Regional SMART Advisor (Asia)

Job Title: Regional SMART Advisor (Asia)

Organization: Action Against Hunger / Action contre la Faim – Canada

Report To: Senior Project Manager

Location: International (home-based)

Job Type: Full-Time, 1-year contract with a possibility of extension

Start Date: April 2022

Work Hours: 37.5-hours per week.

Salary: CAD 60K – 70K

ABOUT US

Founded in 1979, Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organization that takes decisive action against the causes and effects of hunger. Our mission is to save the lives of severely malnourished children while helping communities become self-sufficient. Recognized as a world leader in the fight against malnutrition, Action Against Hunger has pursued its vision of a world without hunger for almost four decades, combating hunger in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity. With more than 8,000 staff in nearly 50 countries, our programs in nutrition, food security, livelihoods, water, sanitation, and hygiene, reach more than 20 million people each year.

ABOUT SMART

Since 2007, Action Against Hunger Canada has provided leadership on the development and implementation of one of the world’s leading nutrition survey methodologies: SMART (Standardized Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transition). The project has built the capacity of over 1,500 health workers around the world on how to apply this methodology when conducting nutrition and mortality surveys. The SMART global project works closely with the Global Nutrition Cluster membership to ensure the accessibility of a wide range of tools, technical guidance and learning on the methodology. All SMART initiatives are targeted towards humanitarian and development stakeholders conducting surveys using the methodology.

ABOUT TST

Action Against Hunger Canada is the co-host of the Technical Support Team Coordination Unit of Global Nutrition Cluster Technical Alliance. The Technical Support Team (TST) of the Global Nutrition Cluster (GNC) Technical Alliance is an initiative to support practitioners in improving the quality of nutrition in an emergency (NiE) preparedness, response, and recovery by providing coordinated, accessible, and timely technical support, through multiple channels when requested.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Regional SMART Advisor will be responsible for providing technical leadership to nutrition sector partner agencies on planning, conducting nutrition and mortality assessments, analysis and management of nutrition and mortality survey data in South Asian and the Middle East countries.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Responding to Humanitarian and Developmental Survey Needs

• Coordinate with nutrition cluster/sector, AIM-TWG and its partner, UN and Government agencies to develop a nutrition and mortality assessment plan that outlines necessary human and financial resources to implement assessments.
• Provide on-the-ground technical support to Action Against Hunger, host Government, UN and partner agencies implementing SMART and other nutrition surveys, notably for initial survey planning, sampling strategy, recruitment and training of survey teams, technical support for data analysis, validation of reports and the interpretation of survey outcomes.
• Conduct the analysis and interpretation of survey results.
• Provide adequate guidance to partner agencies in transforming the nutrition and mortality results into programmatic caseload estimation for different interventions.

Standardization of technical tools and methods to collect, analyze and utilize nutrition information, integrated with other sectors (including IPC support and data clinics)

• Support partners to establish or reinforce collaborative coordination platforms such as Assessment Technical Working Groups (ATWG), Nutrition Assessment and Information Management Technical Working Group (AIM-TWG).
• Provide technical guidance to partners for revision of ToR for technical working groups, development of communication tool for partner agencies that outlines steps and processes for survey planning, protocol review, implementation and monitoring, review, validation and approval of assessment data and reports.
• Work closely with working groups/partners in the development of a contextualized standard protocol for nutrition and mortality assessments in countries.
• Work closely with partners and working groups to develop country-specific core indicators, questionnaires, and harmonized reporting tools for nutrition and mortality surveys.
• Provide adequate technical guidance to partners on the addition of other sectoral indicators, its advantage and implications on the quality, representativeness of nutrition and mortality indicators for collective decision-making.
• Organize workshops/meetings with partners/working groups to review nutrition information and development of utilization plans such as caseload estimation for severely or moderately acutely malnourished cases, IPC acute malnutrition analysis, geographic prioritization exercises etc.
• Support Nutrition Cluster/ Sector to define the appropriate methodology for collection, analysis of nutrition information on a regular basis that reflects the past trends and seasonality, especially in a rapidly evolving context.

Strengthening Technical Capacity of Nutrition partner agencies on SMART methodology

• Collaborate with Nutrition Cluster/Sector to identify technical capacity gaps among partners in planning and conducting assessments using the SMART methodology, data analysis and information management, review and validation of results.
• Plan and organize SMART managerial-level training for partner agencies in collaboration with Nutrition Cluster/Nutrition Sector and Government Agencies.
• Plan and organize training for surveys in collaboration with Nutrition Cluster/Host agencies.
• Organize technical workshops and data clinic for mentoring Technical Working Group members on the review and validation processes for nutrition and mortality assessment protocol, data collection techniques, data quality, and final report.
• Oversee the general planning and organization of SMART training events (e.g., cost-budget forms and Terms of Reference with partners, coordinating and ensuring logistics through the nutrition sector or host agency).
• Organize technical workshops for capacity building on IPC acute malnutrition analysis in collaboration with Nutrition Cluster, Food Security and Livelihood Cluster.
• Provide feedback and suggestions to the SMART technical team for continued development and improvement of the SMART methodology and tools that reflects the diversified contextual needs.

Project Management and Resource Mobilization

• Manage and oversee project activity implementation in South Asia and the Middle East.
• Develop and maintain a multi-country implementation plan.
• Plan and forecast the appropriate utilization of financial resources.
• Prepare and share project reports periodically with line management.
• Prepare and maintain standard processes for every in-country deployment that includes clear and concise ToR, Workshops/Training/Meeting Reports, Final Deliverables, and Final Report of Emergency Survey Support (ESS).
• Identify gaps and resource needs as well as work closely with line managers for revision of plans.
• Explore new project and consultancy opportunities in the region.
• Develop proposals (financial and technical) for different UN and Partner agencies on service contracts.
• Ensure timely completion of consultancy deliverables including end-of-mission and project reports.

Representation, Coordination and Communication

• Act as a technical point of contact for the SMART methodology to the Nutrition Cluster/Sector and partners in South Asia and the Middle East.
• Maintain close collaboration with Nutrition Clusters/Sectors; Government agencies and nutrition partners in the region for needs identification, planning and delivering technical assistance.
• Organize and convene in person as well as remote Technical Working Group meetings at the country level.
• Collaborate with Food Security Cluster and other clusters to ensure that IPC analysis takes into account the most recent and quality nutrition information.
• Compile survey databases from countries and develop a regional summary database.
• Keep close collaboration with Action Against Hunger, UNICEF and other partner agencies to identify survey and training needs, and support mechanisms for countries without a cluster/sector mechanism.
• Promote SMART methodology, its scope of technical support and engagement with partners as well as ways of engagement at country-level events and platforms.
• Synthesize and/or analyze learnings, generated through deployments, into communicable outputs and disseminate them as necessary or appropriate.

General

• Attend planning sessions and team meetings as required.
• Ensure pro-active exchange and collaboration with the SMART technical teams.
• Keep up to date with technical nutrition developments within the humanitarian sector and share information with the SMART program team.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Masters’ Degree in Nutrition/Public Health/Epidemiology/Statistics or a mix of relevant study and work experience.
• Minimum 3 years of field experience undertaking nutrition and mortality surveys.
• Demonstrated experience and high acceptability in working with government, humanitarian coordination mechanisms, UN, NGOs, and donors.
• Demonstrated experience in using online data collection tools for integrated SMART surveys.
• Experience in the development of innovative training tools.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND OTHER ATTRIBUTES

• Advanced knowledge of epidemiology and statistics.
• Demonstrated understanding of the SMART methodology and ENA for SMART software.
• Strong facilitation skills for trainings, workshops, and seminars.
• Ability to work independently and under tight deadlines, and to multi-task.
• Positive attitude and strong analytical, interpersonal and coordination skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with external stakeholders including building rapport.
• Ability to assess priorities and competently complete a variety of activities with a high level of accuracy and timeliness.
• Demonstrated understanding and commitment to humanitarian principles.
• Solid knowledge of EPI info, SPSS, and STATA software.
• Demonstrated commitment to gender equality.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office Suite.
• Fluency in written and oral English.
• Fluency in written and oral French or any other local languages (such as Hindi/Bengali/Pashtu/Dari/Farsi/Arabic) would be considered an asset.

WORK CONDITIONS

• Extensive travel to South Asian and Middle East countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Yemen.

Action Against Hunger Canada is committed to the creation of a diverse and inclusive workplace. We actively welcome applications from Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, women, persons of all sexual orientations and genders. If you are invited to continue the selection process, please notify our human resources representative of any accommodation or special measures that you may require.

Action Against Hunger Canada is committed to promoting the well-being of people around the world and focuses its efforts on saving lives through the elimination of hunger. To that end, we uphold the principles of independence, neutrality, non-discrimination, unrestricted access to assistance, professionalism, and transparency in all our operations. We have ZERO TOLERANCE towards any behavior violating our Code of Conduct, including workplace violence, harassment and sexual harassment, any form of exploitation and abuse, corruption, fraud, and any behavior lacking integrity.

Action Against Hunger Canada is committed to safeguarding children and adults in the communities where we work. Our safeguarding commitment is to ensure that children and adults are protected from both deliberate and unintentional harm or abuse caused by Action Against Hunger staff, including the Prevention from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA).

In an effort to safeguard children and adults in communities we work, our offers of employment are conditional on successfully clearing background checks that may include, but are not limited to, criminal records, vulnerable sector screening, and employment references.