UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, sustenance

How can you make a difference?

Background:

Indonesia is classified as an upper-middle-income nation because of its significant socioeconomic progress. Nevertheless, the nation continues to struggle with the three faces of malnutrition, which affect millions of children, including undernutrition (wasting and stunting), obesity and overweight, and micronutrient deficiencies. The latest national survey conducted in 2023 revealed that 21.5% of children under five were stunted, or around 4.7 million children; 8.5% or around 2 million children in the same age range were wasted; and 4.2% of children were overweight or obese. Furthermore, 25% of pregnant women experience anemia, and 23% of children under five are anemic. Furthermore, situated in the Ring of Fire, Indonesia is highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. These disasters, coupled with the impacts of climate change—including rising sea levels, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and shifting agricultural patterns—exacerbate malnutrition risks. They disrupt food systems, healthcare services, and social support structures, making it even more challenging to ensure adequate nutrition and health for children and pregnant women.

The government has introduced various policies and programmes to address malnutrition. Law No. 36/2009 on Health established a framework for improving public nutrition while joining the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement in 2011 reinforced this commitment. Law No. 18/2012 mandated the development of five-year Food and Nutrition Action Plans (RANPG). In 2013, the GERMAS PPG initiative under Presidential Regulation No. 42/2013 accelerated nutrition improvements, further strengthened in 2021 by the National Strategy to Accelerate Stunting Reduction (STRANAS Stunting), aiming to lower stunting to 14% by 2024. This multisectoral approach integrates nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions, including wasting prevention and treatment, school nutrition programs, anemia prevention, and obesity management. Efforts by the MoH and other agencies have led to notable progress: from 2013 to 2023, stunting dropped from 37.6% to 21.5%, wasting from 12.1% to 8.5%, and overweight/obesity from 11.9% to 4.2%.

To sustain these achievements, nutrition indicators are embedded in the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2025–2029 and the Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN) 2025–2045. The new President has pledged to prioritize nutrition through nationwide school meals and food supplementation for children under five and pregnant women. With 2024 marking the final year of STRANAS Stunting, the MoH will review its nutrition programs to assess progress, evaluate interventions, and identify areas for sustainable improvements.

Scope of Work:

The National Consultant will work as part of a team of experts, under the overall coordination of the International Team Lead, and in close coordination with UNICEF, supporting the review of Care for wasted children/Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) and Nutrition in Emergency (NiE) programme. The National Consultant, will be requested to deliver the following:

1. In coordination with the International Team Lead and national team lead hired, to conduct the review, contribute to the development of a data collection and analysis methodology, to be presented to a task team during an inception meeting for validation before fieldwork.
2. Work closely with the other consultants including those responsible for early childhood malnutrition and programme costing, carry out an in-depth literature review of child wasting-IMAM and NiE programmes considering critical programmatic issues:

• Good governance and leadership (policy, national guidelines, technical leadership and regulation and coordination).
• Financing (regular budget allocation, annual costed action plans, and financial protection)
• Service Delivery (accessibility and availability of services, early detection of various platforms and community mobilization, and emergency surge capacity);
• Health Workforce capacity to provide quality services (competencies, education/skills development, professional development, performance management and motivation system, adequate coverage, and geographic distribution).
• Essential Supplies and equipment (Essential supplies and equipment list including therapeutic milk, RUTF, MUAC tapes, weight scale, length boards, antibiotics, etc).
• The Information Systems (Indicator in national nutrition data system, monitoring, data management and data use to enhance quality provided).

3. Conduct a consultative process together with various stakeholders, including conducting Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and in-depth interviews at the national and selected sub-national levels to further understand potential bottlenecks and boosters.
4. Contribute to the preparation of a comprehensive final report presenting key findings to the task team and other entities identified by the MoH.
5. Develop a comprehensive roadmap and M&E to monitor the progress to enhance full coverage and quality of the programme child wasting and NiE.

Please refer to the Term of Reference attached in the above link for the detailed tasks and deliverables.

 TOR National Child Wasting – TMS.pdf

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

• Masters’ degree in a relevant discipline (including but not limited to Nutrition, Global/Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Promotion, and Health Research)
• At least five years of relevant professional experience leading and coordinating the Nutrition programme involving multi-stakeholders (including UN agencies, development agencies and private sectors) in Indonesia, including child wasting.
• Solid advocacy and coordination skills, including with high-level officers for better investment in nutrition.
• Experience in synthesizing nutrition data including secondary analyses of surveillance data.
• Experience in developing nutrition program-related strategies.
• Able to work effectively with people internal and external parties.
• Communicates clearly and concisely.
• Excellent analytical and conceptual skills.
• Proven ability to work independently under difficult conditions.
• Fluency in English is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) and core competencies:

• Builds and Maintains Partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others

To view our competency framework, please visit  here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.

According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.

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.

Remarks: 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (if applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts. This vacancy is open for Indonesians only.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements