Mission and objectivesUNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEFโs mandate, mission and unique attributes provide a strategic advantage in promoting and supporting transformational change to achieve sustainable coverage at scale. After more than 45 years in Lao PDR, UNICEF Lao PDR UNICEF is one of the longest-serving international organizations in the country plays an important role in supporting the government, advocating for reform and leading coordination to scale-up results.
ContextUNICEF, operational in Lao PDR for over 50 years, promotes the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does โ in programs, in advocacy and in operations. This position will contribute to the outcome of the Nutrition Programme under the Country Programme of Cooperation between the Government of Lao PDR and UNICEF 2022-2026: โBy 2026, more infants, children, adolescents and women have equitable access to and benefit from highimpact multisectoral nutrition interventionsโ, more specifically to the second output under the nutrition outcome - output 2:Government authorities at national and subnational levels and their partners have strengthened capacity to deliver convergent quality and equitable high impact nutrition interventions and services. The post holder is expected to contribute to the nutrition teamโs support to the Ministry of Education on school nutrition, to the Ministry of Health on food regulations and to the Ministries of Agriculture and Health on food systems in order to strengthen nutrition sensitive interventions in Lao PDR.
Task DescriptionI. Support to programme development and planning โช Participate in strategic program discussion on the planning of projects/activities related to nutrition sensitive interventions namely in education and food systems. โช Provide technical and operational support during all phases of the programming planning processes, including workplanning and planning events, ensuring that activities are integrated, coherent, and harmonized with other section activities. II. Technical and operational support to programme implementation โช With the guidance from the Chief and Nutrition specialists, provide technical support to MOES, including for the effective functioning of the Education Nutrition Committee meeting, and for the implementation of the minimum package of nutrition interventions in secondary schools. โช With the guidance from the Chief and Nutrition specialists, provide technical support to MOH for the development of food based regulation and the Lao PDR Nutrient Profile Model. โช Collaborate with relevant actors from Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), Ministry of (MOH), and development partners, to define and implement activities related to food systems. โช Provide technical support for the implementation of the UNJP, ADAP-led projects on youth engagement for healthier diets (SDG funds and H4LF) as well as on initiatives related to Fix my Food. โช Contribute to the development of key policies and strategies including the National Nutrition Strategy and Plan of Action, on issues related to food systems, school nutriton and food environment regulations. โช Support the development of technical guidance and communication & information materials pertaining to food systems. โช Support to draft policy papers, briefs and other strategic programme materials for management use, information and/or consideration. III. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results โช Participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises (including Programatic Visits), program reviews and annual reviews with government and other counterparts to assess progress and to determine required action/interventions to achieve results. โช Prepare reports and contribute to identifying gaps, strengths/weaknesses in program and management, identify lessons learned and use knowledge gained for development planning and timely intervention to achieve goals.
Competencies and valuesโข Accountability โข Adaptability and flexibility โข Creativity โข Judgement and decision-making โข Planning and organising โข Professionalism โข Self-management
Living conditions and remarksLao PDR is a family duty station and is relatively safe but special cautions must be aware when walking alone at nighttime. There is a wide range options for accommodation, including apartments and individual houses. Rents vary from approximately USD500 per month for a one-bedroom apartment to USD1,500 per month for larger properties. There are many options of transportation at affordable costs including taxis, bicycles, motorbike or car, however road traffic accidents are common. Medical facilities are available in Laos and complex medical procedures are usually done in Thailand. The banking system is well developed and functional, most payments in Vientiane are done electronically. International Schools are available in the duty station and are following International Curriculum that are globally recognized. You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.โ Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements Selected candidates for certain occupational groups may be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in line with the applicable host entityโs policy