Nutrition Officer (NO-2), #00139045, TA (364 days), Cotabato -Philippines, APR

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to a Champion

How can you make a difference?

UNICEF has been a long-standing partner of the Government of the Philippines and civil society in realizing the rights of every Filipino child, in line with national priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNICEF focuses its efforts on the most vulnerable regions identified in the Philippine Development Plan, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao. To ensure that interventions are sustainable and taken to scale, UNICEF supports both the national government and local government units (LGUs) as the main channels for delivering services and building systems, tailoring its engagement with government institutions to their capacities, economies of scale and sector priorities.

UNICEF Philippines operates through its country office in Manila and a field office in Cotabato City, the second largest city in Mindanao, Southern Philippines, with a population of some 300,000. Cotabato City is the regional administrative centre of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), where over 80 percent of the population is Muslim. Mindanao is both conflict-affected and prone to frequent earthquakes and typhoons, making emergency preparedness and response an integral part of UNICEF’s work. From Cotabato City, UNICEF’s nutrition programme works closely with the Ministry of Health (MOH-BARMM), the Bangsamoro Nutrition Commission, LGUs, BARMM institutions, civil society and implementing partners to strengthen nutrition across the life cycle – from maternal nutrition and infant and young child feeding to the prevention and management of wasting, micronutrients, adolescent nutrition, social and behaviour change and nutrition in emergencies – so that results for children and women in BARMM are sustained and taken to scale.

Under the guidance of the Health and Nutrition Specialist (NOC), you will manage assigned components of UNICEF’s nutrition programme in BARMM with significant autonomy, covering the full programming cycle from evidence generation and design to implementation, monitoring, reporting and learning. You will provide technical leadership to MOH-BARMM, the Bangsamoro Nutrition Commission, LGUs, BARMM institutions and implementing partners, using evidence to strengthen programme results, risk management and decision-making. This role oversees implementation, expenditure, supplies, partner performance and reporting, while guiding quality interventions in maternal nutrition, IYCF, wasting, micronutrients, adolescent nutrition, nutrition information, SBC and nutrition in emergencies. You will lead selected partnerships, represent UNICEF in technical forums, contribute to policy dialogue, resource mobilization and donor accountability, and strengthen programme capacity through coaching, technical supervision and knowledge exchange. This role promotes evidence use, innovation and digital solutions to sustain and scale results for children and women across BARMM.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Terms Of Reference Nutrition Officer, TA, NOB, Cotabo, Philippines.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Bachelor or equivalent (First Level University Degree) in Nutrition and Dietetics, Public Health, Nutrition, Nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, or another health-related science field is required.
• Work Experience: At least 2 years of relevant work experience in Nutrition, public health, nutrition planning and management, or maternal, infant and child health/nutrition care or a related field is required.
• Skills: Data Tools, Programme Management, Monitoring, Quality Assurance, Partnerships, Capacity Building.
• Language Requirements : English and Filipino Proficiency/Fluency are required.

Desirables:

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is considered an asset.
• UN Experience, RBM Certification, and BARMM Knowledge are desirable.
• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts will be considered an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of serious misconduct.

UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable.

Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidates' willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

Visa residence requirements: i.e. UNICEF shall not facilitate the issuance of a visa and working authorization for candidates under consideration for positions at the national officer and general service category.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Advertised: 12 Nov 2026 Singapore Standard Time
Applications close: 26 Nov 2026 Singapore Standard Time

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