Program Manager Nutrition

Job Title

Programme Manager Nutrition

Reports To

Area Program Coordinator

Location

Kakuma-Turkana West

Classification

Full time

Starting D ate

January 2027

Duration: 1 year

BACKGROUND

IsraAID is an Israel-based non-governmental organization that was founded in 2001 and has since its inception worked in emergency and long-term development settings in over 55 countries. IsraAID’s mission is to support people affected by humanitarian crises by partnering with local communities around the world to provide urgent aid, assist recovery, and reduce the risk of future disasters.

The Integrated Community Nutrition Management Program (ICNMP) is a two-country programme implemented by IsraAID Country Offices in Kenya and Uganda, with technical and operational support from the regional programmatic team and in partnership with Edesia. In Kenya, nutrition commodity support begins in 2026, followed by the broader integrated programme component from January 2027. The Kenya programme will work in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, Turkana West host communities, schools, health facilities, Adolescent Friendly Spaces, outreach sites and community structures.

The programme seeks to improve access to quality nutrition services for children under five, pregnant and lactating women (PLW), caregivers and other nutritionally vulnerable groups, while strengthening community capacity, county systems, multisectoral referral pathways, accountability, data use and sustainable nutrition commodity supply. Implementation will be coordinated with relevant government departments, UN agencies, implementing partners and community structures.

JOB PURPOSE

The Programme Manager Nutrition will provide overall leadership, management and technical coordination for IsraAID’s Kenya component of the Integrated Community Nutrition Management Program. The incumbent will ensure that programme activities are planned, implemented, monitored and reported in accordance with the approved project document, work plans, budget, donor requirements, IsraAID policies and applicable national and international nutrition standards.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

- Programme leadership, planning and implementation

- Lead day-to-day management of the Kenya ICNMP component, ensuring implementation is consistent with the approved project document, logframe, targets, budget, work plans, implementation calendar and donor commitments.

- Translate the Kenya programme design into costed annual and quarterly work plans, detailed implementation plans, procurement and activity schedules, staffing plans and field-level delivery arrangements; review progress regularly and follow up agreed actions.

- Oversee programme delivery across Kakuma, Kalobeyei and Turkana West host communities, including schools, health facilities, Adolescent Friendly Spaces, outreach sites and community platforms, adapting implementation to context while maintaining approved standards.

- Monitor programme performance, expenditure and burn rates with Finance and Operations; identify variances, delays and resource gaps early and agree corrective actions or escalate as appropriate.

- Coordinate programme start-up, routine implementation reviews, risk management, adaptive planning and close-out/transition activities; maintain an updated programme risk and issue register.

- Provide timely, accurate narrative and quantitative inputs for internal updates, donor reports, work-plan revisions, budget reviews and other programme deliverables.

- Technical oversight and quality of nutrition services

- Provide programme-level technical leadership to ensure quality implementation of community-based screening, active case-finding, community-led surveillance, referral, enrolment and follow-up for eligible malnutrition cases in line with national protocols and approved SOPs.

- Oversee support to decentralised Outpatient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) and Targeted Supplementary Feeding Programme (TSFP) service delivery points and linkages with health facilities, community health structures and partner-managed services.

- Coordinate integrated monthly outreach and mobile clinic services with targeted health facilities, including malnutrition screening and treatment support, immunisation, ANC/PNC, hygiene promotion, referrals and follow-up, as appropriate to the agreed service package.

- Ensure effective use of Community Health Promoters (CHPs), community outreach workers, teachers, school staff and community structures for screening, Family MUAC, referral, targeted home visits, caregiver counselling and treatment follow-up.

- Guide implementation of Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) interventions, including breastfeeding and complementary feeding support, caregiver counselling, dietary diversity, safe food preparation, home-based care and appropriate use, storage and handling of RUTF/RUSF.

- Coordinate capacity strengthening, training, mentorship and supportive supervision for health workers, CHPs, teachers, school staff and other relevant frontline actors on CMAM/IMAM, MIYCN, screening, referral, counselling and reporting.

- Promote integrated approaches linking nutrition with WASH, child protection, education, psychosocial wellbeing and nutrition-sensitive food security activities, ensuring safe and functional referral pathways.

- Support community- and household-level kitchen gardens, climate-resilient agricultural practices and dietary diversification activities in coordination with relevant technical colleagues and county/community actors.

- Ensure programme sites and activities are accessible, safe and inclusive, with attention to gender, age, disability, protection and the specific needs of refugee and host communities.

- Community engagement, SBCC and accountability

- Oversee context-appropriate nutrition and wellbeing information, education and communication (IEC) and social and behaviour change communication (SBCC), including community dialogues, practical demonstrations, school-based messaging and engagement with trusted community influencers.

- Support establishment and functioning of mother-to-mother and father-to-father peer support groups and other community structures that reinforce positive nutrition, hygiene and care practices.

- Ensure caregivers and community members are supported to use Family MUAC and understand when and how to seek care and complete referral pathways.

- Coordinate community feedback and response management, including accessible and child-friendly feedback channels. Ensure feedback and complaints are acknowledged, referred and resolved within programme standards and that trends inform programme adaptation.

- Promote meaningful participation, community ownership, accountability to affected populations and transparent communication about programme eligibility, services and commodity use.

- Partnerships, government engagement and coordination

- Build and maintain effective working relationships with Turkana County Department of Health, relevant county and sub-county structures, Department of Education, UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, implementing partners and community leadership.

- Support county and sub-county nutrition coordination, including relevant Nutrition Technical Working Groups/Forums and Sub-County Nutrition Technical Forums; contribute to joint planning, review of performance, problem-solving and alignment with county priorities.

- Clarify roles, responsibilities, referral arrangements, data-sharing protocols and operational interfaces with partners avoiding duplication of existing services.

- Support joint strategic planning, co-design, partner capacity strengthening and progressive integration of programme approaches into county, facility and community systems.

- MEAL, data management, learning and reporting

- Work with the MEAL function to operationalise the programme MEAL plan, standardised tools, indicators, reporting schedules, data quality processes and programme information systems.

- Ensure routine monitoring captures screening, enrolment, referral completion, service quality, caregiver counselling, training, supervision, community engagement, commodity availability and other approved logframe indicators, disaggregated as required.

- Promote harmonisation and digitalisation of nutrition data and reporting tools and support integration/interoperability with relevant Ministry of Health systems, including DHIS2/HMIS, in coordination with county health teams and programme technical support.

- Review programme data and field monitoring findings, facilitate periodic performance reviews and reflection sessions, document lessons learned and ensure evidence informs corrective actions and programme adaptation.

- Coordinate participatory assessments and evaluations, including baseline, mid-term review, endline and impact assessment activities as applicable to the approved MEAL plan.

- Ensure accurate and timely programme reports and documentation, including case studies, learning products, activity reports and donor reporting inputs.

- Nutrition commodity supply chain and operational coordination

- Coordinate programme-side forecasting of nutrition commodity requirements using caseload, consumption, pipeline, seasonal and service-delivery data in collaboration with relevant partners and MoH.

- Monitor commodity pipeline status, availability, receipt, storage, distribution and utilisation with responsible partners.

- Support development, harmonisation and application of commodity management SOPs, inventory tools, reporting processes, reconciliation procedures and accountability controls across relevant programme sites and partners.

- Ensure programme teams and relevant frontline actors understand commodity handling, appropriate use, storage, reporting and escalation procedures. Coordinate supportive supervision and follow-up of identified gaps.

- Contribute to planning for phased asset transfer and operational handover to appropriate county, partner, regional or community structures, including capacity assessment, documented agreements and post-handover support.

- Team leadership, safeguarding and organisational responsibilities

- Lead, supervise and support assigned programme staff; set clear objectives, provide regular feedback, conduct performance reviews and promote coaching, learning and staff wellbeing.

- Foster effective collaboration across programme, technical, MEAL, finance, logistics, procurement, HR and security functions and with the regional programmatic team.

- Ensure field activities are planned and conducted in line with IsraAID security guidance, duty-of-care requirements and relevant public health and infection prevention measures.

- Promote safeguarding, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding, prevention of fraud and conflicts of interest, and safe and confidential handling of complaints and sensitive information.

- Undertake other duties relevant to the role as assigned by the line manager.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES

- University degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, Public Health Nutrition, Human Nutrition, Public Health or a closely related field. A postgraduate qualification in Public Health, Nutrition, Global Health or a related discipline is an advantage.

- Professional registration with the Kenya Nutritionists and Dieticians Institute (KNDI).

- At least 6–8 years of progressively responsible experience in nutrition and/or public health programming, including at least 3 years in programme/project management or a supervisory role.

- Demonstrated experience managing community-based and facility-linked nutrition interventions, including acute malnutrition screening, CMAM/IMAM, OTP/TSFP, referral and follow-up, MIYCN and caregiver counselling.

- Experience working in humanitarian, refugee, displacement or arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) contexts; experience in Turkana, Kakuma or Kalobeyei is an advantage.

- Demonstrated ability to manage integrated, multisectoral programmes and work effectively with county/sub-county government, UN agencies, NGOs, implementing partners and community structures.

- Experience in project cycle management, work planning, budget monitoring, donor compliance, risk management, partner coordination and preparation of quality narrative and quantitative reports.

- Working knowledge of nutrition monitoring and surveillance, MEAL frameworks, data quality, digital reporting and Ministry of Health information systems, including DHIS2/HMIS.

- Experience with nutrition commodity forecasting, pipeline monitoring, inventory management, storage, distribution, supply-chain SOPs and partner coordination is an advantage.

- Knowledge of relevant Kenya national nutrition policies, CMAM/IMAM and MIYCN guidance, humanitarian standards and safeguarding/accountability principles.

SKILLS

- Strong programme management, planning, prioritisation and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and deliver against deadlines.

- Strong technical communication and report-writing skills, including the ability to interpret programme data and present clear recommendations.

- Excellent stakeholder engagement, negotiation, facilitation and partnership-management skills.

- People management, coaching, mentoring and team-development skills.

- Strong analytical skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office; familiarity with digital data collection, MEAL and inventory management systems.

- Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgement and respond flexibly in a changing humanitarian operating environment.

KEY BEHAVIOURS

- Demonstrates integrity, accountability, professionalism and respect for diversity.

- Builds trust and constructive relationships with colleagues, partners, government counterparts and communities.

- Promotes local ownership, inclusion, participation, learning and continuous improvement.

- Uses evidence and feedback to make decisions, solve problems and adapt implementation.

- Demonstrates cultural sensitivity, resilience, discretion and a do-no-harm approach.

- Models safeguarding, ethical conduct and responsible use of organisational resources.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND DEMANDS

Typical office environment with regular field travel to Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, Turkana West host communities, health facilities, schools, outreach sites and partner locations. The role may require travel on challenging roads, work in remote settings and occasional adjustment of working hours in response to programme needs and operational conditions.

LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN

Medium contact: Frequent interaction with children through regular field visits to schools, health facilities, community and outreach platforms to support programme implementation. The postholder may have direct contact with children during monitoring, community engagement and programme activities and must comply with all child safeguarding requirements.

LANGUAGES

Fluency in written and spoken English and Kiswahili is required. Knowledge of relevant local languages used in Turkana and refugee communities is an advantage.

COMPLIANCE & ETHICS

- Promote and encourage a culture of compliance and ethics.

- As applicable to the position, maintain a clear understanding of donor compliance and ethics standards and adhere to those standards. Conduct work with the highest level of integrity. Communicate these values to staff and partners and require them to adhere to these values.

- Demonstrate understanding of and commitment to the principles of non-discrimination, local ownership, sustainability, inclusiveness, local partnership, do-no-harm and an apolitical approach; codes of conduct against sexual exploitation and abuse; and against child exploitation and modern slavery.

- Commitment to abide by IsraAID’s and UN’s codes of conduct and principles.

- Commitment to humanitarian principles.

How to Apply:  Apply on bamboo

The deadline for applications is 22nd November 2026

ETHICAL STANDARDS

IsraAID has zero tolerance towards any acts of misconduct, sexual exploitation, and abuse. The recruitment process will include all candidates’ declarations and reference checks focused on misconduct and SEA.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

IsraAID is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability status