Nutritionist

Nutritionist (Ref:13-46 N/IRS/SSA)

The International Potato Center (CIP) is seeking a Nutritionist with skills in behavioral change to support CIP’s orange-fleshed sweetpotato work in a regional project.

The Center: CIP is a not-for-profit international agricultural research-for-development organization with a focus on potato, sweetpotato, and Andean roots and tubers. Its vision is of roots and tubers improving the lives of the poor. CIP is dedicated to achieving food security, improved well-being, and gender equity for poor people in root and tuber farming and food systems of the developing world. CIP works with partners to contribute high quality science, technology, and capacity strengthening for sustainable science-based solutions. CIP is headquartered in Lima, Peru, with staff and activities in over 30 locations across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. CIP is a member of the CGIAR Consortium. CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by the 15 research centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. The CIP Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) main regional office is in Nairobi, Kenya. CIP also has an existing office in 7 other SSA countries.

The Position: The nutritionist will be based in Kigali, Rwanda with extensive travel within Rwanda and occasional travel to Mozambique, Malawi, and Kenya. The specialist will report to the Project Leader for the Going-to-Scale Intervention using orange-fleshed sweetpotato as an entry point in an integrated agriculture-nutrition-marketing project. The principal tasks and responsibilities will include, but not limited to the following:

Duties and responsibilities:

• Design and implement formative research with local partners in each country to understand current dietary practices and identify key entry points for successfully changing behaviors concerning dietary practices.
• Design, analyze, and write up nutrition-related components for structured surveys.
• Engage with country teams and partners to develop cost-effective nutrition interventions that can be taken to scale at the community level, especially those utilizing orange-fleshed sweetpotato as a key component for combatting vitamin A deficiency.
• Participate with monitoring and evaluation teams in assessing the performance of nutrition interventions and backstopping teams in any necessary adjustments.
• Work with media and marketing teams and the private sector to develop appropriate nutrition messages with accurate nutrition information.
• Participate in the design of appropriate job tools for those engaged at the community level and those engaged in influencing consumers in urban markets.
• Participate as a trainer in annual learning-by-doing trainer of trainers’ courses.
• Engage with policy makers at different fora to advocate for food-based interventions.

Selection Criteria:

• PhD degree in Nutrition or Public Health with at least 2 years of experience in community-level nutrition programs or Master’s Degree in Nutrition with at least 5 years’ experience in community level nutrition or other health programs with efforts to change behaviors.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.  Working knowledge of French required.
• Good publishing record.
• Familiarity with working on food-based interventions a plus.
• Aptitude for teamwork, leadership, training, and communications skills.
• Willingness to travel extensively within the country and the region.

Conditions: The employment contract will be for a three-year term (with a three month probation period) with the possibility of renewal, subject to availability of funding. The salary will be internationally competitive, paid in US dollars, and commensurate with experience. CIP prides itself on its collegial and supportive working environment, which allows space for personal and professional growth.

Applications: Applicants should apply by email, sending a cover letter summarizing their relevance to this position, a full C.V. and the names and contact information of three referees knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to cip-recruitment@cgiar.org, copied to Jan Low (j.low@cgiar.org). The reference name of the position should be clearly marked on the subject line of the email message. Screening of applications will begin on October 01, 2013 and will continue until the post is filled.

CIP seeks diversity and gender balance in its staff.

Women and citizens of developing countries are particularly urged to apply.

To learn more about CIP please visit http://www.cipotato.org/