ICDS Nutrition Expert - Bihar Vikas Mission

Bihar Vikas Mission

Job Description :

Position Title : ICDS Nutrition Expert

Reports to: Principal Secretary - Social Welfare Department

Department : Bihar Vikas Mission

Key Accountabilities :

Strategizing and Expert Advisory

- Provide expert advice and technical inputs to strengthen maternal, child (0-6 years) and adolescent nutrition component under ICDS

- Develop performance measuring indicators to measure the improvement in nutrition status of beneficiaries under ICDS, in collaboration with the concerned Department and related functionaries

- Review and provide guidance for developing strategy for promoting voluntary actions for nutrition and ICDS, as required

- Liaise with professionals at central / state / district level, various departments of the State Government, Ministry of Women and Child Development, and other nodal / collaborating agencies to develop holistic and multi-sectoral nutrition framework in the State for ICDS and other related programs

- Facilitate and represent the Department, in conjunction with the Principal Secretary and respective Directors in the Department, in expert committee meetings and meetings and discussions with relevant Departments such as Department of Health and Family Welfare, Rural Development, Social Welfare, Agriculture, Horticulture, Food Processing etc. and other stakeholders in matters related to nutrition of women, children and adolescents in the State

- Guide the process of introducing relevant program modifications to improve nutrition status of the beneficiaries by undertaking situational analysis and incorporating best practices from other states and relevant programs

- Anchor new initiatives for the Department to facilitate better caring and feeding of children and lactating and pregnant women and better utilization of services for health, nutrition and child development

- Analyse various urgent rural and urban needs of nutrition for different beneficiary groups and provide guidance and support for planning and executing interventions to address these needs and requirements

Facilitate identification and review of existing multi-sectoral models for nutrition actions based on national and international experience

- Guide development of broad framework within which multi-sectoral models will be planned and implemented and development of tools to manage & support multi-sectoral nutrition response

Continuous Improvement :

- Identify opportunities for continuous improvement of systems, processes and practices taking into account international and national best practices, in order to facilitate cost optimization and productivity improvement Policies, Systems, Processes & Procedures

- Recommend improvements to functional procedures and follow all relevant departmental policies, processes, standard operating procedures and instructions so that work is carried out in a controlled and consistent manner

Related Assignments

- Perform other related duties or assignments as and when required

Qualifications and Experience

Essential :

- Master's or higher degree in (or combination of) Nutrition / Public Health / Dietetics / Paediatrics /

Medical Science :

- Minimum 15 years of experience with at least 7 years of experience in planning, implementing and monitoring of large scale nutrition programs / projects for children and pregnant / lactating women

Preferred :

- Less than 70 years of age as on 1st January 2017

- Experience of working with State and National level large scale projects (budget value of more than Rs. 500 crores) will be given preference with proven records of execution of the project

- Experience of working with NIPCCD, training body for ANM workers

- Proven track record of working with state / central government / bilateral / multilateral organizations (such as WHO, UNICEF, National Rural Health Missions, ICDS, National Immunization Program, School Health Program) on programs of similar nature and size

- Certificates / Diploma / Courses in relevant areas will add weight to the candidature

- Honors / Awards / discourses / recognized publications in relevant area will be an added advantage

- Ph.D. / M.Phil. in Infant and Young Child Nutrition or related subjects

Knowledge and Other Skills :

- In-depth understanding of key nutrition issues and nutritional framework

- Fluency in written and spoken English and Hindi

- Excellent knowledge / familiarity with the national flagship health programmes (ICDS, NRHM, NHM and others)

- Proven record of planning and managing programs and technical work in the areas of health and nutrition (published papers in peer reviewed journals)

- Demonstrated ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment and to establish harmonious and effective working relationships with governmental, non-governmental and civil society organizations and agency

- Experience in providing evidence-based, outcomes-oriented programme management and technical support, including training, operations research and large-scale programme monitoring