Consultancy: Food Fortification Consultant - Req.#

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Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

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Consultancy Title: Food Fortification Consultant Section/Division/Duty Station: PG-Climate Environment Energy & Disaster, Programme Division, NYHQ Duration: April 1 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025 Home/ Office Based: NYHQ / Remote   About UNICEF  If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For over 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.   BACKGROUND Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:   Large-scale food fortification (LSFF) of staples and condiments is one of the most cost-effective and scalable interventions to improve the quality of diets of populations at large when it is well designed, implemented, and monitored. LSFF can contribute to the nutritional and health status of the whole family, and benefit children, adolescents, and women, who bear the highest burden of micronutrient deficiencies and their associated adverse consequences and with large public health implications.   Salt iodization has been one of the most successful global public health interventions, yielding tremendous health benefits worldwide. However, mild iodine deficiency persists in some countries and within specific population sub-groups. Additionally, there is evidence of backsliding in iodine status in certain regions. Sustaining universal salt iodization (USI) requires its integration into the broader food fortification agenda, which itself requires greater focus to unlock its full potential.   UNICEF has been very committed to support the prevention of iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) mostly through USI over the last over two decades and is currently supporting 16 countries and four regions to strengthen their IDD/USI efforts. UNICEF is currently leading the renewed agenda for the prevention of IDDs and its integration within the larger food fortification and the food systems agendas. Additionally, UNICEF is spearheading regional level coordination and harmonization for food fortification in select regions globally.   The consultant will work closely with the UNICEF Food Systems for Childrens team and external stakeholders to support the achievement of key objectives and deliverables in line with agreed timelines and outputs.   Scope of Work: The consultant will support with effective planning and implementation of the food fortification programme, focusing on the following tasks:   The consultant will be responsible for the following: 1. Technical and analytical support: - Provide technical input to food fortification and food systems strategies and workplans. - Support with the development and maintenance of project timelines, tracking milestones and deliverables to ensure adherence to agreed schedules. - Support activities among the internal Food Systems team and stakeholders to align priorities and actions. - Support with the development and implementation of supportive social marketing strategies and the Fix My Food youth advocacy programme. - Assist with regular review of the relevant projects’ progress and agreed next steps/recommendations. 2. Reporting and documentation support: - Review projects’ progress reports submitted by the country and regional offices and support development of consolidated reports, aligned with the donors and organizational requirements. - Assist with the development and compliance of LSFF contracts and agreements with agreed terms and quality standards. - 3. Communication and dissemination support: - Assist with documentation of best practices, lessons learned, and innovative approaches to support programme scaling and knowledge sharing. - Support organizing meetings, workshops, and/or consultations to drive forward the goals of the Food System programme team, and documenting and disseminating key highlights and next steps from these events.   Travel, if applicable: (include estimated duration and potential locations).  The consultant is expected to make 3-4 travels during the consultanc