Nutrition Specialist, NO-3, Fixed Term, Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh # 592317 (Open for Bangladeshi Nationals only)

Overview
Support the emergency nutrition response and manage nutrition programs for Rohingya refugees.

You have:

An advanced university degree in nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, or another health-related science field is required.
A minimum of five years of professional experience in nutrition, public health, related research or planning and management in relevant areas of maternal, infant and child nutrition in a developing country is required.
At least two (2) years of substantive relevant experience in emergencies dealing with major natural and humanitarian emergencies.
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
Specialized training/experience in emergency response management highly desirable.
Contract
This is a NO-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It’s a staff contract. More about NO-3 contracts.

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Details
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, a voice

As of January 2026, over 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, primarily from Myanmar, are residing in Bangladesh,

with about 35,000 of these in Bhasan Char Island and the rest in 33 refugee camps in Cox Bazar. The Rohingya refugees remains one of the world’s largest protracted refugee crisis in the world with numerous humanitarian needs and solely dependent on humanitarian support. Since the large-scale influx of the Rohingyas in 2017, the humanitarian community closely worked with the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) to respond to the humanitarian needs caused by the large-scale displacement.

Eight years later, the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar continue to face a critical and deteriorating nutritional situation, driven by interlinked challenges across food security, health, WASH, social protection, and ongoing population pressures. Despite sustained nutrition interventions since 2017, wasting prevalence has increased and remains a serious public health concern, particularly among children under five years of age, while stunting levels remain persistently high. Although anemia prevalence has shown some improvement, it remains close to very high levels and requires sustained attention. Findings from the Standardized Expanded Nutrition Survey (SENS) 2023 indicate that 66.7 per cent of children aged 6–59 months are affected by at least one form of malnutrition, and one in four children experiences multiple forms of malnutrition, most commonly stunting (41 percent and anemia 38 percent), with the highest burden among children aged 6–23 months. Wasting prevalence stands at 15.1 per cent, classified as very high according to WHO thresholds, and disproportionately affects younger children.

The nutrition situation has worsened in recent years, with severe wasting admissions increasing by 13 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023 and by 10 percent in 2025 compared to 2024. This trend is compounded by erratic General Food Assistance distributions since 2023, limited livelihood opportunities, and the continued influx of new Rohingya arrivals, increasing vulnerability among children under five and pregnant and lactating women. Dietary quality remains poor, with only 26.9 per cent of children aged 6–23 months meeting minimum dietary diversity, reflecting widespread food poverty and low consumption of nutrient-dense foods such as pulses, eggs, dairy products, and fruits and vegetables. A nutrition causal analysis conducted in May 2025 identified key drivers of malnutrition, including suboptimal infant and young child feeding practices, constrained household income, inadequate access to safe water, poor sanitation, and insufficient food and environmental hygiene, which together perpetuate recurrent illness, reduced nutrient absorption, and weakened immunity among children and mothers.

Job organizational context:

The Nutrition Specialist GJP is to be placed in the Cox’s Bazar Filed office where the Nutrition Programme is a component of the Country Programme (or UNDAF). The Nutrition Specialist reports to the Child Survival and Development Manager who is at level 4.

How can you make a difference****?

Purpose for the job:

The Nutrition Specialist supports the development, preparation and operationalization of the emergency nutrition response in a humanitarian and development nexus and is responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting the programme progress in the Rohingya response and host community. The Nutrition Specialist provides technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes to facilitate the administration and achievement of concrete and sustainable results in maternal, infant and child nutrition programmes/projects within the emergency response and host community. This is carried out according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance, and accountability framework.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

Support to programme development and planning
Programme management, monitoring and delivery of results
Technical and operational support to programme implementation
Networking and partnership building
Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
Harmonized coordination tasks
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: JD_Nutrition Specialist NO3 FT Cox’s Bazar ..pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: nutrition, public health, nutritional epidemiology, global/international health and nutrition, health/nutrition research, policy and/or management, health sciences, or another health-related science field.
Work Experience: A minimum of five years of professional experience in nutrition, public health, related research or planning and management in relevant areas of maternal, infant and child nutrition in a developing country is required.
Relevant experience in health/nutrition program/project development and management in any UN system agency or organization is an asset.
At least two (2) years of substantive relevant experience in emergencies dealing with major natural and humanitarian emergencies.
Specialized training/experience in emergency response management highly desirable.
Language Requirements: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
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…

Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
Works Collaboratively with others (2)
Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)