Nutrition Programme Specialist

Host entity: UNICEF

Volunteer type: National

Areas of expertise: Project management, programme development, strategy, Public health, immunisation, Nutrition

Application deadline: 11/09/2026

Mission and objectives

UNICEF in Cambodia works as part of the United Nations system, with the government, civil society, youth networks and other development partners to fulfil its mandate to promote and protect the rights of children and women. UNICEF’s work is guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and core human rights treaties, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The UNICEF / Royal Government of Cambodia five-year country programme 2024-2028 has been developed to advance the realization of children’s rights in Cambodia and aims to foster the growth and potential of all children and young people, especially the most vulnerable due to their gender, disability and ethnicity, by developing, funding, scaling innovative solutions and models into sector policies and children's programs. It also seeks to enhance national and subnational systems to improve the quality, inclusivity, and resilience of infrastructure and services.

The programme further emphasizes community mobilization and social and civic participation to promote positive norms, practices, and behaviors, while engaging policymakers, development partners and private-sector entities to support and advance child rights.

The five country programme components include Health and Nutrition, Education, Child Protection; WASH, and Policy and Public Finance for Children (PPF4C) together with cross-sectors including Gender Equality, Disability Inclusion, Adolescent Development and Participation, Social Behaviour Change, Climate Change and Technology for Development. The country office is located in Phnom Penh with a total staff number of approximately 110 persons, 20 of whom are internationals and 90 are nationals of Cambodia.

Assignment context

Cambodia has made substantial progress in improving child survival and reducing undernutrition over the past two decades. However, malnutrition remains a significant public health and development challenge. Child wasting continues to affect approximately one in ten children under five, while maternal malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, poor-quality diets and rising overweight and obesity continue to affect women and children across the life course. These challenges are compounded by inequities in access to quality nutrition services, limitations in routine nutrition information systems, health workforce capacity constraints and the need for stronger domestic financing and multisectoral coordination.

The Royal Government of Cambodia has placed nutrition at the centre of its human capital development agenda through the Fast Track Roadmap for Improving Nutrition (FTRIN) 2023–2030, the National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition, and broader health and social protection reforms. UNICEF works closely with the Ministry of Health, the National Nutrition Programme (NNP), the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the National Social Protection Council and development partners to strengthen national nutrition systems and accelerate progress towards national and global nutrition targets.

In 2026, Cambodia enters an important new phase with implementation of the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) Multi-Year Partnership Framework (2026–2030), a USD 13 million investment matched by the Government to reduce child wasting and strengthen national nutrition systems. The CNF is designed as a national systems strengthening platform rather than a stand-alone project, supporting expansion of Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM), scale-up of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) within antenatal care, strengthening of community-based early identification and referral systems, improvements in nutrition information systems, workforce performance, quality improvement, supply systems and programme governance.

The CNF also emphasizes sustainability through progressive domestic financing and institutionalization, including integration of nutrition interventions within the Family Package Social Assistance Programme and broader national nutrition financing strategies, while generating evidence to inform policy decisions and future scale-up.

Successful implementation requires close collaboration across government institutions, UNICEF programme sections, development partners and technical specialists. It also requires strong programme management, implementation monitoring, operational visibility, knowledge management and implementation learning to ensure that evidence generated is translated into programme improvement and systems strengthening.

The International UN Volunteer will join UNICEF Cambodia during implementation phase and will contribute to one of UNICEF's flagship nutrition systems strengthening initiative in Cambodia. Working closely with government counterparts, UNICEF specialists, technical consultants and development partners, the volunteer will gain practical experience in programme management, health systems strengthening, nutrition financing, implementation science, data for decision-making and organizational learning while contributing to improved nutrition outcomes for women and children in Cambodia. Specific responsibilities are outlined below.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Nutrition Specialist, the Nutrition Programme Specialist will undertake the following tasks:
1. Support planning, coordination and monitoring of annual workplans and implementation schedules for the UNICEF Nutrition Programme and Child Nutrition Fund, including tracking progress against agreed milestones and identifying implementation bottlenecks.
2. Support coordination and follow-up of technical consultants, implementing partners, government counterparts and development partners, including preparation of meetings, documentation of agreed actions and monitoring of implementation progress.
3. Support strengthening of nutrition information systems through analysis of routine programme and the District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2 )data, development and maintenance of programme monitoring tools and dashboards, and preparation of analytical summaries to inform programme management and decision-making.
4. Support implementation research and evidence generation by coordinating literature reviews, synthesizing implementation findings, analysing programme experience and preparing technical briefs and evidence summaries to support programme improvement.
5. Develop and maintain systems for programme documentation, knowledge management and organizational learning, including preparation of case studies, lessons learned, knowledge products and dissemination of implementation experience within Cambodia and across UNICEF.
6. Support preparation of strategic programme documents, including annual workplans, donor reports, briefing notes, concept notes, funding proposals, implementation reviews and other technical and management documents.
7. Support implementation of nutrition systems strengthening initiatives, including maternal nutrition and Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS), Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM), community nutrition systems, nutrition financing, and multisectoral collaboration across health and social protection sectors.
8. Undertake field monitoring visits to support programme implementation, document implementation experience, identify opportunities for quality improvement and provide evidence to inform adaptive programme management.

Skills and experience

• Demonstrated knowledge of and at least 5 years of experience working in public health, nutrition, health systems strengthening, or a closely related development field.
• Experience in planning, coordinating and implementing development programmes, including workplan management and multi-stakeholder coordination.
• Experience in evidence-based monitoring, reporting and data analysis, including use of routine health information systems.
• Demonstrated experience working within a complex landscape of stakeholders including UN agencies, NGOs, donors and Government counterparts would be an asset.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, particularly in developing countries, would be highly regarded.

Competencies and values

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Communication
• Creativity
• Integrity
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Respect for diversity
• Self-management
• Working in teams

Living conditions

The UNICEF Office is situated in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. In terms of living conditions, Cambodia has an appreciable standard: housing facilities in good conditions are available at reasonable prices, including security, all type of foods is available, including restaurants catering for various needs and preferences. Transport within Phnom Penh is readily available. The Risk Level for all of Cambodia is currently low.

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The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.

Full eligibility requirements, conditions of service and application instructions are available on the official UNV platform.