FREELANCER

Senior Public Health-Nutrition Consultant

Vacancy Notice: SPHNC_01_GR/25_08

JOB TITLE   Senior Public Health-Nutrition Consultant Full – time

LOCATION  Athens, Greece (Secondment to the Ministry of Health)

TYPE OF CONTRACT     ICMC

STARTING DATE  As soon as possible

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS     14 February 2025

CONTRACT DURATION 11 months

ABOUT ICMC

The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) is an international non-governmental organization, whose mission is to protect and serve children as well as uprooted people, including refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, victims of human trafficking, and migrants - regardless of faith, race, ethnicity, or nationality. 

ICMC started a partnership with UNICEF in Greece in order to deploy a highly qualified affiliated workforce to assist UNICEF Greece Country Office. 

SCOPE OF WORK

UNICEF is the world’s leading organization working for the rights of children. In Greece, UNICEF works to uphold the rights of all children, including the most vulnerable, to ensure they grow up healthy, educated, and protected. 

UNICEF became operational in Greece in early 2016 as an outposted team from the Regional Office of Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) to respond to the significant influx of refugee and migrant children and their families at that time. Following several years of engagement with national stakeholders, UNICEF and the Government of Greece made a decision in January 2020 to formalize the agency’s presence in the country as a full-fledged Country Office. The office falls under the auspices of the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia located in Geneva, which supports the work of 22 Country Offices within its geographical scope, reporting in turn to global headquarters in New York. These offices carry out UNICEF's mission through a unique set of programmes that focus on practical ways to realize the rights of all children. Within the framework of a mandate for all children in Greece, UNICEF and Greece are now working to address the needs of all vulnerable, marginalized and left-behind children in the country.

UNICEF GCO in collaboration with the Ministry of Health is implementing a National Programme aiming to prevent and address child obesity in the country. The National Program of Physical Exercise and Healthy Nutrition-Addressing Childhood Obesity in Greece, is part of the "Spyros Doxiadis" and "Greece 2.0" National Recovery Plan, implemented by the Ministry of Health and partners and supported by UNICEF. The program is funded by the European Commission’s NextGeneration EU, and it is an innovative initiative which aims to reduce childhood obesity through the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity across prevention levels and with a holistic approach. The program focuses on children aged 0-17 and their families with multi-faceted interventions at home, school, health services, and the community at large. Greece stands in the higher rankings of prevalence of childhood obesity among European countries and so the national program aspires to be catalytic in addressing challenges across sectors of the obesogenic environment through programmatic interventions in the sectors of education, primary/secondary health prevention and early detection platforms which aligns with the EU Global Health Strategy.

The National Programme Focuses on achieving the following objectives:

• Promoting a healthy beginning in life for every child through the encouragement of nutritious eating practices and enhanced physical activity;
• Combating childhood obesity by mitigating risk factors;
•  Fostering awareness, education, and the adoption of healthy lifestyles;
• Conducting comprehensive national research and collection of data.

The program's key pillars include the reform of the legal framework to promote healthy living. Within this context, the revision of the national food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) is crucial to foster awareness, that will lead to adoption of healthy lifestyles in order to address the alarming rates of childhood obesity. The existing guidelines need to be updated to reflect the latest scientific evidence on dietary reference values and health-promoting dietary habits, ensuring they provide clear, practical advice that can be easily implemented by families, schools, and healthcare providers. By incorporating evidence-based, comprehensive and culturally relevant dietary recommendations, the revised guidelines can better support healthy eating habits from an early age, helping to address risk factors associated with obesity. Additionally, the updated national FBDGs will align with the broader goals of the National Action, which aims to create a supportive environment for children and their families to thrive through improved access to nutritious foods, enhanced physical activity programs, and integrated health services. This holistic approach is essential for effectively combating childhood obesity and promoting long-term health and well-being for the next generation in Greece. 

To meet these requirements, UNICEF would like to engage 1 Senior Public Health-Nutrition Consultant (full-time).  The Senior Consultant will lead the research team and contribute to the National Nutritional Committee operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Health. The overall technical coordination will be assumed by a member of the National Nutrition Committee.

The Senior Consultant should be qualified to evaluate and integrate the latest scientific evidence into practical dietary recommendations, ensuring that the guidelines rely on solid scientific evidence and are effective in promoting health. Their understanding of public health principles will allow them to address broader issues such as food insecurity, health inequities, and cultural dietary practices, making the FBDGs more inclusive and relevant to diverse populations. Their involvement will ensure that the revised FBDGs will not only provide guidance at the individual level but will also support public health initiatives aimed at creating healthier communities. By leveraging their expertise, the national FBDGs can be a powerful tool in the fight against childhood obesity and other nutrition-related health issues in Greece.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Consultant will lead a team of consultants, act as a focal point of the National Committee and:

• Finalise the draft comprehensive reviews of the literature covering the last 10 years in order to identify: (a) FBDGs of other European and non-European countries that have been updated during this period (b) Dietary Reference Values of macro and micro-nutrients set by European national and international bodies (c) newly generated evidence that support the necessity to amend current national FBDGs (d) data on the dietary intake of large samples of the population in Greece and (e)  information on obstacles hindering the implementation of (current) FBDGs in the population in Greece. 
• Finalise the evidence synthesis to collate and discuss current knowledge on health promoting dietary habits and to capture food consumption patterns and trends, and nutritional insufficiencies (covering both inadequate and excess intake).
• Lead stakeholder engagement, through collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, academics, educators, policymakers, and community organizations, to gather insights and ensure that guidelines are practical and culturally relevant.
• Finalise the draft updated FBDGs which will rely on current evidence, ensuring they are clear, actionable, and tailored to different population groups.

Objectives

• To coordinate with the chairpersons of the WGs to fulfill their tasks with regards to the revision of the national FGDGs.
• To formulate evidence-based recommendations for different population groups, through integrating the latest scientific evidence into food-based guidelines that would provide accurate and up-to-date dietary advice.
•  To promote public health through the development of guidelines that aim to reduce the prevalence of diet-related diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, by encouraging healthier eating habits.
•  To address nutritional insufficiencies through the identification of nutritional deficiencies and excess intakes within the population in order to improve overall health and well-being.
•  To safeguard cultural relevance and accessibility through ensuring that the guidelines are culturally acceptable and accessible to all segments of the population, taking into account diverse dietary practices and preferences.

Μajor tasks to be accomplished

• To provide expert guidance and lead the team of Public Health-Nutrition Consultants.
•  To act as a focal person for all WGs of the National Committee of Nutrition.
•  To detect and present diet-health relationships, based on evidence generated during the last 10 years (i.e. after the publication of the current national FBDGs).
• To identify country-specific diet-related health problems.
• To recognize nutrients of public health relevance for the population in Greece. 
•  To determine food groups with established relationships to health and which are sources of nutrients of public health importance for the population in Greece.
• To describe the population’s food consumption patterns. 
• To present and optimize FBDGs also through graphical representations (e.g. present guidelines through a pyramid or a plate).
•   To contribute to the dissemination of the updated FBDGs to consumers; professionals and enhance their application to policies.

Work Assignments (WA) Overview          Deliverables/Outputs    Payment

WA1: Review of current dietary intakes and national FBDGs.   WA1.1 Collecting evidence on current dietary intakes          1st Payment

               WA1.2 Identifying foods and nutrients of public health importance and mapping priorities for FBDGs’ revision   

               WA1.3 Recognising obstacles that have hindered the implementation of current FBDGs 

WA2: Literature review to isolate new evidence on associations between dietary intake (foods and nutrients) and health outcomes       WA2.1 Developing the search protocol               2nd Payment

               WA2.2 Outcome of literature search (Phase I) 

               WA2.3 Outcome of literature search (Phase II)

               WA2.4 Synthesis of the evidence (Phase I)       

               WA2.5 Synthesis of the evidence (Phase II)      

WA3: Setting the new FBDGs for the population in Greece        WA3.1 Integration of recently generated knowledge in the scientific substantiation (phase I)             3rd Payment

               WA3.2 Integration of recently generated knowledge in the scientific substantiation (phase II)            

               WA3.3 Translating new evidence into concrete guidelines        

               WA3.4 Optimising and disseminating the updated FBDGs       

REQUIREMENTS

1. Education

 PhD (completed or only pending viva voce) on primary healthcare/nutrition.

2. Experience

•  Experience in evidence-based nutrition, critical appraisal, interpretation and synthesis of nutrition research evidence.
• Profound knowledge of literature review methods (PRISMA principles, Cochrane guidelines for systematic literature reviews).
• Proficiency in a range of PC/web applications, including but not limited to: MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Outlook.
•  Advanced use of engines/databases to search scientific literature, including but not limited to: EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane, PubMed and Scopus 
• Extensively experience in nutrition research methodology (cohort studies, clinical trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses).
• Possess expert knowledge and advanced concepts on public health nutrition policies, strategies, and programs. The individual should be familiar with global and local nutrition guidelines, including those set by organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and UNICEF.
• Ability to understand nutritional epidemiology and analyze data related to dietary intake, malnutrition prevalence, and health outcomes.
• Familiarity with food systems, food security issues, and their impact on public health.
• Experience in the implementation of nutrition research project with policy implications on a national level.
• Previous experience in the development of studies, policies and intervention at national level would be an asset.
•  Language skills: Excellent written and verbal Greek and English. Strong written and verbal communication skills for preparing reports, conducting presentations, and engaging with various audiences.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret data sets related to nutrition and health.
• Excellent interpersonal skills for collaboration with diverse teams and stakeholders.
•   Ability to work independently as well as part of a multidisciplinary team.

3. Language Requirements

•             Fluency in English and Greek is required. Strong written and verbal communication skills for preparing reports, conducting presentations, and engaging with various audiences.

4. Evaluation Criteria

A) Technical Evaluation (75 Points)

• Education Credentials (25 points)
• Relevant Work Experience (50 points)

B) Financial Proposal (25 Points)

Selected candidates will also undergo a final interview before the selection outcome.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates should submit a detailed CV of maximum four pages in English, a motivation letter and two professional references with full and up to date contact details via email, to:

Mr. Akis Papakonstantinou, ICMC HR Officer

The closing date for receipt of applications is 14/02/2025.

The Vacancy Notice number SPHNC2_01_GR/25_08 and the applicant’s full name must be quoted in the email subject line.

Applications will be evaluated upon reception.

DATA PROTECTION

By submitting an application, you agree that ICMC collects and manages the information that you provide. You also agree that your data may be shared with UNICEF. Your personal information will be used for recruitment purposes only. Your application will be treated with strict confidentiality.

Owing to the volume of applications, ICMC regrets that only applicants short-listed for an interview will be notified.

ICMC is committed to equal employment opportunities for all applicants. ICMC does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, color, national origin, religion, physical or mental ability, marital status and age. Applications will be treated with strict confidentiality.

ICMC is committed to a Zero-Tolerance Policy toward sexual exploitation, abuses and all forms of unlawful harassment, including but not limited to sexual harassment. Screening of applications includes the vetting for records of prior misconduct and reference checking. By submitting your application, you declare your consent for your former employer to disclose any details concerning criminal convictions or misconduct.  ICMC can take other necessary measures to ensure that people involved in substantiated cases of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment are not recruited.