Nutrition Assistant - Ref #529

Job Purpose

The Nutrition Assistant will be in direct contact with the supported Community Outreach Volunteers. She/he will be overseeing the routine malnutrition screening of Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) as well as Children Under Five (CU5) within all distribution sites. In addition, the Nutrition Assistant will be supporting the community interventions such as Social Behavior Change Package, Awareness Raising Sessions, and Women Support Groups. 

Travel: Required from and to the different distribution sites in Lebanon (Bekaa, Baalbek-El Hermel, and all areas in Beirut with possibility to travel elsewhere as needed).

Responsibilities

• Support the malnutrition screening activities conducted by the community outreach volunteers at the different distribution sites.
• Ensure the availability of all necessary supplies at the distribution site, monitor their usage, and report any shortages of supplies and micronutrient supplements.
• Monitor the performance and behaviour of community outreach volunteers toward beneficiaries.
• Follow-up with malnourished cases referred to PHCs to ensure proper admission to the treatment program.
• Coordinate with the Nutrition Officer for malnutrition referrals to ensure that appointments are booked for beneficiaries with physicians at the PHC. 
• Address any inquiries from Community Outreach Volunteers to ensure smooth and accurate implementation of project activities. 
• Support the MEAL department by conducting regular site visits to supervise volunteer performance in nutritional screening, dissemination of IYCF key messages, referrals, completing Kobo forms, and provision of MNPS, as needed. 
• Review all completed and saved forms by the end of the distribution day and submit them promptly. 
• Report any challenges encountered to the Nutrition Coordinator in a timely manner.
• Assist in preparing materials related to the SBC package and topics to be delivered during Women Support Groups. 
• Participate in community interventions and awareness-raising sessions. 
• Organize IYCF sessions and cooking classes in coordination with beneficiaries.
• Assist and deliver IYCF sessions to pregnant and lactating women (PLWs) and caregivers of children aged 0-23 months who are identified as having incorrect IYCF practices during rapid assessments.
• Report daily and weekly to the Nutrition coordinator on all conducted activities, by completing the required reporting forms and databases.
• Efficiently collaborate with Mercy USA distribution and protection teams.
• Ensure timely coordination and clear communication with funding agency as needed.
• Participate in training, bi-weekly meetings and development programs as required.
• Ensure compliance with SOPs and Mercy USA internal policies and regulations.

Working Conditions

• Stationed in the field with frequent visits to the distribution sites (on a national level). 
• Frequent visits to the office for meetings, trainings, and office work.
• Most of the work is in Bekaa, Baalbek-El Hermel, and all areas in Beirut with possibility to travel elsewhere as needed.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrate integrity and respect to Mercy-USA’s values and mission.
• Display cultural, religious, racial, gender, age and nationality sensitivity and adaptability along with respect to all.
• Promote vision, mission and strategic plan of Mercy-USA.

Functional Competencies 

• Accurately completes and organizes multiple tasks by taking into account priorities and deadlines. 
• Builds and establishes proper work relationships with management, staff, partners and stakeholders as required.
• Ability to encourage and enable people to work together as a team to accomplish the project.

Behavioral Competencies 

• Strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Quick learner, high flexibility and ability to multitask. 
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Good cultural awareness and sensitivity of the area of operations.
• Trustworthy and maintains confidentiality.
• Analytical and practical problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work in constantly changing security environments.
• Demonstrated capacity of teamwork and of coordination with the relevant actors.
• Timely response to urgent requests for information.
• Giving objective feedback and responding well to feedback.

Minimum Hiring Requirements 

• A university degree in Nutrition.
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience with the Nutrition Sector is mandatory.
• Previous experience with the Food security sector is preferrable.
• Previous experience in malnutrition or community screening programs (screening and identification of malnutrition cases) is mandatory.
• Have completed the 20-hours IYCF training.
• Previous experience in NGOs and humanitarian field is an advantage.
• Previous experience in IYCF program implementation is an advantage.
• Good report writing skills.
• Management skills.
• Organization skills, including time management and the ability to meet deadlines.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and presentational skills.
• Native Arabic speaker and fluency in English is necessary.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel), Google drive tools, and Kobo collect.

Child Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Disclaimer:

Mercy-USA is committed to child safeguarding and PSEA at all operational levels to protect its staff, volunteers and beneficiaries from the harm that arises out of sexual exploitation and abuse.  Mercy-USA conducts background checks on all new hires including requesting police reports. When individuals are terminated from Mercy-USA because of claims related to child safeguarding or PSEA, after investigation, they are reported to relevant authorities and added to relevant criminal/abuser registries to ensure they are not hired again by other INGOs, local NGOs or the UN.

Candidate Considerations: 

Mercy-USA prioritizes protecting employee culture and maintaining the quality of our work. The following documents will be requested if you are considered for hire: 

• Police Check/Report
• ID
• References List 

It is possible that as a condition for hiring, Mercy-USA will, with your consent, conduct an International Background Check and/or check national and interagency sex offender registries.