Stretch Assignment - Nutrition Specialist, P3, Maiduguri, Nigeria (4 months)

Nigeria has the second highest number of malnourished children in the world and the highest in Africa. Malnutrition, in all its forms, is a violation of children’s right to adequate nutrition. To change the narrative, UNICEF, in partnership with the government and other stakeholders, aims to deliver good quality prevention and treatment services at scale to build resilience and protect the most vulnerable, particularly during the First 1000 Days of Life. The focus, in keeping with UNICEF Nigeria’s new Country Programme Strategy (2023-2027), is to (i) strengthen the enabling environment, including data, to inform policy and programming; (ii) strengthen systems, especially the health, food and social protection system to deliver high-quality services; and (iii) address social and behavioural practices that influence diets and practices.

The Maiduguri Field Office operates in one of UNICEF Nigeria’s most complex humanitarian contexts, overseeing programmes across Borno and Yobe States. Protracted insecurity, population displacement, food insecurity, climatic shocks and disease outbreaks continue to drive high levels of acute malnutrition among children and women. Through integrated humanitarian, development and peacebuilding interventions, the office works with government and partners to deliver life-saving services, strengthen systems and build community resilience in a challenging operating environment.

The delivery of high impact and integrated services will ensure that children's rights to good nutrition and other social services in both development and emergency contexts are met. UNICEF, as nutrition cluster lead, continues to support the government and state actors to take the lead, own and drive change for the benefit of children as part of resilience programming, by developing context appropriate and durable solutions for the scale-up of multi-sectoral preventive and lifesaving nutrition programmes in the focus states.  

This stretch assignment provides a professional development opportunity for UNICEF staff interested in deepening their experience working in nutrition and emergency response contexts.

The Nutrition Specialist supports the development and preparation of the nutrition programme and is responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting the programme progress of a sector of the nutrition programme within the country programme. The Nutrition Specialist provides technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes to facilitate the administration and achievement of concrete and sustainable results in maternal, infant and child nutrition programmes/projects. This is carried out according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance, and accountability framework.

The Nutrition Specialist will be responsible for the following accountabilities: 

1. Support to programme development and planning
2. Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
3. Technical and operational support to programme implementation
4. Networking and partnership building
5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

For more details, please click on the following Job Description :   GJP Nutrition Specialist Level 3.doc

Required qualification.

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required:  nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, nutritional epidemiology, or another health-related science field.

Required experience.

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in a developing country in one or more of the following areas is required: nutrition, public health, nutrition planning and management, or maternal, infant and child health/nutrition care.

Desired experience

• Understanding of humanitarian, development and peace contexts and programming is an advantage.
• Experience working on nutrition in emergency is an advantage.
• Experience in health/nutrition programme/ project development and management in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.

• Fluency in English (verbal and written).
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills

Interested UNICEF staff should discuss this opportunity with their supervisor, seek the approval of their management, and attach the documents listed below:

1. A cover letter detailing your motivation, qualification and suitability
2. Your up-to-date CV
3. Your last two PERs
4. Approval from your CO Representative. (Mandatory)

Advertised: 06 Nov 2026 W. Central Africa Standard Time
Applications close: 13 Nov 2026 W. Central Africa Standard Time

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