UNICEF
Nutrition Specialist, NO-3, Fixed Term, #104498 Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh # 592317 (Open for Bangladeshi Nationals only)
🇧🇩Bangladesh1 month ago
TemporaryEN
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For every child, a voice
As of January 2026, over 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, primarily from Myanmar, are residing in Bangladesh,
with about 35,000 of these in Bhasan Char Island and the rest in 33 refugee camps in Cox Bazar. The Rohingya refugees remains one of the world's largest protracted refugee crisis in the world with numerous humanitarian needs and solely dependent on humanitarian support. Since the large-scale influx of the Rohingyas in 2017, the humanitarian community closely worked with the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) to respond to the humanitarian needs caused by the large-scale displacement.
Eight years later, the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar continue to face a critical and deteriorating nutritional situation, driven by interlinked challenges across food security, health, WASH, social protection, and ongoing population pressures. Despite sustained nutrition interventions since 2017, wasting prevalence has increased and remains a serious public health concern, particularly among children under five years of age, while stunting levels remain persistently high. Although anemia prevalence has shown some improvement, it remains close to very high levels and requires sustained attention. Findings from the Standardized Expanded Nutrition Survey (SENS) 2023 indicate that 66.7 per cent of children aged 6–59 months are affected by at least one form of malnutrition, and one in four children experiences multiple forms of malnutrition, most commonly stunting (41 percent and anemia 38 percent), with the highest burden among children aged 6–23 months. Wasting prevalence stands at 15.1 per cent, classified as very high according to WHO thresholds, and disproportionately affects younger children.
The nutrition situation has worsened in recent years, with severe wasting admissions increasing by 13 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023 and by 10 percent in 2025 compared to 2024. This trend is compounded by erratic General Food Assistance distributions since 2023, limited livelihood opportunities, and the continued influx of new Rohingya arrivals, increasing vulnerability among children under five and pregnant and lactating women. Dietary quality remains poor, with only 26.9 per cent of children aged 6–23 months meeting minimum dietary diversity, reflecting widespread food poverty and low consumption of nutrient-dense foods such as pulses, eggs, dairy products, and fruits and vegetables. A nutrition causal analysis conducted in May 2025 identified key drivers of malnutrition, including suboptimal infant and young child feeding practices, constrained household income, inadequate access to safe water, poor sanitation, and insufficient food and environmental hygiene, which together perpetuate recurrent illness, reduced nutrient absorption, and weakened immunity among children and mothers.
Job organizational context:
The Nutrition Specialist GJP is to be placed in the Cox’s Bazar Filed office where the Nutrition Programme is a component of the Country Programme (or UNDAF). The Nutrition Specialist reports to the Child Survival and Development Manager who is at level 4.
How can you make a difference?
Purpose for the job:
The Nutrition Specialist supports the development, preparation and operationalization of the emergency nutrition response in a humanitarian and development nexus and is responsible for managing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting the programme progress in the Rohingya response and host community. The Nutrition Specialist provides technical guidance and management support throughout the programming processes to facilitate the administration and achievement of concrete and sustainable results in maternal, infant and child nutrition programmes/projects within the emergency response and host community. This is carried out according to plans, allocation, results based-management approaches and methodology (RBM), as well as UNICEF’s Strategic Plans, standards of performance, and accountability framework.
Summary of key functions/accountabilities:
If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: JD_Nutrition Specialist NO3 FT Cox's Bazar ..pdf
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Minimum requirements:
For every Child, you demonstrate...
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UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic background, and persons with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization. To create a more inclusive workplace, UNICEF offers paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. Click here to learn more about flexible work arrangements, well-being, and benefits.
According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. In its Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy 2022-2030, UNICEF has committed to increase the number of employees with disabilities by 2030. At UNICEF, we provide reasonable accommodation for work-related support requirements of candidates and employees with disabilities. Also, UNICEF has launched a Global Accessibility Helpdesk to strengthen physical and digital accessibility. If you are an applicant with a disability who needs digital accessibility support in completing the online application, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF.
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Remarks:
As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
UNICEF is an equal-opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from female candidates, gender-diverse individuals and people with disabilities.
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Internal candidates may be given preference over external candidates. The term "Internal" refers to all staff members with fixed term, continuing or permanent appointments. Internal candidates who are legally permitted to work for UNICEF in Bangladesh, independently of UNICEF appointment, will also be considered.
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