan and supervision/ monitoring checklist to ensure that quality data are being collected and the survey is implemented smoothly. Prepare presentations, monitoring reports, and other day-to-day activities as directed by the Nutrition Chief/ Family Welfare Division, MoHP 11. Coordinates and communicates with the relevant government and non-government partners like National Public Health Laboratory, Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), Provincial Health Service Directorate, District Health/ Public Health Offices to ensure the availability of ward level population statistics and ward level boundary maps to identify clusters and carry out sampling for the survey. 12. Coordinate with Family Welfare Division, laboratories, UNICEF, USAID and CDC Atlanta to smooth implementation of National Micronutrient Survey 2025. 13. Working with the National Survey Organization throughout the implementation of NMS 2025 14. Support to get ethical approval of the NMS 2025 Child

Duration of Contract: The total duration of the contract is for 12 months. 

Duty Station: The consultant will be based in Family Welfare Division/Department of Health Services/MoHP, Kathmandu

Deliverables:   Tasks Deliverables Timeline  Proposed Fee Carry out desk review of national and international Micronutrient surveys.  Prepare inception report.  Finalize ethical approval submission

To qualify as an advocate for every child the consultant will have… 

Academic Qualification:

Work Experience:

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 here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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. 

Remarks:  

Request to submit financial proposal (Nepalese currency) based on the deliverables for this assignment. 

Female candidates and candidates from the under-represented ethnic groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

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.