UN VOLUNTEER DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT Preamble: The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers. In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long-established, ancient traditions of sharing and support within the communities. In this context, UN Volunteers take part in various forms of volunteerism and play a role in development and peace together with co-workers, host agencies and local communities. In all assignments, UN Volunteers promote volunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging in volunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, as well as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make the time they spend as UN Volunteers even more rewarding and productive.
1. Type of Assignment:
National UN Volunteer
2. Type of Assignment Place:
Family Duty Station
3. Assignment Title:
UNV Health and Nutrition Officer
4. Project Title:
Integrated Health/Nutrition approach in Cambodia
5. Link with UNV Strategic Framework: National Capacity Development through volunteer schemes 6. Duty Station, Country:
Kratie, Cambodia
7. Duration (in months):
12 months, with possibility for extension
8. Expected Starting Date:
April 2016
9. Host Agency/Host Institute: UNICEF
10. Brief Project Description: UNICEF Child Survival and Development section seeks to scale-up evidence-based interventions to reduce, in the North East of Cambodia (Kratie and Ratanakiri) and Phnom Penh, morbidity and stunting among children under 5 years of age by (i) Increasing sub-national equitable coverage of quality reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health services, and by (ii) Increasing adequate feeding practices to prevent chronic malnutrition during the 1,000 days and treat every acute malnourished child. 11. Organizational Context: UNICEF in Cambodia works as part of the United Nations system, with the government, civil society 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 (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The UNICEF / Royal Government of Cambodia 3-year country programme 2016-18 has been developed to advance the realization of children’s rights in Cambodia covering four main programme components of Integrated Early Childhood Development, Quality and Inclusive Education, Protective Environment, and Social Inclusion and Governance.
Aside from the main country programme office located in Phnom Penh, UNICEF has three zone offices; one in Phnom Penh covering the southern provinces, one in Siem Reap covering the north-western provinces, and one in Kratie covering the north-eastern provinces. Total staff accounts to approximately 110 persons, 20 of whom are internationals and 90 nationals of Cambodia. While considerable efforts have been made in recent years to improve access to important public health interventions across Cambodia, significant disparities (i.e. equity gaps, income, provinces) persist among maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) outcomes. Remaining children who do not get vaccinated are from the poorest quintile and pregnant women from the poorest quintile are less likely to complete the full package of maternal care from antenatal care, skilled birth attendance to postnatal care, and significant differences exist between provinces. Considerable improvement has been made in reducing infant and under-5 mortality rates. Yet Cambodia is among the 15 least performing countries in the world on child malnutrition. The Cambodian burden of under-nutrition among children is enormous with 32% of children under age 5 stunted in 2010, 9.6% wasted and 24% underweight. Malnutrition is implicated in more than 4,400 child deaths annually, and child malnutrition has health and economic consequences that will affect Cambodia for generations to come. Continuing improving the health and nutritional status of children is therefore a development priority. These challenges call for effective coordination and demographic targeting of interventions to improve access among rural, poor and vulnerable groups from UNICEF Integrated Early Childhood Development section. 12. Type of Assignment Place: Assignment with family 13. Description of tasks: Under the supervision of the Chief of Child Survival and Development, and with support from health and nutrition specialists, the National UN Volunteer will support health and nutrition initiatives in the selected provinces and will assist in the on-going monitoring of the program implementation. In particular, he/she will:
Participate in the monitoring of village health volunteers who are promoting appropriate care seeking by pregnant women and mothers of newborns through Community Care for Mothers and Newborns (CCMN);
Follow the achievement of outreach team activities including midwife to deliver key preventive services (immunization, antenatal care, micronutrient supplement etc.) in remote villages from the selected province and propose actively innovative mechanism of implementation if bottlenecks are highlighted;
Assist the provincial and district officials in their mass screening activities to increase the number of children being treated for acute malnutrition;
Support health/nutrition officers in i) the collection of evidence based data, ii) the development of Human Interest Stories and case studies.
Furthermore, the National UN Volunteer is encouraged to:
Strengthen the knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking active part in UNV events (for instance in events that mark the International Volunteer Day);
Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the country;
Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;
Contribute articles/write-ups on volunteering experiences and submit them to the team at UNV HQs for consideration (beyond other communications responsibilities), and input to the UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.
14. Results/Expected Output: It is expected that the National UN Volunteer will contribute to the following outputs:
Increase attendance skills at birth.
Increase ANC/PNC services including weight monitoring of women/children.
Increase coverage of deworming, supplementation during pregnancy.
Promote appropriate caring and care seeking for ANC, PNC, pneumonia, diarrhoea and sick new born.
Support mechanism to ensure on-going screening of children for acute and chronic malnutrition at community and health facility level.
Treat acute malnourished children.
Improve awareness on key hygiene and feeding practices at the community level and facilities.
Increase his/her knowledge towards health and nutrition interventions and provide quarterly reports on his/her achievements.
A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.
15. Qualifications/Requirements: The selected UN Volunteer should have the following qualifications or requirements: A) Qualifications, skills, experience:
At least 22 years old;
University Degree, preferably Advanced University Degree or equivalent in health, nutrition, public health or related field;
At least two years of relevant professional experience, preferably in development programs;
Demonstrated interest and/or experience in multisectorial interventions (Health and Nutrition) and monitoring and evaluation;
Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment;
Ability to clearly and concisely present ideas and concepts in both oral and written form;
Motivated to contribute towards peace and development and to serve others;
Good interpersonal, networking and communication skills;
Willingness to contribute and work as part of a team;
Flexible and open to learning and new experiences;
Respect for diversity and adaptability to other cultures, environments and living conditions;
Fluency in spoken and written English and Khmer, knowledge of other UN languages is an asset;
Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded;
Computer skills (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, statistical and/or mapping software, and others).
B) Key competencies and values / Learning expectations:
Ability to focus on a variety of tasks within deadlines and to work under stress where needed to achieve results;
Programmatic insight and understanding;
Ability to clearly and concisely present ideas and concepts in both oral and written form;
Motivated to contribute towards peace and development and to serve others;
Excellent interpersonal skills within a cross-cultural context, including patience, flexibility and a commitment to teamwork and inclusion;
Respect for diversity and adaptability to other cultures, environments and living conditions;
Willingness to travel in the country.
14. Living Conditions: Kratie is the mellow and calm capital of Kratie Province in eastern Cambodia, around a 4-hour drive northeast from Phnom Penh. It has a population of about 40,000 and is dominated by a central marketplace surrounded by old French colonial buildings. Lying on the banks of the Mekong River with an expansive riverside area, the city area includes big islands with white sand beaches. The river is also home to rare Irrawaddy dolphins, the city’s main tourist attraction. The city is strategically located with good connections to the northeastern parts of Cambodia. That is why UNICEF opened a zone office there in December 2015, from which it coordinates its activities in the Northeastern provinces of Preah Vihear, Stung Treng, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie and Kampong Cham. In the Northeast, UNICEF focuses particularly on early childhood development interventions, including health and nutrition. The office has 9 staff, amongst them 2 health officers who will be working along with the UNV providing him/her the needed technical support. 15. Conditions of Service for national UN Volunteers A 12-month contract; with subsequent contract extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. Travel to the duty station (if applicable) and a Settling-In-Grant will be provided in the event duty station is not within commuting distance from the place of recruitment. A monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) of 631 USD is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included (health insurance for up to 3 dependents), as well as final repatriation (if applicable) and resettlement allowance for satisfactory service. Description of Assignment prepared by the UN Agency: Name: Etienne Poirot, Chief Child Survival and Development, Cambodia Date: 14/01/2016 Description of Assignment approved by the UNV Field Unit: Name: Seija Anttonen, UNV Programme Officer
Date:
21/1/2016
United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme which welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.