Requisition ID: req58265 Job Title: Nutrition Counsellor (National Female Only) Sector: Health Employment Category: Regular Employment Type: Full-Time Open to Expatriates: No Location: Herat, Afghanistan Work Arrangement: Job Description General Duties Staff Coordination + Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions. + Provide nutrition support and mentorship to other mobile clinic staff, providing on-the-job training where needed. + Ensure non-disclosure of any information whatsoever about practices and IRC activities to any other person or organization without permission, except in the normal performance of the service. + Consistently and proactively monitor/assess the safety and security of the team; promptly report concerns or incidents to IRC management and liaise with community leaders and other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment for IRC programs. Specific Objective 1: Screening of all under 5 children and PLW + Conduct systematic screening of all U5 children (Oedema, MUAC, Height, and Weight) and PLW (MUAC & Oedema) in selected communities. + Maintain and update the screening, OPD-MAM, and OPD-SAM register books on a daily basis + Refer children and PLWs who meet admission or discharge criteria to the nutrition nurse. + Identify children who are absents and defaulted from the program and inform the community volunteers to conduct home visits. Objective 2: Growth Monitoring all children under 2 + Register and undertake Growth Monitoring and promotion (GMP) including measuring weight, height, and age, and checking edema of all children under two years of age. + conduct GMP-based counselling of mothers/ caregivers of all children under two years of age on appropriate maternal infant and young child nutrition MIYCN practice and infection prevention. + If the child is normal encourage the counsel mother to reinforce and promote age appropriate MIYCN practices. + If a child is suffering from acute malnutrition refer to the nutrition nurse of MHNT or Static Health Facility for giving adequate treatment and counselling. + Counsel mothers or caregivers to bring under two children's children for the continuous monthly GMP visit. Objective 3: Counseling maternal infant and young child nutrition (MIYCN) + Provide individual nutrition counselling on appropriate practices based on the BMI and MUAC findings. + Check whether lactating mothers received adequate IFA tablets during three months after delivery. + If apparently the mothers’ health and nutrition are not suitable refer to the nutrition nurse and medical doctor for diagnosis and treatment. + Check whether the child has received vitamin A supplementation during the previous national immunization day (NID) if not then refer to the doctor and Vaccinator of the Health Center to obtain vitamin A. + Conduct complementary feeding food demonstrations to mothers and caregivers. + Establish Mother to Mother support group. + Provision of IYCF counselling at IYCF corner to mothers and primary caregivers for children under 2. + Identify mothers to become peer educators in their villages and support them to undertake sensitization and work closely with CHWs. + Lead individual and group nutrition counselling sessions tailored to the needs of clients and caregivers. + Train and work with CHWs to ensure consistent messaging regarding best practices for IYCF and Objective 4: Recording and reporting: + Maintain regular reports to monitor and track the delivery of nutrition services. + Use the MCH handbook in those provinces where the MCH handbook is applied. + Identify beneficiaries who required follow-up visit and share information with community health volunteers to follow up those beneficiaries. + Ensure accurate recording of nutrition information in the clinic registers and timely completion of summary reports. Qualifications + Having Nursing, Midwifery Diploma is an advantage. + At least 2 years’ experience in the field of health and nutrition at the community level. + Skills to provide sensitive and appropriate counselling and strong communication skills. + Must be a team player with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work under pressure in a stressful environment, displaying patience, compassion, and diplomacy. + Ability to be innovative, flexible, adaptive, and willing to work out of hours, sometimes throughout the night. + Ability to live in challenging conditions and ability to work under difficult, high-pressure situations. + Ability to lead, train, supervise, and facilitate other nursing staff and community health workers in their respective tasks. + Ability and flexibility to understand the cultural and political environment and to work well with the local health representatives. + Communication and reporting skills + Fluency in Pashto, Dari, and English + Computer skills (including MS Word, Excel, Access, and Internet) an advantage. + Ability to work closely, professionally, and constructively with all others regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, race, tribe, or cultural background.