National Consultant : Strengthening Nutrition Education through the Nutrition School Ambassadors[...]

Overview

UNICEF South Africa 's Health and Nutrition Outcome : Girls and boys, including the most deprived, receive an integrated package of quality and equitable maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH), HIV / AIDS, and nutrition care and services. The Health and Nutrition section has 3 outputs, and this consultancy supports Outputs 2 and 3 under the key interventions :

• Support the implementation of the Blueprint for improving the South African school Food environment
• Empower young people and learners to advocate for improved food environment in schools and institutions of higher learning; address NCD prevention and modifiable risk factors, including overweight and obesity

Since 2022, UNICEF South Africa has supported government efforts to improve the food environment through youth-led advocacy and social and behavior change communication campaigns under the banner My Body, My Health : My Wealth. This initiative reached over 3 million youth aged 15-24 years between 2022 and 2024 with messages on the prevention of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), while empowering young people to become agents of change in addressing food system challenges and advocating for relevant policies.

In 2024, the third phase of this campaign introduced the youth-led Fix My Food movement, aimed at transforming the food system through policy advocacy. This included support for the implementation of draft regulations on food labelling and advertising, and the efforts to improve campus food environments.

Furthermore, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), UNICEF supported the development of the Blueprint for Improving the South African School Food Environment (2021). This collaboration led to an 18-month, two-phase pilot in six public schools in the iLembe district of KwaZulu-Natal. One key insight from this pilot was the establishment of Nutrition School ambassadors to make learners agents of change for their own school food environment.

The 2025 UNICEF Child Nutrition Report highlights that overweight prevalence among South African children aged 5-19 years increased from 9% in 2000 to 21% in 2022, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive and sustained action. Approximately 18.8 million school-aged children and adolescents are at heightened risk of developing life-threatening NCDs. This indicates that sustainable behavior change remains limited due to inconsistent and poorly integrated nutrition education and low learner engagement; one-off campaigns have proven insufficient.

To bridge these gaps, the DBE, in collaboration with UNICEF through the NSNP’s Nutrition Education (NE) pillar, aims to establish the Nutrition School Ambassadors (NUSA) initiative. The initiative will complement current nutrition education with peer-led approaches, integrating nutrition content into the CAPS through peer-led initiatives, empowering learners to advocate for healthy school food environment policies. The NUSA initiative will be integrated under the CSTL's Nutritional Support pillar through a NUSA School Club within the Representative Council of Learners (RCL).

It is against this background that a consultant is required to support the establishment of the NUSA initiative in support of the DBE's National School Nutrition Programme. The focus will be on advancing competency-based food and nutrition education and facilitating youth-led policy advocacy to promote healthier school food environments.

For every child, the right to NUTRITION.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Nutrition Manager from the Health and Nutrition Section, the consultant will provide technical support to DBE in enhancing learners’ knowledge, skills, and advocacy capacity through participatory, curriculum-linked nutrition education, enabling them to critically engage with their own dietary behavior and that of their peers. The consultant will also develop toolkits for the NUSA initiative to empower learners to advocate for healthier school food environments by engaging with School Governing Bodies, School Management Teams, and food vendors to promote and enforce policies ensuring the availability and affordability of nutritious options in and around schools.

Activities

Deliverables / Outputs

Tasks

Timeline / deadline

Estimated budget / Payment structure

Submit an inception report outlining the methodology, work plan, timeline, and package materials to be developed.

Inception report submitted, reviewed, and approved by UNICEF and DBE

2 weeks

0%

Review existing nutrition education materials, training package, and guidebook targeted at learners and educators. Finalized revised toolkit should include training materials, guidebook, supporting materials, monitoring tools, and SOP with roles and responsibilities.

2 months

10%

Conduct five orientation and sensitization workshops in the five provinces to DBE management teams at provincial and district levels including SMT, SGB, and RCL in secondary schools.

4 months

15% (including travel cost)

Build the capacity of NUSA members in the identified schools in the 5 Provinces

5 months

20% (including travel cost)

Present mid-way progress results of the campaign.

3 weeks

0%

Conduct 4 supportive monitoring visits to 5 provinces to support implementation of the NUSA initiative.

Quarterly provincial progress reports and travel to provinces

5 months

20% (including travel cost)

Liaise with Fix My Food advocates and support provinces through advocacy initiatives targeted to learners.

Reports on advocacy initiatives by FMF advocates

3 months

15%

Develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation framework within the initiative's plan to track progress, outcomes, and impact of the NUSA initiative.

Monitoring and evaluation framework

2 weeks

0%

Co-create with learners the development of a package of information materials in various formats.

3 months

15%

Prepare a close-out report on the NUSA initiative including process, achievements, reach, and lessons learned.

Final report and PowerPoint presentation

1 month

10%

Identify best practices and lessons learned to inform scale-up of the NUSA initiative.

Scale-up strategy with best practices

2 weeks

0%

Stakeholder Engagement

Each step requires review, feedback, and approval from UNICEF and DBE before completion. The consultant is expected to provide regular updates and present progress and findings to UNICEF and DBE at the agreed times.

Qualifications and Experience

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have :

Desirables :

Submission : Kindly submit your financial proposal in ZAR; applications without financial proposal will not be accepted.

What UNICEF expects

For every Child, you demonstrate UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability. Familiarize yourself with UNICEF Values. The UNICEF competency framework applies to this post.

Required competencies include : partnership building, self-awareness and ethics, drive for results, innovation, managing ambiguity, strategic thinking, and collaboration. The UNICEF values and competency framework can be referenced on UNICEF materials.

UNICEF promotes protection of child rights and a diverse, inclusive workforce. Applications are encouraged from all candidates, including those with disabilities. UNICEF does not charge recruitment fees. All selected candidates will undergo background checks and may be required to provide additional information for verification. Medical clearance and possible vaccination requirements may apply. All UNICEF positions are advertised publicly and shortlist notifications will be sent to those selected for next steps.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here .

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