Health and Nutrition Advisor (National)

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We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Save the Children International seeks to always be a child-safe organization by fulfilling its obligations to the community and through programme implementation carried out by the organization for safeguarding children and improve their living standards of the child.

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Position:  Health and Nutrition Advisor (National)

Role Purpose:

The Health and Nutrition Advisor, will serve as the lead technical expert for all strategic and programmatic aspects of the Health and Nutrition portfolio within the Yemen Country Office (CO). S/he is responsible for leading the development of the Health and Nutrition strategy and thematic plan in alignment with the Country Strategic Plan; conducting sectoral assessments; leading program design, proposal development, and master budgeting; and supporting and coordinating fundraising efforts. The Advisor will provide strategic and technical guidance and oversight to Program Managers (PMs) and field teams, and will assist Field Managers (FMs) with recruitment and procurement in large and complex emergencies.

The Advisor is expected to represent and position Save the Children (SC) in relevant coordination mechanisms, including clusters, sub-clusters, and inter-agency forums, and to ensure that sector coordination mechanisms function effectively. S/he plays a leadership role in the response team, providing 360° support to colleagues, while promoting learning, accountability, and evidence-based programming. A key part of the role will be mentoring and capacity-building of staff to strengthen technical and managerial skills.

The Advisor will also contribute to global-level Health and Nutrition working groups, ensuring strong linkages with SC member technical backstops, and supporting the adoption and contextualization of technical guidelines, protocols, tools, and innovations to enhance program quality and staff capacity.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and to adjust working hours accordingly.

Key Areas Of Accountability :

Developing Strategy and Thematic Plan

• Lead the Health and Nutrition components of the Country Strategic Plan and ensure alignment with evolving context and national priorities.
• Develop and regularly update the Health and Nutrition strategy and thematic plan, ensuring integration of resilience, emergency preparedness, and development linkages.
• Contribute to emergency response planning with a strong focus on Health and Nutrition, ensuring responsiveness to conflict, displacement, climate shocks, and disease outbreaks.
• Monitor contextual changes, cluster strategies, and Humanitarian Needs Response Plan (HNRP) to keep SC’s approaches current and relevant.
• Lead on the design of Health and Nutrition response plans and master budgets, and contribute to SC’s overall multi-sector response strategy.
• Ensure meaningful engagement of Program Managers and field colleagues in strategy development and reviews.

Assessment, Program Design, and Fundraising

• Lead Health and Nutrition or multi-sectoral assessments in collaboration with SC’s thematic teams and external partners, ensuring clear analysis of children’s needs and vulnerabilities.
• Provide technical review of strategies, assessments, and program designs, promoting evidence-based, high-quality Health and Nutrition approaches across the portfolio.
• Identify sector funding needs and gaps; work closely with member technical backstops to develop fundraising strategies.
• Lead program design and proposal development, producing high-quality concept notes, proposals, and technical inputs in collaboration with SC members and donors.

Strategic and Technical Guidance & Oversight

• Support PMs to develop detailed implementation and procurement plans, ensuring efficiency and quality delivery.
• Provide ongoing technical guidance to PMs and field teams, monitoring performance against logframes, budgets, and targets, and advising on corrective action where needed.
• Ensure timely, high-quality donor and internal reporting, in line with SC and donor requirements.
• Work with HR to identify staffing needs, support recruitment, induction, and training of national and international staff for Health and Nutrition programs.
• Coordinate with logistics to define and implement phased procurement plans for sector supplies.
• In collaboration with MEAL, establish a Health and Nutrition MEAL plan that ensures accountability, evidence generation, and learning.
• Strengthen sector accountability mechanisms with the Accountability Lead, ensuring community feedback informs program adaptation.
• Uphold humanitarian standards (Sphere, Red Cross Code of Conduct) across all Health and Nutrition interventions.
• Conduct regular field visits to monitor program quality, provide technical guidance, and identify emerging needs for program adaptation or design.

Capacity Strengthening

• Lead learning needs assessments and develop capacity-building plans for SC and partner staff, linking to wider sector and inter-agency opportunities.
• Provide coaching and mentoring to PMs, Coordinators, and national counterparts, contributing to organizational talent development.
• Oversee development and delivery of technical training packages to enhance Health and Nutrition program quality and impact.

Representation, Advocacy & Organisational Learning

• Represent SC in Health and Nutrition Clusters, sub-clusters, and other coordination forums; contribute to shaping cluster strategies and response plans.
• Influence sector-wide approaches through active participation and, where relevant, leadership roles (e.g., co-chairing).
• Document and disseminate lessons learned, best practices, and case studies to strengthen program quality and inform advocacy.
• Identify and act on advocacy and research opportunities aligned with SC’s strategic objectives and the rights of children.
• Ensure Health and Nutrition program achievements and learning are communicated effectively through media, advocacy, and donor engagement.

General

• Demonstrate leadership in promoting SC’s policies and practices on child safeguarding, protection, code of conduct, health, safety, gender equality, and inclusion.

Act as a spokesperson on Health and Nutrition when required, ensuring alignment with thematic priorities.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

Qualifications:

Essential

• MD/MBBS with advanced training in Public Health, Nutrition, Epidemiology, Nursing, or a related field.
• Strong knowledge of international guiding principles and best practices in Health and Nutrition programming in crisis and fragile settings (e.g., MISP, IASC, CMAM, IYCF, Sphere standards).
• Demonstrated experience providing strategic and technical leadership in large-scale humanitarian and development contexts.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• High capacity and willingness to be flexible and work in challenging, insecure, and rapidly changing environments.
• Strong commitment to the mission and principles of Save the Children, with a clear understanding of the child rights mandate and ability to ensure this underpins all programming.

Desirable

• MD/MBBS with MPH or equivalent postgraduate qualification.
• Proficiency in Arabic.
• Previous experience in fragile or conflict-affected contexts.
• Proven experience in designing, managing, and securing funding from major institutional donors (e.g., BHA, FCDO, ECHO, SIDA, UNICEF, WHO, WFP, or other major donors).
• Experience in leading and managing consortia projects and complex multi-partner interventions.

Working Conditions

The operating context in Yemen remains unstable and unpredictable, with a high threat level. SC maintains access to its field sites and benefits from strong and trusted relations with local communities. Strict adherence to SCI’s safety and security protocols, guidelines, and procedures is mandatory.

Experience And Skills

• Proven experience in leading assessments, rapid data collection, and situation analysis to inform strategic and programmatic decisions.
• Demonstrated experience in large-scale, first-phase emergency responses, including disease outbreaks and multi-sector crises.
• Substantial experience managing large and diverse Health and Nutrition teams of international and national staff across multiple locations.
• Strong track record of program management in complex humanitarian or fragile contexts, ensuring quality, accountability, and timely delivery.
• Commitment to, and practical experience in, participation and accountability approaches, with the ability to train and mentor staff in these areas.
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) systems in large and complex programs.
• Proven ability to establish learning and development processes for large Health and Nutrition teams, including mentoring, coaching, and technical capacity building.
• Strong experience in senior-level representation with donors, government, and inter-agency coordination forums, influencing policies and strategies.
• Demonstrated success in developing and negotiating partnerships with institutional donors, as well as designing and writing high-quality proposals and concept notes.
• Ability to write clear, evidence-based assessments, reports, and strategic documents for both technical and donor audiences.
• Excellent facilitation, interpersonal, and communication skills with the ability to manage diverse teams and foster collaboration.
• Proven capacity to influence decision-making and drive change at both operational and strategic levels.

Politically and culturally sensitive, with strong qualities of patience, tact, and diplomacy, and the ability to work effectively in complex and insecure environments.

Application Information:

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations.  A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers/apply

“Save the Children is an equal opportunity employer. Women are strongly encouraged to apply”