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Senior Nutrition Research Specialist (Technical Advisor I)

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FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. Our staff includes experts in Health, Education, Nutrition, Environment, Economic Development, Civil Society, Gender, Youth, Research and Technology– creating a unique mix of capabilities to address today's interrelated development challenges. FHI 360 serves more than 60 countries, all 50 U.S. states and all U.S. territories. We seek qualified candidates for the position of Senior Nutrition Research Specialist (Technical Advisor I) in Washington, DC.

Position Description:

FANTA-III works to improve nutrition and food security policies, strategies and programs through technical support to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partners, including host country governments, international organizations and NGO implementing partners. Focus areas for technical assistance include the prevention of undernutrition; nutritional assessment, care and support for HIV and other infectious diseases; food security; and emergency nutrition response. FANTA-III develops and adapts approaches to support the design and quality implementation of gender-sensitive field programs, while building on field experience to improve and expand the evidence base, methods and global standards for nutrition and food security programming. The project, funded by USAID, is a five-year cooperative agreement.

The Senior Nutrition Research Specialist serves as the FANTA III lead advisor on technical issues related to specialized foods, food safety and food hygiene. This includes managing a portfolio of specialized food- and food hygiene-related research studies; participating in key inter-agency meetings related to specialized food and food hygiene issues; leading FANTA III reviews of specialized food product proposals; managing all technical updates related to the USAID Commodities Reference Guide; and preparing technical briefs to translate research findings into programmatic recommendations and capacity building materials. In addition, the Senior Nutrition Research Specialist may also be requested to undertake secondary data analysis for various research activities. This includes managing the Title II meta-data set, compiling and cleaning data, as necessary, and carrying out secondary analysis to respond to requests from USAID/Washington and Missions. In addition, the Senior Nutrition Research Specialist works with the FANTA III Global Leadership Team to provide programmatic and technical support for USAID-supported nutrition, food security, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities.

Specific activities may include:

  • Manage a portfolio of FANTA III specialized food- and food hygiene-related research studies, including responsibility for contract management, contributions to discussions of study design and protocols, review of draft analysis plans and reports of study findings, and translation of research findings into presentations, briefs, programmatic recommendations, guidelines and technical notes
  • Lead FANTA III technical assistance in the area of specialized food, food safety, and food hygiene, including responding to requests from USAID/Washington and Missions to serve as a technical reviewer of Title II commodity proposals, USDA/USAID commercial item descriptions for specialized food products, International Food Relief Partnership (IFRP) commodity and distribution grant proposals, and to participate in the food hygiene M&E working group
  • Represent FANTA III in the LNS Research Network, the Food Safety and Quality Assurance Working group of the USAID Food Aid Consultative Group and the Food Hygiene M&E Working Group convened by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme on Water Supply and Sanitation
  • Establish effective collaboration with other cooperating and implementing agencies, and donors working with specialized food products or food safety/quality assurance issues to share knowledge, lessons learned and best practices
  • Serve as a resource person within the project for research and programmatic issues related to the formulation and use of LNS, and other specialized food products, among various target groups;
  • Responsible for building capacity of FANTA III technical staff in the area of specialized foods by preparing briefing materials (“cheat sheets”) to summarize key technical issues, such as the difference in nutrient content of specialized food products, the demonstrated efficacy/effectiveness of various products, the appropriate target groups and use of products
  • Develop new technical content and manage the process for revising and updating the USAID Commodities Reference Guide
  • Lead the development of an “evidence-based” ration guide, informed by the recommendations from the Food Aid Quality-Review, and findings from FANTA research studies (FAFSA-2, PM2A, Downstream uses of food aid, etc)
  • Lead the compilation, cleaning, and analysis of data for the Title II implementing partner survey meta-dataset, and respond to requests for presentation of the data via technical papers and/or presentations to USAID. Develop and review data analysis plans and undertake secondary data analysis of other data sources, as requested
  • Respond to requests from USAID/Washington for technical assistance, including serving as a technical reviewer of Title II Development Food Aid Programs, Title II Results Reports, and M&E plans, as requested
  • Collaborate with other FANTA III technical clusters, such as Delivery Science/Quality Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation, HIV and Infectious Disease, Emergency Nutrition, and Maternal Child Health and Nutrition, to share knowledge, deliverable outputs, and technical updates, and to work on activities of joint relevance
  • Work with other members of the Global Leadership Team to identify priority areas for technical assistance, research and development, related to specialized foods, food safety and food and water hygiene; and participate in and/or lead related technical activities, as requested
  • Contribute to the development of Project Annual Work Plans, particularly technical sections that address critical issues and the design, execution, analysis, and reporting of activities. Contribute to annual and evaluation reports of project progress as required
  • IIIesent FANTA-2e USAID Food Aid Consultative Group a via technical papers and/or presentations to USAIDarizing new development
  • Carry out other job-related tasks as assigned by the Project Director and Deputy Director-Global Leadership.

Minimum Requirements:

Master’s degree in nutrition or food science related field and at least 10 years of relevant work experience or a PhD nutrition-related degree and at least 3 years of relevant work experience or equivalent experience; Training and/or experience in food science and food hygiene/food safety issues, highly desirable; Experience managing and/or carrying out nutrition intervention efficacy or effectiveness studies, highly desirable; Demonstrated competency in maternal and child nutrition programs in developing countries, highly desirable; Experience in the provision of technical assistance to programs at the national and local levels, highly desirable; Experience with USAID and PVO programs, including USAID’s Title II Food Security programs, highly desirable; Ability to work in a multi-cultural team consisting of people with different technical backgrounds and with people with varying levels of technical training; Superior presentation skills, both written and oral. A writing sample will be required; Strong quantitative and research skills; Strong attention to detail; Ability to multi-task and manage complex projects; Demonstrated managerial, leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills; Facility with computing environments, including statistical software programs such as Epi-Info, Stata, SAS, or SPSS; English fluency is essential and French, Spanish or Portuguese ability is desired.

FHI 360 has a competitive compensation package. Interested candidates may register online through FHI 360's Career Center at www.fhi360.org/careercenter or through the Employment section atwww.fhi360.org. Please submit CV/resume and cover letter including salary requirements. Please specify source in your application.

AA/EOE/M/F/V/D

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