Fix My Food Youth Advocacy Consultant; Nationals Remote

Contract Duration: 9 months

Working arrangement:
Pretoria, South Africa & Remote + travel

Scope of work includes coordination, facilitation and mentoring of Fix My Food Advocates during the ongoing campaign to advocate for healthier food environments for children. This involves developing youth‑co‑designed toolkits, guiding the implementation of the campaign, and overseeing monitoring and evaluation activities.

• Supporting FMF advocates in the youth‑led planning, designing, implementation and evaluation of the campaign strategy and workplan, including SMART objectives, activities, milestones, defined roles and responsibilities, slogan campaign, and a defined digital advertising strategy.
• Facilitating the development of a package of NCD prevention and food environments campaign toolkit in various formats, co‑designed by FMF youth advocates (social media titles, blog posts, scripts for radio and video, surveys or quizzes, press releases etc.), and recommending targeted boosting using multiple platforms to reach 1,500,000 youths.
• Providing mentoring and coaching sessions to FMF youth advocates through workshops and online sessions to co‑create and deliver compelling, youth‑leading storytelling and digital advocacy content for the campaign.
• Amplifying the FMF youth‑led campaign through outreach and engagement with stakeholders, volunteers’ networks, campus clubs, and optimizing key moments such as National Nutrition Week, World Obesity Day, and other NCD‑related events, while engaging policy makers.
• Strengthening linkages of FMF youth advocates and the Department of Basic Education Nutrition School ambassadors’ initiatives to advocate for better school food environments and healthy lifestyles.
• Liaising with relevant UNICEF staff to keep the FMF youth campaign website up to date with new materials and content.
• Developing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan with quantitative and qualitative tools for baseline and end‑line data collection to assess campaign reach and effectiveness.
• Conducting evaluations of key activities based on the campaign objectives.
• Preparing a comprehensive written report of the process, achievements, reach, lessons learned and presenting final evaluation and results to UNICEF.
• Compiling policy briefs and case studies on the campaign for advocacy purposes and sharing the learnings.

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Nutrition, Public Health, Behavioral Health Sciences, Psychology, Sociology, Health Education and Promotion, Social Sciences, or another related field.

• Minimum of 5 years or more of relevant experience.
• Knowledge in social and behavior change, and community engagement.
• Previous experience with nutrition and food systems or health promotion.
• Experience in engaging and working with young people.

• Strong command of English – both written and spoken.

• Expertise in the development and design of knowledge products for various audiences.
• Expertise in food environments for children.

• A good track record in working with the government and other partners on youth‑related interventions.
• Relevant experience working in the UN or other international development organization is an asset.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero‑tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credentials and employment history.