Local Nutrition Expert

SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation) is an international non-governmental organisation, founded in 1965, operating in 28 countries around the world and in Burundi since March 2021. SNV seeks to bring about a lasting improvement in the lives of people living in poverty by helping them to increase their income and gain access to basic services. SNV provides capacity building services in the areas of agriculture, WASH (Water, Hygiene and Sanitation) and energy.

The Global Analysis of Vulnerability, Food Security and Nutrition (AGVSAN) in 2023 in Burundi revealed that 41.2% of households in the country are food insecure. In 2008, food insecurity was 27.8%, 32% in 2014, 44.6% in 2018 and 41.2% in 2023 at national level. As a result, the food-insecure population will have doubled from nearly 3,000,000 in 2014 to 5,396,556 in 2023.

With regard to Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF), the proportion of children aged 6 to 23 months with a minimum dietary diversity was 28.6%, compared with 20.6% in the 2022 ENSNMB at national level, representing an increase of 8 points. The proportion of children with a minimum acceptable dietary intake was estimated at 18.2% compared with 13.3% in 2022, an increase of 4.9 points (ENSNMB, 2024).

At national level, the goal mortality rate was estimated at 0.23 deaths per 10,000 people per day (ENSNMB, 2024), compared with 0.16 in 2022. The specific mortality rate for children under 5 has been estimated at 0.36 deaths per 10,000 children per day at national level, compared with 0.36 in 2022. The provinces with the highest rates are Kirundo (0.96), Bururi (0.85), Bujumbura Mairie (0.73) and Bujumbura (0.61).

In 2024, the National Survey on Nutrition and Mortality in Burundi (ENSNMB) among children aged 0 to 5 estimated the prevalence of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) at 8.0%, ranging from 7.4% to 8.7% nationally. This prevalence is above the average threshold of 5% set by the WHO, putting the country in a so-called average (precarious) public health situation.

Among the same children, the prevalence of stunting is 52.8% at national level, between 51.4% and 54.3%, which is well above the very high (emergency) threshold of 30% set by the WHO. It has fallen by 3 points compared with the ENSNMB 2022, when it was 55.8% [54.9-56.8]. At provincial level, it varies from 28.3% in Bujumbura Mairie to 65.1% in the province of Gitega. All the provinces exceeded the very high threshold of 30%, except for Mairie.

In terms of latrine use, unimproved latrines are the most widely used, at 65.9% nationally. This result is comparable to that obtained during the ENSNMB 2022 with 65.5%. This proportion varies from 14.0% in Bujumbura Mairie to 94.5% in Karusi.

As for hygiene, the proportion of households with hand-washing facilities is only 24.4% at national level. It varies from 3.2% in Rutana to 65.3% in Rumonge. However, 74.9% of women nationally wash their hands during 03 key moments. This represents a significant increase of 16.8 points compared with the rate observed during the ENSNMB 2022, when it was 58.1%.

To help solve the public health problems affecting the Burundian population, SNV has set up a project financed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands entitled PADANE, Projet d'Appui au Développement Agricole pour la Nutrition et l'Entrepreneuriat (Support Project for Agricultural Development for Nutrition and Entrepreneurship). This project builds on the results of other projects financed by the same Embassy that introduced the Integrated Farm Plan approach.

The objective of PADANE is to improve the living conditions of men, women, young people and market players by increasing their income and production, improving nutritional and food security, access to employment and entrepreneurship for young people and resilience to climate change.

As part of the implementation of its interventions, SNV Burundi is recruiting a local Nutrition Expert.

 Purpose of the position

Reporting to the Capacity Building and Knowledge Development Expert, the general objective of the post is to ensure the effective implementation of the SAN component, with technical support for the implementing partners.

 Responsibilities and areas of action

1) Strategic planning and budgeting

• He/she plans activities on a quarterly and annual basis and ensures that the activity schedule is adhered to. In the event of a major delay in the implementation of the project, he/she immediately informs his/her line manager and proposes solutions to remedy the situation.  
•  He/she draws up a quarterly schedule of activities.
•  He/she draws up a budget consumption plan in accordance with the activity schedule.        

2) Facilitation and coordination of partners

•  He/she organises quarterly coordination meetings with the implementing partners.
• He/she contributes to the strengthening, development and validation of technical and/or strategic choices by the partners.
•  He/she contributes to the quality of the activities implemented and the appropriateness of the approaches in line with SNV policy and the sectors concerned.
•  He/she exchanges with partners to share experiences, avoid overlaps in the field and promote complementarity.
• He/she facilitates the exchange of experience between partners.
•  He/she ensures that the partners are working on the same target, identified using the same criteria, and that an updated list of beneficiaries is available.

3) Creating complementarity and synergy

• He/she exchanges with the heads of the other components of the project to ensure that nutrition is effectively integrated into these components; He/she ensures that the nutrition target is considered in value chains and access to funding/innovation funds.
• He/she regularly assesses the effective integration of nutrition into the other components of the project.

4) Technical support and capacity building

• Based on the project proposal and local realities, he/she supports the partners in validating the criteria for selecting the beneficiaries of the SAN component of the project in consultation with the local authorities and other community leaders.
• He/she assesses project needs in terms of tools and materials to facilitate the implementation of activities; He/she prepares technical and methodological documentation and makes it available to partners.
• He/she introduces innovations to be tested.
• He/she strengthens the technical capacities of the partners in terms of approaches and any technical elements hindering the implementation of activities.
• He/she ensures the involvement of the appropriate technical departments.

5) Activity monitoring

•  He/she monitors activities based on the monitoring and evaluation plan.
•  He/she ensures that the planned activities are carried out in accordance with the activity timetable, using the planned resources effectively and efficiently and producing results in line with the objectives.
•  He/she regularly assesses the quantitative and qualitative results of the activities for which he/she is responsible.
•  He/she will take part in coordination meetings organised by the health sector and the nutrition cluster or working group.
•  Under the supervision of his/her Line Manager, he/she transmits, explains and ensures compliance with all the procedures and administrative decisions contained in the partners' contracts.

6) Identify lessons learned, success stories and case studies and contribute to publications/documentation.

•  He/she strengthens the partners' capacities in the procedure for identifying success stories and formulating lessons learned.
•  He/she validates the success stories and lessons learned formulated by the partners.
•  He/she contributes to the drafting of success stories.
•  He/she writes scientific or non-scientific articles in his/her field.

7) Reporting and M&E supervision

• He/she supervises the partners' nutritionists.
• He/she participates in drawing up the terms of reference and the various reports on the activities of his/her section; analyses and validates the various partner reports.
• He/she participates in the definition, monitoring and analysis of project indicators.
• He/she contributes actively to the regular updating of the SAN component database and ensures that the sources of verification mentioned in the project are available and properly archived.
• He/she evaluates the care provided and finds solutions to meet needs in collaboration with UNICEF, MINSANTE and other partners involved in the activity.

Desired profile, professional experience and valued skills

• A master’s degree in nutrition, a diploma in public health or in the field of health catering would be an advantage.
• At least three years' experience in the same position in a humanitarian/development organisation
• Demonstrated knowledge of nutrition and maternal and child health
• Good analytical and summarising skills
• Organisational skills, time and priority management
• Respect for deadlines
• ability to work in a team 
• autonomy
• Thoroughness and reliability
• Punctuality
• A taste for working in the field
• Dynamic / Responsive / Ability to stay alert
• Ability to make suggestions
• Good presentation skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• Good knowledge of French and English

Conditions

• Position based in Bujumbura
• Salary defined according to the SNV salary scale
• Open to Burundi Nationals 
• Female candidates from Burundi are strongly encouraged to apply.
• No applications will be accepted after the closing date. Only applications that meet the required profiles will be contacted for the rest of the recruitment process.
• SNV reserves the right to close the process early if the applications received meet the prerequisites.
• The recruited candidate will be contacted once funding has been obtained.

Additional information

Interested and qualified candidates should apply by clicking on the “I AM INTERESTED” tab on this page and submitting a CV in English (as an attachment) and an application letter and Three professional references in English on or before 22nd August 2025

The French Translation of the TOR: French TOR HERE

 Recruitment procedure

Recruitment will take place in three stages, namely the selection of candidates, the organisation of the written test and the interview.

NB: Only shortlisted will be contacted.

We do not appreciate third-party mediation based on this advertisement.

SNV Burundi does not require you to undergo any medical test prior to employment