Nutrition Information System Strengthening Consultant

About the role

UNICEF is recruiting a Nutrition Information System Strengthening Consultant for a 6-month office-based consultancy in Suva, Fiji, with field trips. The work supports the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) to improve the consistency, quality, linkage and use of priority nutrition information from community to national level, using existing government structures and information systems. The consultancy is open to international candidates only.

Key responsibilities

• Review key nutrition policies, guidelines, registers, reporting tools and health information system documents.
• Consult a focused sample of national, divisional, facility and community stakeholders and map how priority nutrition information is recorded, reported, linked and used.
• Identify the main gaps affecting data quality, referral completion, continuity of care, discharge follow-up, reporting burden and data use.
• Agree with MHMS a concise minimum nutrition dataset, standard definitions and clear responsibilities for recording, reporting, validation and feedback.
• Develop a short, prioritised improvement plan with immediate actions within existing systems and a few medium-term actions needing additional resources.
• Prepare or refine priority tools such as reporting templates, referral and feedback forms, data-quality checks, standard operating procedures or a simple routine reporting format.
• Facilitate validation, incorporate feedback, orient designated MHMS personnel and deliver all final products in editable format.

Required profile

• An advanced university degree in nutrition, public health, epidemiology, health informatics, health information systems, monitoring and evaluation, biostatistics or a directly relevant field; a first degree plus at least two years of relevant professional experience may be accepted instead.
• At least five years of progressively responsible experience in nutrition information, routine health information systems, public health monitoring, health data or health-system strengthening.
• Demonstrated experience in data-flow mapping, indicator and data-element review, data-quality assessment and analysis of routine reporting arrangements.
• Experience developing data dictionaries, reporting tools, referral or follow-up tools, SOPs, data-quality checks or implementation plans.
• Experience consulting with government counterparts and facilitating technical review or validation.
• Fluency in written and spoken English; knowledge of iTaukei, Fiji Hindi or another Pacific language is an asset.
• Desirable: previous experience with a ministry of health in Fiji, another Pacific island country or a comparable small-island setting, and experience in maternal, infant and young child nutrition, growth monitoring or acute malnutrition.

Required skills

• Strong understanding of individual-level and aggregate health information, data governance, confidentiality, reporting burden, data use and continuity of care.
• Ability to turn assessment findings into feasible recommendations implementable through existing systems.
• Strong analytical, facilitation and technical writing skills, including concise reports and editable operational tools.