About the job

Action Against Hunger (AAH) has received a two-year contract from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) for the Identifying the Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Relapse after Recovery from Severe Acute Malnutrition Globally project. The project is led by AAH, in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

The goal of this research project is to measure relapse rates among children who are discharged from outpatient therapeutic programs (OTP) following successful treatment for severe acute malnutrition (SAM). In addition to measuring relapse to SAM, the project aims to better understand overall child health and nutrition outcomes during the year following SAM treatment (e.g. linear growth, illness, relapse to moderate acute malnutrition [MAM]. Secondary outcomes will also include exploring the programmatic costs associated with relapse as well as individual-level and programmatic-level risk factors associated with relapse, in particular WASH-related risk factors. The study will be implemented in four different countries – Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Somalia.

About the mission

Action Against Hunger has been operational in what is now South Sudan since 1985 responding to both chronic and acute needs through a multi-sector strategy where nutrition, Food Security and Livelihoods and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene activities are integrated to have a meaningful impact on people’s resilience. Main objective of the country program is to continue building on Action Against Hunger’s reputation for nutritional expertise to deliver integrated Nutrition, WASH and FSL assistance in the high caseload states, while responding to emergency nutrition needs throughout the country. With central office in Juba, Action Against Hunger runs static program (nutrition, WASH, FSL) in Northern Bahr el Gazal (Aweil East), Warrap (Gogrial East and West) and Fangak (in Jonglei), as well as an emergency roving team that can intervene throughout the country. We have a country team of around 300 staff (20 international) and a budget for 2019 projected at 10 M US$. Our main donors and partners in South Sudan include USAID/OFDA, WFP, UNICEF, SIDA, ECHO, GFFO, BPRM and a number of bilateral donors and private foundations.

How you will contribute

You will contribute to ending world hunger by…

Facilitating the implementation of a high-quality research project that will deepen our understanding of the treatment of acute malnutrition and allow us to identify areas to improve our treatment programming.

Key activities in your role will include:

  • Serve as the in-country point of contact to achieve in-country IRB approval (with support from AAH-USA and country team)
  • Coordinate closely with the study PI (AAH-USA) by participating in regular (weekly/bi-weekly) calls with the PI to communicate progress in recruitment, enrollment, completion of follow-up visits by participants, as well as submitting weekly reports regarding data collection, data entry, and other study activities
  • Hire, train, and manage all data collectors
  • Oversee proper informed consent process implemented by data collectors
  • Ensure quality of data collection and fidelity of study protocol implementation
  • Work closely with community health workers / volunteers (CHW/Vs) as well as CMAM clinic staff to identify and enroll participants
  • Track enrollment progression of both post-SAM children and non-SAM children
  • Enter all data into electronic data bases and reconcile any data entry errors with original hard copy forms
  • Track participant completion of follow-up appointments and manage the CHWs who travel to the field to encourage caregivers to return to the clinic for their follow-up visit
  • Oversee anthropometric measurements by data collectors and OTP clinic staff during follow-up visits to ensure accuracy in data
  • Oversee household surveys, water sample collection and analysis, food sample collection and analysis and rectal swab collection, and ensure compliance with study protocols with support from LSHTM
  • Collaborate closely with AAH Nutrition and WASH Heads of Departments
  • Collaborate closely with OTP clinic staff to obtain OTP clinic data of each post-SAM participant and transfer data from clinic forms into electronic database for the research project
  • Perform other duties assigned as needed.

About you……

  • You have at least a master’s degree from an accredited college or university in a major such as social or health science with 2 years of relevant experience in the field, OR a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a major such as social or health science with 5 yeas relevant experience in the field
  • You have experience organizing and participating in field-level data collection as part of a research study or program monitoring and evaluation;
  • You possess training in and proven knowledge around nutrition programming in low-income countries;
  • You are knowledgeable in MS Office Suite required and comfortable working with computers with minimal IT support
  • You have experience with mobile data collection tools (e.g. Kobo) (preferred but not required)
  • You are able to live and work in basic conditions in a limited-resource country with travel to remote locations for the duration of data collection (approximately 18-23 months)
  • You are fluent in English (written and verbal)
  • You have proven experience with field work, preferably in South Sudan
  • You possess strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
  • You possess strong team management skills.
  • You are able to take initiative and prioritize multiple tasks with minimum supervision.
  • You have excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work both independently and as a member of a team
  • You have excellent emotional intelligence, are flexible, adaptable, and resilient, and able to live and work in basic conditions for the entire period of data collection (23 months)
  • You are willing and able to travel to remote locations, often over poor road conditions, in areas of heightened insecurity.
  • You should be able to relocate to South Sudan by November 1st 2019

Our Core values.

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate Action Against Hunger-USA’s five core competencies

Respect - we work with compassion and dedication, treating everyone the same way we expect them to treat us.

Integrity - we believe that being honest and fair is integral to every aspect of our work. conducting our work with a spirit of sincerity, truthfulness and transparency is imperative.

Creativity- we encourage new ideas, embrace innovative solutions, and create opportunities for meaningful and exciting ways to do our jobs and provide solutions to address the needs of the populations we serve.

Excellence - we strive to provide services that meet and even exceed the expectations of our stakeholders (populations in need, staff, communities and donors).

Empowerment- we are committed to fostering an environment in which our staff, partners and communities where we work have the space to grow, develop and feel confident about participating.

Gender Equality Commitments

  • Ability to foster an environment that reinforces values of women and men, and equal access to information.
  • Provide a work environment where women and men must be evaluated and promoted based on their skills and performance.
  • Respect beneficiaries’ women, men, children (boys and girls) regardless of gender, sex orientation, disability, religion. race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, or marital status.
  • Value and respect for all cultures.

What we offer.

Action Against Hunger values its employees and offers a comprehensive remuneration and benefits package. These benefits include but are not limited to: -

  • Health Insurance
  • R&R Breaks
  • Paid annual leave (vacation)
  • Context allowance
  • Training opportunities

For an all-inclusive list of benefits, check the Action Against Hunger Website

Application Process.

Interested? Then apply for this position by following this link: https://bit.ly/2kqNzl5 

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated resume and both must be in the same language as this vacancy note. Closing date for applications: 25th of September 2019. The applications will be assessed on rolling basis.

For further information about Action Against Hunger, please visit our website www.actionagainsthunger.org

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