National consultancy to support the co-design of Large-Scale Food Fortification three-year (2027–2030) project workplan and its MEAL plan. Tanzania

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For every child, the right to health 

Large-scale food fortification (LSFF) is a proven, cost-effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to improving micronutrient intake through commonly consumed staple foods and preventing micronutrient deficiencies among children, women, adolescents and the public. Tanzania is one of 15 countries participating in UNICEF’s Fortifying Futures LSFF initiative, which aims to scale up national food fortification programs by strengthening mandatory fortification legislation, improving industry compliance and promoting effective delivery models for fortified foods. Achieving sustainable results requires agreed priorities, clear institutional responsibilities, realistic costs and timelines, and a practical framework for monitoring progress, ensuring accountability and generating learning. This consultancy will facilitate a government-led, participatory process to co-design and validate a prioritized, costed project workplan (2027 – 2029) and an integrated monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) plan for Tanzania, and support project inception. The plans will define activities, implementation sequencing, institutional responsibilities, resource requirements and measurable results, aligned with national nutrition and food-system priorities.

How can you make a difference? 

Facilitate evidence review, stakeholder consultations, co-design, costing and validation of a project workplan and an integrated MEAL plan aligned with two primary outcomes: (1) institutionalized governance systems that guide the adoption and implementation of adequate LSFF standards and regulatory frameworks; and (2) integrated information systems that support compliance monitoring, accountability and evidence-based decision-making. Both plans will reflect the project’s four intermediate outcomes and eight outputs. The assignment will include an inception session and documentation of the co-design.

Key activities

1. Desk review and inception: Review project and national documents and compliance evidence to identify gaps. Agree on the methodology, timeframe, coverage, priority food vehicles, funding limits, consultation tools and schedule with UNICEF and government focal points; prepare an inception report.
2. Mapping stakeholders and interventions: Map key stakeholders and interventions, including government, industry, academia, development partners, civil society and consumer representatives. Assess bottlenecks and capacities, identify priority interventions, and document supporting evidence and assumptions to inform co-design.
3. Develop the workplan and costing: Translate consultation findings into a costed workplan aligned with agreed priorities and results. Specify activities, deliverables, quarterly milestones, responsibilities, resources, funding sources, including domestic financing opportunities—and risks.
4. Develop MEAL plan: Facilitate a stakeholder consultation to develop a MEAL plan aligned with the costed workplan and project results framework, specifying indicators, institutional responsibilities and accountabilities, reporting schedules and data-quality methods.
5. Validation and project inception: Facilitate stakeholder validation of the workplan and MEAL plan, incorporate feedback and support the agreed project inception session.

Documentation and learning: Prepare a final consultancy report, one process-focused case study and a two-page learning brief documenting co-design, project inception, stakeholder engagement, good practices, challenges and lessons learned

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  Low Value Consultant - Food Fortification.docx

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

Minimum requirements:

Education:

Advance degree in nutrition, food systems or monitoring and evaluation, or a related field.

Work Experience:

At least five years of relevant professional experience in nutrition, public health or food systems program planning, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning, and multi-stakeholder facilitation, preferably with UN agencies, government institutions, NGOs or international organizations.

Demonstrated experience in food fortification or food-systems program design, regulatory compliance monitoring or closely related nutrition systems strengthening is strongly desirable. Familiarity with Tanzania’s institutional context is an asset.

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills: 

• Demonstrated expertise in developing costed multi-year workplans, results frameworks, indicators, annual targets and integrated MEAL plans for nutrition, food systems or public health programs.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating participatory planning with government institutions and other stakeholders to develop plans aligned with program priorities and budgets.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize technical evidence and stakeholder inputs, interpret results frameworks and monitoring data, define indicators and data sources, and produce clear, costed and operational workplans and MEAL plans.
• Proven experience preparing and facilitating stakeholder validation, project inception and orientation meetings with government and development partners, and documenting agreed actions, institutional responsibilities and timelines.
• Strong analytical, synthesis and writing skills, including experience documenting participatory planning and project inception processes and producing concise case studies, learning briefs and reports; familiarity with Tanzania’s nutrition policy, planning, programming and coordination context is desirable. 

Language Requirements: Fluence in English and Kiswahili

Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

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, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of misconduct.

UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable.

Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these checks.
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:  

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable female candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason. 

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.