ONLY NATIONAL - Nepal National Micronutrient Survey Coordinator (NNMS Consultant) , Nutrition, Kathmandu, Nepal, 6 months (Office based with travel)

Contract Duration – 6 months

Working arrangement: Office Based with travel

 

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.

                                                         TERMS OF REFERENCE

With UNICEF support the Ministry of Health and Food Safety (MoHFS)/ the Family Welfare Division (FWD), is currently implementing Nepal National Micronutrient Survey (NNMS) to generate reliable, nationally representative biomarker and dietary intake data in 2026. To ensure high-quality coordination, operational leadership, and cross-sector collaboration, a National Micronutrient Survey Coordinator will be appointed.

The National Micronutrient Survey Coordinator provides support in the operational coordination, day-to-day follow-up, documentation and routine status reporting for the implementation of the National Micronutrient Survey. The primary objective is to support all survey components run smoothly, on schedule, within budget, and in full alignment with quality standards and stakeholder expectations. The National Micronutrient Survey Coordinator will be directly supervised by and report to the Chief of Nutrition while he/she works closely with the Monitoring & Evaluation Officer who is the section’s focal point for the NNMS 2026.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here:  TOR x TMC0005330.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education: Master’s degree in any of the following: Statistics, Epidemiology, Demography, Nutrition, Public Health, Public Health Nutrition, Social Science.
• Work Experience: Minimum of 7 years progressively responsible professional work experience at the national and international levels in coordinating, designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating large-scale population surveys, grant management, documentation and report writing.
• Skills (optional):  Technical Knowledge & Expertise Requirements
• Professional technical knowledge and demonstrated expertise in the operational execution, field sequencing, and quality assurance of large-scale, multi-stage cluster household surveys (e.g., National Micronutrient Surveys, MICS, DHS, NLSS, Labor Force Survey, FCHV survey, Nepal Health Facility Survey, WHS plus survey,).
• Deep understanding of full-lifecycle survey implementation, including field team deployment, biological sample collection protocols (blood, urine, salt), cold-chain management, sample processing, and laboratory transfer procedures.
• Comprehensive knowledge of CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing) workflows, real-time data flow architectures, sample completion tracking, and field level data quality validation mechanisms.
• Applied expertise in program monitoring and evaluation frameworks, process evaluations, performance indicator tracking, and risk mitigation across complex multi partner health and nutrition projects.
• Sound understanding of ethical review procedures (e.g., NHRC/IRB approvals), biosafety standards, laboratory quality assurance protocols, and survey data governance principles.
• Ability to perform under pressure of multiple tasks.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Nepali language required.
• Desirables:
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate protocols, regulatory clearances, administrative approvals, and operational access directly with senior ministry officials (e.g., Ministry of Health and Population / Family Welfare Division, Department of Health Services).
• Deep political expertise and cultural sensitivity when navigating government hierarchies, aligning survey activities with national policy frameworks, and ensuring national ownership throughout the survey lifecycle.
• Strong negotiation skills in managing service level agreements (SLAs), vendor contracts, memorandum of understanding (MoU) frameworks, and laboratory processing commitments without compromising scientific rigor.
• Ability to mediate operational friction, protocol disputes, or resource bottlenecks between government departments, reference laboratories, quality assurance agencies, and field implementing partners constructively.
• Sustained track record of building, maintaining, and leveraging trust-based relationships with national, provincial, and local government stakeholders to ensure smooth field implementation.
• Proven experience in recording meeting minutes and summaries, and preparing high-quality technical, administrative, and donor reports for diverse stakeholders.

 

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 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 reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. 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 and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

 

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

• An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter
• A separate financial proposal (only acceptable in the format of the linked template)  Financial proposal TMC0005330.xlsx

 

Remarks:  If the TOR or financial proposal documents are not downloadable on certain recruitment platforms, please visit our official page Vacancies | UNICEF Careers.

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.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.