The World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) is a non-profit, autonomous international agricultural research center with headquarters in Taiwan and regional offices in Africa and Asia. WorldVeg conducts research and development programs that contribute to improved nutrition and incomes in the developing world through increased production and consumption of safe and nutritious vegetables. The Center implements its science for development agenda through three outcome-oriented ‘flagship programs’: Safe and Sustainable Value Chains, Healthy Diets, Vegetable Diversity and Improvement, and one cross-cutting flagship program: Enabling Impact.
The objectives of the Flagship Program – Healthy Diets are to alleviate malnutrition by improving dietary quality from greater consumption of diverse and nutritious vegetables and enhancing healthy eating behaviors using nutrition-sensitive interventions from seed to table and multi-sectoral collaborations among agriculture, nutrition, health, and education.
WorldVeg is seeking a Nutritionist to join the ‘Healthy Diets’ flagship team. The ideal candidate should be an experienced scientist and change-agent in the area of public health nutrition and community nutrition, with a passion to work with rural and urban communities and bring in behavioral change in food habits, diets, health, sanitation, etc. The position will be based at WorldVeg’s regional office for Eastern and Southern Africa in Arusha, Tanzania.
Key Job Responsibilities:
§ Design and implement nutrition activities in ongoing and new projects globally by leading the following:
· assess diet and nutrition status of populations, design and validate effective gender-sensitive interventions with a focus on improving maternal and child nutrition in rural as well as urban communities;
· develop nutrition/health behavior change communication strategies, design and validate effective interventions to enhance dietary behavior and quality.
§ Pro-actively mobilize resources in support of new research activities involving nutrition specific- and nutrition-sensitive interventions for improved diets and nutrition. Key opportunities for growth are WorldVeg’s comprehensive home-, school-, urban- and emergency garden programs.
§ Contribute to research and develop principles and guidelines for food safety, and safe vegetable supplies from the human health aspect.
§ Build productive relations with investors and development partners from the public and private sectors for scaling out of WorldVeg’s nutrition research results.
§ Mentor researchers and students in the relevant areas of research.
§ Write high-quality peer-reviewed articles and publish in high impact factor publications.
§ Closely collaborate with Flagship Program Leader - ‘Healthy Diets’ to enhance WorldVeg’s Nutrition research and development work.
§ Develop productive partnerships to further WorldVeg’s nutrition research and actively participate in regional and international nutrition and health research communities and networks.
§ Provide inputs to other Flagship Programs and activities (plant science, communication, marketing, and impact assessment)
The Person:
§ A Ph.D. in public health nutrition, nutritional epidemiology, community nutrition, health behavior/social change communication or related discipline.
§ Proven ability in using nutrition research tools and study designs (such as randomized controlled trials for intervention study, cohort study, cross-sectional study, and case-control study to generate evidence for public health nutrition research and apply evidence-based nutrition interventions).
§ Considerable skill in data-mining and -statistical analysis.
§ A minimum of three years of postdoctoral experience.
§ A good track record in high-quality publications and fundraising.
§ Experience in an international and multi-disciplinary/cultural environment is an asset.
§ Experience in ‘linking agriculture to nutrition and health’ is a distinct advantage.
§ Experience in networking with donors and partners in the field of nutrition and health.
§ Able and willing to travel regularly in the region and sometimes globally.
§ Proficiency in written and verbal English.
The Reward:
This is an Internationally Recruited Staff (IRS) position with competitive pay and benefits. The initial appointment is for three years and may be extended depending on performance of the incumbent and availability of resources.