Senior Policy Associate - SYS-1164

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is seeking a Senior Policy Associate to support the implementation of actions required for the delivery of Nourishing Food Pathways and the National Food System Pathway ways in Ethiopia. This role will be offered on a fixed term contract basis up to 18 months, subject to availability of funding. You will be based in GAIN’s Ethiopia office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Reporting to the Head of Policy and Advocacy, the Senior Policy Associate will support in coordinating the implementation of actions required to ensure the delivery of Nourishing Food Pathways and the National Food System Pathway ways in Ethiopia.

• Aiding with the management of the project schedule, activity plan and planning milestones, supporting with the tracking of progress and deliverables from project partners and implementing countries
• Drafting necessary project documentation during the design, planning and end-to-end implementation of the project as per GAIN Project Management Guidelines (PMG) i.e., results framework, work plans etc.
• Supporting with the implementation of national mandatory fortification programmes for edible oil and wheat flour in Ethiopia and strengthen Ethiopia’s national salt iodization program, regularly revisiting and modifying the strategy to accommodate new learning and recent developments as advised by the project manager
• Supporting engagement of key national stakeholders (i.e., parent advocates, doctors, youth advocates, and others) to support mandatory wheat and oil fortification in Ethiopia. Scoping and engaging new stakeholder groups and organisations with good potential to partner with GAIN as advocates for fortification
• Facilitating coordination among development partners supporting LSFF in Ethiopia. Communicating and coordinating regularly with organizations working to combat malnutrition in Ethiopia
• Building strong partnerships with government entities, private sector, civil society, INGOs and other organisations
• Supporting the Project lead with the preparation of donor reports in collaboration with project teams, technical teams, funding team and support teams.
• Developing appropriate narrative reporting and financial accounting documentation for the Project lead’s review to meet GAIN and donor’s requirements
• Facilitating accurate project budgeting and forecasting processes, ensuring that activities costs are kept within budgets
• Developing Terms of Reference for project consultants/suppliers hired on a short-term basis and ensuring proper delivery of technical services and submission of technical and other reports within ethical and procurement standards and guidelines

About You

The ideal candidate will have proven track record in supporting food and nutrition policy dialogue work at high levels and translating policy decisions into tasks and projects. You will have experience in working closely with national stakeholders to progress the implementation of Ethiopia Food System Transformation Pathways and in liaising with the Government of Ethiopia.

You will have experience working in or on food technology and processing and with strong technical skills in multi-sectoral nutrition programming, including agriculture, health and food security.

In addition to this, you will possess excellent communications and influencing skills, fluent in both written and verbal English. Candidates with knowledge of second language within GAIN’s regional offices would be an additional advantage. The postholder should be highly flexible and willing and able to travel.

A Master’s degree or recognized international accreditation in international relations, sustainable development, development studies, public policy, food science, nutrition, public health or related field. You will be computer literate with advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems. The postholder would also possess excellent writing skills, with analytical capacity and ability to synthesize project outputs and relevant findings for the preparation of quality project reports.

The starting salary on offer for this role is from USD 14,472 – USD 16,548 per annum (gross salary), depending on experience.

GAIN has a fair and competitive salary structure that allows for annual progression subject to good performance. In addition, GAIN offers a total of 37 days holiday per year (including annual leave, public holidays and additional office closure days), an attractive pension scheme and competitive insurance cover including health, travel and life assurance.

We are committed to the health of our staff, especially in these challenging times, and have developed a programme of wellbeing that includes flexible working, additional leave allowances, wellbeing days, mindfulness coaching and access to independent and confidential counselling.

GAIN also has a strong commitment to professional development. We will support you to grow in your career through both formal and informal training, and are committed to providing opportunities through internal recruitment, secondments and promotion. All of this is delivered in a supportive and collaborative environment.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Due to COVID19, conflict in Ukraine and climate change, malnutrition and hunger have worsened significantly since 2019, reversing a decade of progress. There is growing recognition that our food systems need to change if we are to reverse these trends.

GAIN’s Strategy aims to transform food systems to make healthier diets from sustainable food systems accessible to all people and especially those whose are most vulnerable to shocks. By 2027, we aim to improve the access of 1.5 billion people to nutritionally enhanced staple foods, improve the access of 25 million people to healthier diets, and support positive food system change in 10 countries. This is bold and complex, and the only way to achieve this is to work together with partners including governments, businesses, and civil society at the country and global level. These goals, and the ways of achieving them, build on our twenty-year legacy of transforming people’s lives with improved nutrition through concerted action and effective policy change.

We provide a flexible working environment that includes a combination of home and office working opportunities through our global hybrid working policy. This encourages our staff to have a healthy work-life balance and increases staff motivation, enriches employee wellbeing, and improves performance and productivity.

All of our positions are based in one or more of GAIN’s designated offices as stated on our job advertisements. Successful candidates will be based in one of GAIN’s country offices and must have the existing right to live and work within a reasonably commutable distance of the relevant city / cities in which the role is advertised. Please note, that GAIN does not sponsor working visas and relocations. 

GAIN reserves the right to withdraw an offer of employment for candidates who are considered to ineligible under the above conditions during or after the recruitment process.

For more detailed information please see the attached job description. To apply, follow the "Apply Now" link.

Applicants must be currently based and have the existing right to live and work in the Addis Ababa, Ethiopia region to be eligible to apply for this position.

This advert closes on 6th May 2024. Early applications are encouraged. GAIN reserves the right to close this advert early should we receive suitable candidates ahead of the closing date.

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition is committed to equality of opportunity and creating an inclusive environment where diversity is valued.  We are keen to reflect the diversity of our society at every level within our organisation and therefore welcome applications from talented and committed people from all backgrounds, representing the diverse societies we operate in.