Overview
Provide technical oversight, coordination, and quality assurance support for iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) / universal salt iodization (USI) evidence generation activities. Support country offices, governments, universities, and technical partners in designing, supervising, monitoring, and ensuring quality implementation of surveillance systems and related research.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide technical guidance on design of sentinel surveillance systems for iodine status monitoring.
- Support development and review of protocols for sub-national iodine intake studies.
- Advise on sampling approaches, indicators, biomarkers, dietary intake methods and salt testing approaches.
- Support ethical review readiness and technical documentation.
- Provide remote and in-country technical supervision of ongoing studies.
- Troubleshoot implementation bottlenecks affecting fieldwork, laboratories, procurement or timelines.
- Review inception reports, training materials, field manuals and progress reports.
- Ensure consistency and quality across countries implementing studies.
- Review data collection tools and digital systems.
- Support quality assurance procedures for urine iodine concentration (UIC), household salt iodine testing and dietary intake modules.
- Review preliminary datasets and analytical outputs.
- Support interpretation of findings and identification of policy implications.
- Build capacity of governments, universities and implementing institutions on surveillance methods and iodine programme monitoring and assessments.
- Deliver webinars, technical briefings and training sessions.
- Promote use of evidence for decision-making.
- Prepare country summaries, technical briefs and comparative evidence notes.
- Capture key lessons and findings from surveys and evidence generation into at least 2 scientific peer-reviewed papers.
- Support countries to translate findings into policy recommendations.
- Identify lessons learned and priority actions for sustaining USI programmes.
- Coordinate with UNICEF Centre of Excellence team, country offices and other consultants.
- Support recruitment/ review of local research partners, if required.
- Any other related tasks assigned by supervisor.
Required Experience
- 10-15 years of relevant experience in nutrition surveys, public health research, surveillance systems or micronutrient programmes research and assessments.
- Strong experience with iodine deficiency disorders, USI, urinary iodine surveys or salt iodization programmes.
- Proven experience managing multi-country research studies.
- Experience working with governments, UN agencies, universities and laboratories.
- Previous experience working with countries.
Qualifications
• Master's degree in Nutrition, Partnerships, Advocacy, Development, Communications.
