Community Nutrition Support Fellow, Clinton Development Initiative, Malawi

Organization Name: Clinton Development Initiative
Placement location: Lilongwe, Malawi (with travel and short stays in Kasungu and Mchinji Districts approximately 100km from the capital)
Eligible Citizenship: American

About: The Clinton Development Initiative (CDI) helps rural Malawian farmers generate higher, more predictable income through agronomic extension services, farmer organization development, and market linkages. We help enable isolated communities to obtain input loans, high-quality farm inputs, and the best prices for their produce. CDI field officers teach climate smart agriculture and promote soya as a nutritious cash crop replacement for tobacco. Last season, CDI engaged with approximately 25,000 smallholder farmers, working in partnership with five CDI-operated commercial farms. These commercial farms facilitate purchasing efficiencies, which lower input prices to farmers; demonstrate conservation agriculture techniques; increase the supply of high quality seed; and generate revenues to support our smallholder programs. Because good health is a key component of farmer productivity, CDI recently signed an MOU with the Government of Malawi to build three health clinics on its farms, which will provide Essential Health Package (EHP) services to employees, program farmers, and surrounding communities. CDI will also run community programs focusing on nutrition, maternal, and child health..

Position Overview:

During the placement year, the Community Nutrition Support fellows will:

• Assist in the establishment of an innovative community nutrition program that builds, integrates, supports, and foresees short and long term means of preventing and managing malnutrition;
• Create new strategies to improve awareness of the relationship between agriculture, nutrition, and health, geared toward creating a good working relationship and sharing of information between community members and health care workers on long-term causes of malnutrition; signs of malnutrition or micronutrient deficiency; the impact of malnutrition on physical and emotional health, and identifying and caring for the most vulnerable members of the community: children, PLWHA, TB patients, and pregnant mothers;
• Provide locally-appropriate education and oversight by designing, teaching, and demonstrating nutrition intervention techniques at the clinic, community, and household levels, using locally available and affordable resources; and
• Support CDI farm staff and field officers and mentor local communities by leveraging current capacity and resources to assimilate knowledge and sustain interventions that combat short-and long-term causes of malnutrition in the rural populations of Malawi.

Responsibilities: 
Primary

• Conduct interviews, focus groups, and secondary research to identify specific unmet needs (e.g., micronutrients, protein) in CDI’s focus districts, Kasungu and Mchinji
• Incorporate research based practices to champion innovative treatment practices while supporting Malawi’s national guidelines on nutrition.
• Develop educational materials and training methods to achieve sustainable family level agro-practices that enhance knowledge of protein source food utilization and other nutrient-dense, commonly available foods.
• Provide training and technical oversight to CDI’s agricultural field officers to integrate nutritional education into the agronomic training programs and to enhance knowledge of protein sources and other nutrient-dense, commonly available foods through the demonstration vegetable gardens at the Commercial Farms.

Secondary

• Investigate new, innovative ways to equip the farmers and communities with the skills they need to maximize utilization of agro-products (e.g., canning, drying, and other means of preservation) and generate income. Explore use of crops produced at the commercial farms (large quantities of groundnuts and soya) as a lower-cost source of therapeutic food for communities involved in the production of such products

Required Skills and Experience: 

• Creativity, energy, and initiative: able to succeed in a newly-designed program with limited institutional support
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills required for successful interactions with agriculture field officers, commercial farm staff, community leaders, and health workers
• Strong writing, presentation, and document design skills, with ability to generate written, oral, and pictorial materials for audiences with differing levels of education and literacy
• Ability to rapidly assimilate information (including technical data relating to agriculture, health, and nutrition)
• Highly flexible and capable of maximizing available local and often limited resources and occupational means to accomplish goals
• Ability to adapt quickly to and work effectively and appropriately in new cultures and lifestyles; desire to live and work within poor communities, where every step affects community livelihood.

Preferred Skills and Experience: 

• Background in nutrition and/or agriculture a plus
• Knowledge of specific health and nutritional deficiencies in Malawi and/or other lesser-developed countries
• Statistical analysis capabilities for use in M&E program design and baseline data collection
• Strong qualitative research and analysis skills to identify best practices in agriculture and nutrition
• Analytical skills to enable synthesis of smaller and larger practical components of experiences to influence policy advocacy.
• Comfortable with quantitative analysis using Excel or similar tools
• Graphic design skills preparing education and awareness materials for low-literacy clients

Living Conditions:  Fellows will be provided with housing, health insurance and a living stipend of $650/month. Though living in the capital, fellows may travel frequently to the field. When in the field, fellows will stay at local lodges that have been used by CDI staff and/or reside in farm staff housing (with 24-hour security). At such times, fellows may have limited access to electricity, internet, and/or hot water. CDI will provide transport to and from community/farms to the offices.

Additionally, fellows will receive an award of $1500 upon successful completion of the fellowship year. Flights to and from the placement site and all other costs associated with GHC programming are included, including $600 in professional development funds.

*Note: the living stipend and completion award may be paid out in USD or local currency, as determined by the placement organization.

To apply to this position click here:http://ghcorps.org/fellows/apply/application/