Senior Infant and Young Child Feeding Specialist (Consultant)

Background

The Nutrition and Health Department at Action Against Hunger (AAH) is planning to implement a nutrition program in response to the increased needs for Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) support. The program aims to alleviate urgent food and nutrition security status of the most vulnerable HHs by providing one-off cash assistance in addition to close support and counselling on IYCF to vulnerable caregivers.

Purpose of Assignment

The Senior IYCF Specialist will act as a consultant to enhance the knowledge, technical skills and decision-making skills of IYCF specialists working with vulnerable caregivers in Bekaa and South of Lebanon. The consultant will train the IYCF specialists recruited as part of the program on the most needed topics and how to document efforts and improve approach and support to caregivers. The consultant will also provide support and supervision to the specialists, on field and consequently report on all efforts done.

Location and timing

• Location: AAH bases: Bekaa and South
• Duration: Total of 25 days from May to September 2021.

Specific tasks include

• Training Preparation (5 days)
  • Prepare the training materials on topics* included below and prepare the forms for documentation, assessments, follow-ups.
  • Adapt the training materials as appropriate to meet the level of the training participants.
  • Prepare pre/post-test based on aims and material developed.
  • Advise AAH regarding the materials required for trainings and how to prepare the participants.
• Training delivery (8 days; 4 per base):
  • Deliver the trainings as coordinated with the designated leads of the Nutrition Team at AAH.
  • Conduct pre and post-tests.
• On field supervision and support (10 days; 5 per base)
  • Provide on-field direct supervision and support to all IYCF specialists to improve their technical skills and decision-making skills when supporting caregivers. On-the-job support and supervision are to be provided to each specialist at least 2 times.
  • Share constructive feedback with each specialist and conduct on-the-spot refresher training if needed.
  • Submit detailed report on supervision outcomes and ways of improvement.
  • Provide feedback to line manager on performance and areas of development.
• Final report and lessons learned (2 days)
  • Develop an end of task report that includes summary of efforts made during the program and outlining lessons learned and key recommendations for program improvement, with discussion with managing teams.

Training topics

Trainings should be based on the official training package endorsed by MoPH with elaboration on other topics as well. Topics to train IYCF Specialists on include, but are not limited to:

• IYCF in emergencies and IYCF SOP in emergencies in Lebanon
• Law 47/2008 and The Code
• Breastfeeding: Early initiation of breastfeeding, position and breastfeeding common challenges, exclusive breastfeeding, continued breastfeeding, common misconceptions and how to address them, re-lactation techniques, rooming in, skin-to-skin techniques, birth plan and hospital support and education, milk production and expression of breastmilk and storage, breastfeeding in the context of COVID (at home/hospital), responsive feeding
  • NOTE: Training by UNICEF/MOPH will be provided to the IYCF specialist through IOCC covering breastfeeding basics. The training prepared by the consultant is required not to overlap, but complement that training
• Caring for non-breastfed children: Cases where caregivers may not be able to breastfeed, support on artificial feeding skills and knowledge, building caregivers skills
• Complementary feeding: introduction of food, skills for feeding, diet diversity and frequency, food safety
• Caring and feeding preterm children, low-birth weight children, growth monitoring
• Involving other caregivers and support systems
• Maternal nutrition and health
• Counselling techniques skills: face to face and remote

The consultant will be also requested to develop or refer to exisiting forms for monitoring and documentation and train specialsts on proper use. Forms could include:

• Feedback and direct observation of mother by the specialist
• Full assessments on child feeding practices and IYCF_E
• Follow-up forms to track and support caregivers efficiently
• Referral to other services, etc.

Deliverables

• Training material in form or PowerPoint, IEC material, learning material.
• Reporting material in form of Word document and/or excel sheets.
• Training schedule.
• Detailed report on observations and recommendations based on supervision visits/sessions for each specialist.
• Feedback and recommendations to each lactation specialist.
• Feedback to line manager on performance and areas of development.
• Final report on outlining efforts, progress and recommendations/lessons learned.

Working environment

Due to the current unpredictable environment in Lebanon and uncertainty of road access and security, the consultant will need be open to adaptations to this ToR in terms of tasks and locations and to the final number of billable hours/ days. The Consultant will not have dedicated office space at AAH but will have access to AAH premises for the purpose of training and meeting with relevant supervisees. The access needs to be communicated in advance and validated by the Head of department/line manager. The position also requires supervision delivered at field sites during the implementation of activities in the Bekaa and South area.

Qualifications

• Recognised as a certified trainer for IYCF by the MoPH, Lebanon
• Preferably an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)
• Experience delivering the training package to staff members with nutrition background and lactation/IYCF specialists
• Previous supervisory experience in similar role
• At least 5 years’ experience as certified IYCF/lactation specialist
• Experience in the humanitarian sector is desired
• Proficient with MS office (Word, Excel, and Power Point)
• Proficiency in English and Arabic
• Outstanding communication, both written and verbal
• Ability to travel to/from the above locations. The consultant will have access to Action Against Hunger’s transportation from its different bases Beirut, Zahle and Tyre