Technical Advisor Nutrition, MENAU and Asia

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The IRC’s Technical Excellence (TE) department helps achieve that aim by generating evidence, sharing learning, and providing technical assistance to IRC’s Country program staff. TE is comprised of Technical Units (TUs) – Health; Economic Recovery and Development (ERD); Education; and Violence Prevention and Response (VPR) – including Global Practice Teams, regionally aligned technical teams, and supporting units for MEAL, policy and advocacy, and partnerships and program development. 

IRC Health TU

The Health TU is a dynamic team of professionals in Primary Health Care, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Nutrition, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, and Environmental and Climate Health. They provide country offices and emergency response teams with world class technical expertise, capacity building, and a cross-country view of what works to achieve outcomes in terms of both evidence and practical experience. They also lead a focused research agenda, influencing donor policy to support interventions and innovations proven to be cost effective to achieve positive change in people’s lives. 

Regional TU teams are comprised of a Regional Lead and Technical Advisors (TAs) who provide dedicated, context-relevant technical assistance to country programs across health practice areas. We are currently seeking an experienced Nutrition Technical Advisor to cover IRC country programs in the Middle East, North Africa & Ukraine (MENAU) and Asia Regions with country-facing technical assistance across the program cycle, aligned with the IRC Technical Assistance model and service charter. 

Location: This is a national position based in an IRC MENAU or Asia location. Not open to international hires.

POSITION OVERVIEW

As the Nutrition TA for MENAU and Asia, you will provide expert, high quality technical assistance to country programs across these regions- supporting both ongoing Nutrition initiatives and those seeking to establish or expand their Nutrition programming. You will collaborate closely with relevant stakeholders in the design, implementation, and review of high quality and high impact interventions that are informed by evidence, are data driven, and are grounded in best practice. Your work will ensure that programs are contextually appropriate, responsive to the needs and voices of clients and partners, uphold standards of safety, inclusivity and equity, and promote equal and sustainable outcomes for the clients we serve. Additionally, you will provide technical assistance toward ensuring all nutrition programming adheres to the IRC’s policies, procedures, and core values, maintaining the highest standards of accountability, quality, and ethical practice.

Position is only open to national candidates for each country.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Design & Business Development

Support country programs in-person and remotely to design winning submissions and generally position IRC for continued success in our technical domains:

• Advise on and/or provide hands-on support on assessments, including application and contextualization of technical standards.
• Substantially contribute to the design/development of theories of change and results frameworks, and other proposal technical content.
• Support the in-country technical lead(s) in analyzing relevant information, including available M&E and client feedback data, to prepare for design meetings/conversations.
• Participate in project design meetings for all relevant proposals. 
• Advise on program modalities and strategic partnership development based on evidence, scale considerations, and how we can best support, complement, and reinforce local systems.
• Review and validate design meeting decisions around technical design quality, including alignment of narratives, log-frames, and budgets to IRC standards and outcomes.
• Promote and support design collaboration with partners and clients and integration of safe, inclusive, and transformative programming approaches.
• Review proposals before submission to the donor (as required in certain circumstances, play a larger role in proposal technical narrative writing).
• Participate in technical discussions with potential donors and partners as needed/requested. 
• Ensure alignment of proposals with global nutrition evidence and frameworks (WHO, UNICEF, SUN, etc.) and support innovative and digital nutrition interventions where feasible.

Strategy & Communications

• Contribute regional reflections in Nutrition Global Practice Area strategic framing, including global priority setting and malnutrition Impact Scale planning, based on in-depth knowledge of regional strengths and needs.
• Participate in and contribute technical input Country Program Strategy Action Plans and related country-level health strategies, ensuring Nutrition components are of high technical quality and well-integrated into broader strategic priorities.
• Lead and/or contribute to regional partnerships with key regional stakeholders as appropriate, helping to shape regional strategic opportunities. 
• Contribute to and/or lead global and regional Concept Note development and prepare regional technical portfolio snapshots for internal planning and external communication.
• Collaborate with Global Practice Team Leads and specialists to develop global health tools, concepts, and resources based on professional interest and subject matter expertise.
• Support knowledge sharing and thought leadership by contributing to technical publications, policy briefs, and presentations on regional nutrition innovations, challenges, and best practices where appropriate.
• Contribute to the delivery of broader Health TU strategic priorities.
• Represent IRC in key regional and/or global technical meetings as necessary.

Implementation Support

• Support country programs with the recruitment, onboarding, and training of technical coordinators and other key nutrition program staff or consultants. 
• Assess and provide feedback on program quality to inform improvements, adaptations, and critical learning, providing follow up support to country programs as needed.
• Work with Health TU teams to develop systems for monitoring progress on quality improvement and quality of care and support monitoring and compliance with global standards and IRC guidelines. 
• Collaborate with country program colleagues to monitor and analyze key indicators to inform periodic review, program adaptation, and course-correction as needed.
• Provide technical capacity strengthening through ongoing mentoring, coaching, and trainings with country program focal points.
• Review and share nutrition program-specific tools/resources/curricula.
• Participate in joint regional TA meetings and share updates on nutrition programming in the relevant countries and global initiatives.

Capacity Strengthening & Learning

• Collaborate with other TAs within the region to promote integrated programming leadership, within the Health TU, with other sectors (VPR, ERD, Education) and with multi-country project management units. 
• Support countries/regions to document and share key program learnings.
• Coordinate with Nutrition TAs in other regions to strengthen cross-country and cross-regional learning and peer exchange on identified technical topics.
• Plan and lead/coordinate delivery of group capacity building in the regions, identify asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities for Health Unit and country program technical staff.
• Collaborate with the Quality in Emergencies team and Emergencies Management Unit (EMU) counterparts during emergency classifications to support country programs to assess, design and implement high quality programming in acute emergency situations.
• Contribute to global learning and evidence agenda and refresh the sectoral evidence base in collaboration with global and regional staff to influence approaches.
• Maintain currency with sectoral best practices through continual learning and development.
• Contribute to publications and peer-reviewed articles documenting technical and research findings from IRC’s nutrition implementation.
• Facilitate regional /cross regional nutrition learning networks/forums, and as needed collaborate with the Global Practice team in designing context-specific capacity building materials/activities.

Key Working Relationships:

This position reports to the Regional Health Lead for MENAU who will ensure coordination of workload and performance management with the Asia Regional Health Lead. The position will work closely with GPLs and specialists to link global initiatives with country priorities, and will engage in regular communication with other Health Unit staff, regional and country program teams, awards management and grants management staff, and other internal stakeholders. 

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Success in this position requires an individual with expertise in designing and delivering technical assistance in public health, primary healthcare, nutrition or related programs, and with strong technical background in nutrition and a deep understanding of the cultural, societal, and political contexts in the region(s) they are covering. 

Work Experience:

• A minimum of 6-8 years of relevant experience in implementing and/or managing health programs with strong experience/background in Nutrition, with on the ground programmatic experience in a service delivery organization, NGO or comparable international agency required.
• Experience and familiarity with related donors, peer agencies and national contexts required, preferably in humanitarian, post-crisis, or climate- impacted contexts.
• Demonstrated expertise in technical program design, monitoring and evaluation, with the ability to turn concepts and strategy into measurable action.
• Experience in technical tools and materials development, monitoring and evaluation, and research in relation to environmental health is highly desired.
• Familiarity with nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive program monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks. 
• Experience in strategy development and working across sectors or disciplines is highly desired.
• Experience working in/understanding MENAU and Asia regional or country contexts.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent verbal and written communications skills in English. Arabic is an asset.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills; proven ability to prioritize and deliver projects on time and independently.
• Technical capacity building and mentorship skills.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate a dynamic, cross-functional, global team structure in a large multi-national organization.
• Strong cross-cultural communication and ability to collaborate effectively across diverse teams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, including the capacity to interpret complex data, identify key issues, and develop practical, evidence-based solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office suite.
• Ability to manage and work through change in a proactive and positive manner.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in nutrition or a relevant field required; master's degree preferred.

Language Skills:

• Excellent spoken and written English. Additional skills in Arabic are strongly preferred. 

Working Environment:

This role may be based in Lebanon, Jordan, Pakistan, or other IRC‑approved locations within, or closely aligned to, the IRC’s MENAU and Asia regional time zones. The position requires regular international travel, up to approximately 40% of the time, primarily within these regions.

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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Why Choose the IRC?

Work that has meaning: Every day at the IRC is a chance to make a difference through a purpose-driven career. Whether you're working directly with communities or providing support behind the scenes, you will be part of a dynamic team that is always innovating, scaling, and testing new and better solutions to ensure the best possible outcomes for the people we serve.

Global scale, dynamic workplace: At the IRC, we believe that the dynamic, global make-up of our team is our strength. When you join us, you're not just starting a job—you will be part of a global organization positively impacting millions of lives in over 40 get to work with colleagues from all around the world—working across time zones and regularly exchanging different ideas, perspectives and insights. You’ll join a team that is dedicated to fostering a supportive environment to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and heard.  

Challenging work, innovative solutions: We’re committed to excellence and innovation, and pride ourselves in setting industry-leading standards while practicing evidence and data-lead strategies. Come challenge norms, shatter conventions, and pioneer change while working on real, nuanced and complex issues we face in the world today.  

Community centered: We’re an empathetic community that truly cares for one another. Our comprehensive safety and security initiatives ensure a safe work environment, while our continuous learning and development programs provide ongoing opportunities for personal and career advancement.

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Our Typical Recruitment Process

The interview process typically includes three rounds, though the number may vary depending on the role and level of seniority. It usually begins with a conversation with our recruiting team to learn more about you and your goals. This is followed by an interview with a hiring manager or business stakeholder to explore your background and provide more insight into the role. The final round focuses on assessing your role-specific expertise and may be conducted as a panel interview to evaluate your cross-functional strengths. Before extending an offer, we generally conduct reference checks, and after an offer is made, a standard background check is completed. While we strive for consistency, the process may differ based on the role, business unit, location, job type, legal requirements, and other factors.

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