Organizational Setting
ESN/UN-NUTRITION
UN-Nutrition is the United Nations’ platform for collective action on nutrition, hosted by FAO in Rome under the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)’s mandate. It was founded in 2020 and unites agencies to align efforts, reduce fragmentation, and support national and global nutrition goals. A Steering Committee of five constituent agencies (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO; the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD; the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF; the World Food Programme, WFP; and the World Health Organization, WHO) plus rotating members (the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA; and CGIAR) provides governance, with broader UN membership reflecting system-wide commitment.
UN-Nutrition exists to help the UN system act as one for nutrition. Its mission is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and coherence of nutrition-related work across UN agencies—fostering purposeful alignment, joint advocacy, and strategic integration of nutrition into development and humanitarian agendas. Rather than implementing directly, UN-Nutrition enables and supports UN-Nutrition teams to deliver coordinated, context aligned assistance that advances national priorities and the right to adequate food and nutrition for all.
To achieve UN-Nutrition's workplan, three different profiles are required: Thought Leadership and Partnership Expert, Advocacy Lead, Reporting and Governance Support Specialist.
Reporting Lines
The incumbent reports to the Senior UN-Nutrition Coordinator.
Technical Focus
The UN-Nutrition Specialist roles comprise three distinct focus areas:
• The Advocacy Lead (Nutrition) will lead and support global nutrition advocacy efforts for UN-Nutrition and its members, with responsibility for team management and oversight of knowledge management and communications workstreams.
• The Thought Leadership and Partnership Expert (Nutrition) will provide thought leadership for nutrition and drive strategic engagement and coordination with relevant partnership platforms, systems, and fora.
• The Reporting and Governance Support Specialist (Nutrition) will support Secretariat reporting, governance, and stewardship, as well as FAO processes and systems, with particular attention to Secretariat knowledge flows and the delivery of timely, quality-assured inputs to UN-Nutrition oversight and accountability processes.
Tasks and responsibilities
Advocacy Lead (Nutrition) or Thought Leadership and Partnership Expert (Nutrition)
• Lead development and implementation of a unified advocacy or partnership strategy aligned with UN-Nutrition priorities.
• Coordinate joint advocacy or partnership workplans across member agencies, ensuring coherent narratives and aligned positions.
• Represent UN-Nutrition in global policy processes and interagency mechanisms, advocating for nutrition integration across food systems, climate, health, and sustainable development agendas.
• Manage strategic engagement in global platforms—including CFS, the UN Food Systems Hub, OPN-SFS, the SUN Movement, and the HDSFS Coalition—ensuring coordinated inputs, governance participation, and consolidated reporting.
• Build and manage partnerships with governments, UN entities, donors, civil society, and advocacy networks to elevate nutrition in high-level dialogues.
• Identify and leverage key opportunities for advocacy or partnership engagement; coordinate joint initiatives, events, communications, and involvement of champions or influencers.
• Produce concise evidence-based materials—briefs, talking points, narratives, statements, slide decks—to support advocacy or partnership efforts and leadership engagement.
• Oversee knowledge management standards, knowledge exchange, and quality assurance for advocacy or partnership-related products.
• Develop and implement monitoring frameworks for advocacy or partnership work, prepare analytical updates, and advise leadership on strategic adjustments.
• Support and mentor staff or consultants supporting advocacy, partnerships, communications, and knowledge management; deliver related capacity-building activities.
• Perform any other tasks as required.
Reporting and Governance Support Specialist (Nutrition)
• Coordinate annual and biennial Secretariat reporting, including calendars, templates, guidance, data consolidation, drafting, and version control.
• Apply organizational reporting requirements, secure technical clearances, coordinate with finance, and maintain evidence files.
• Support light monitoring and evaluation for reporting, including indicator tracking, lessons learned, and simple dashboards.
• Provide logistical and content support for Steering Committee and membership meetings, including agendas, notes, action trackers, summaries, and follow-up.
• Maintain governance files—membership lists, rotation schedules, archives—and support updates to internal guidance.
• Maintain governance and workplan dashboards for Secretariat leadership and membership.
• Ensure compliance with organizational procedures for documentation, routing, agreements, budget instruments, and archiving.
• Track monthly budgets, liaise with finance focal points, monitor expenditures, and prepare concise budget summaries and dashboards.
• Maintain orderly digital workspaces (SharePoint/Teams) through structured folders, naming conventions, permissions, and authoritative versions.
• Prepare leadership packages and communication materials (briefs, talking points, slides, background notes) and maintain a tagged repository of approved products.
• Perform any other tasks as required.
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in public health, nutrition, international relations, political science, communications, food systems, development studies or a related field; Consultants with bachelor's degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience.
• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in advocacy, partnerships, policy development, nutrition, food security, public health or international development for Advocacy Lead or Thought Leadership and Partnership Expert
• Minimum 1 year of experience in coordination, reporting, project/knowledge support or administration in international or multi-stakeholder settings for the Reporting and Governance Support Specialist.
• Working knowledge of English
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Technical/Functional Skills
Advocacy & Partnerships
• Ability to design, implement, and monitor evidence-based advocacy or partnership strategies aligned with global policy agendas and UN-Nutrition priorities.
• Strong communication, negotiation, diplomacy, and influencing skills, with experience engaging high-level decision-makers and representing organizations in global and intergovernmental fora.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead and coordinate multi-agency or multi-stakeholder initiatives, ensuring coherent messaging, aligned inputs, and effective cross-UN collaboration.
• Deep understanding of global nutrition, food systems, and sustainable development, with familiarity with major platforms and governance structures (e.g., CFS, SUN Movement, HDSFS Coalition, OPN-SFS, UNFSS, climate COPs).
• Proven ability to provide technical guidance on nutrition-sensitive policies, programming, or investments, translating analysis and evidence into strategic recommendations.
• Strong analytical skills, including data interpretation, indicator tracking, results-based management, and contribution to monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.
• Ability to prepare high-quality briefs, policy papers, and presentations for senior audiences, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and alignment with organizational positions.
• Experience navigating UN or international organization procedures—clearance processes, governance mechanisms, project cycle requirements, and coordination structures.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to guide, mentor, and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams in complex institutional environments.
• Strong organizational skills to manage multiple high-level initiatives, deadlines, and workflows efficiently.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).
Reporting, Governance & Coordination
• Ability to support coordination of multi-agency meetings and governance processes, including agenda preparation, note-taking, action tracking, and maintenance of structured files and archives.
• Experience compiling and formatting reports using shared templates, supporting routing and clearance, and assisting with basic monitoring and data tracking.
• Familiarity with UN or organizational processes (e.g., project documentation, budgeting categories, administrative workflows) and ability to follow established procedures using provided guidance.
• Basic understanding of knowledge management principles and capacity to maintain organized SharePoint/Teams libraries, web content updates, and document version control.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple deadlines while maintaining accurate document trails.
• Proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and collaboration tools (SharePoint/Teams); familiarity with CMS or communication tools (e.g., Mailchimp) is an asset.
• Strong writing and communication skills, including the ability to synthesize inputs and draft clear summaries or sections of reports.
• Ability to work proactively and collaboratively in virtual, multicultural teams, with adaptability to support a broad range of coordination and administrative tasks.
• Knowledge of monitoring, evaluation, and basic data analytics is an advantage.
• Experience in international development, humanitarian settings, or the nutrition sector is an asset.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).