Joint Action to Stop Wasting Learning Consultant

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling. UNICEF is a place where careers are built, offering diverse opportunities for professional and personal development. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package. Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

The Joint Action to Stop Wasting (JASW) Initiative

The UNICEF–WFP Joint Action to Stop Wasting (JASW) is a partnership model aimed at accelerating progress towards reducing child wasting in humanitarian settings with high levels of food insecurity and high burden of child wasting. Through this partnership, UNICEF and WFP jointly support governments to operationalize the 2023 WHO Guideline on the Prevention and Management of Child Wasting and Nutritional Edema, promoting programmatic shifts that strengthen national systems and deliver results at scale. The initiative represents a new way of working together—one that places prevention at the center, addresses maternal nutrition as a key entry point, and ensures the delivery of a comprehensive, integrated package of preventive and treatment services for the most vulnerable communities. It started implementation in a first set of five “frontrunner” countries — Kenya, Nigeria, Madagascar, South Sudan, and Haiti — focusing on coordinated programming, systems strengthening, and generation of implementation evidence. As part of JASW’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) agenda, a workstream on implementation learning has been designed to capture how JASW is being operationalized at country level — what approaches are working, under what conditions, and through which enabling or constraining factors. This learning will inform adaptive management during implementation, as well as the adaptation of the JASW partnership model and broader global efforts on wasting prevention and treatment integration. As part of this workstream, a global Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework for the JASW has been developed and is being used by the five frontrunner countries to monitor implementation progress and support systematic learning across contexts.

The Learning Exercise Methodology

The learning exercise will use a mixed-methods approach, combining:

• Routine monitoring data (based on JASW M&E framework)
• Focus group discussions and key informant interviews to explore acceptability, feasibility, and barriers.
• Direct observations of service delivery to assess fidelity and quality.

And where possible:

• Surveys/questionnaires to assess participation, satisfaction, and user experiences.
• Participatory workshops with communities and frontline workers to identify bottlenecks and propose solutions.

Respondents will include health staff, frontline workers, programme managers, caregivers, and community leaders, ensuring diverse perspectives on feasibility, workload, cultural appropriateness, and access barriers.

Purpose Of The Consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the five frontrunner countries (Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, and South Sudan) to document the implementation of the Joint Action to Stop Wasting (JASW) and produce learning briefs. The Joint Action to Stop Wasting Learning Consultant will provide technical and methodological support throughout the learning process — including the design of data collection approaches, facilitation of data gathering and analysis, and preparation of country-level learning briefs and multi-country thematic briefs. In addition, the consultant will facilitate the synthesis of findings across countries, identifying common patterns, good practices, and lessons learned to inform adaptive management and guide the JASW partnership model.

Minimum Requirements

Education:

• Advanced degree in Public Health, Nutrition, Social Sciences, or a related field.

Work Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in programme evaluation, implementation research, or learning documentation.
• Proven experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis in the area of nutrition.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize findings and produce high-quality analytical reports.
• Experience working with UNICEF, WFP, or other UN agencies is an asset.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills in English (French desirable).

UNICEF Values

For every Child, you demonstrate UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) which underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values.

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 reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities 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.

Application Process

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal (Talent Management System):

• Up-to-date CV
• Up-to-date TMS profile and Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal (Please use this given template - TMC0001304 Financial proposal template.docx)

Remarks

If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not visible on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers. 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. All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here. Advertised: 11 Mar 2026 Eastern Daylight Time, Deadline: 25 Mar 2026 Eastern Daylight Time.

Key skills/competency

• Program Evaluation
• Implementation Research
• Qualitative Data Analysis
• Quantitative Data Analysis
• Report Writing
• Technical Assistance
• Child Nutrition
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Mixed-methods Research
• Humanitarian Settings