Community Nutrition Counselor (Couple)

Established in 1991 by a group of educated Afghan women in exile, the Afghan Women's Educational Center (AWEC) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian, nonpolitical, and nongovernmental organization dedicated to advocating for and raising awareness about the rights of women and children in Islam.

Our core activities focus on empowering women, eliminating violence, and increasing women's participation in both domestic and societal spheres.

With over three decades of experience, AWEC possesses a profound understanding of Afghanistan's socioeconomic, cultural, and political landscape. We are recognized as a leading organization that addresses the diverse needs of various communities, which are shaped by numerous social and economic factors.

Since 2002, AWEC has collaborated with women and communities to enhance access to education, health, and vocational services in Afghanistan. Our initiatives extend to livelihood improvement, protection, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), humanitarian aid, grant management, capacity building, social rehabilitation, cohesion, and justice. AWEC has successfully implemented projects in Logar, Faryab, Kapisa, Khost, Panjshir, Wardak, Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Badakhshan, Parwan, Paktia, Paktika, Laghman, Nuristan, and Bamyan provinces, maintaining an active presence in Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Badakhshan, Parwan, Paktia, Paktika, Laghman, Nuristan, and Bamyan.

Our vision in AWEC is “an inclusive and just society with sensitized and responsive public and private sector, where all women and children have access to opportunities to improve their quality of life in order to realize their full potential”.

AWEC has zero tolerance approach to the AWEC Code of Conduct including safeguarding, SH, and Fraud violations being committed by its staff, consultants, contractors, volunteers, interns, suppliers, vendors, sub-grantees/partners, implementing partners or any other associate.

The Community Nutrition Counselor (Couples) are responsible for implementing community-based nutrition activities to improve the nutritional status of pregnant and lactating women, children under five, adolescent girls, and other vulnerable groups. The role provides nutrition education, counseling, cooking demonstrations, and behavior change communication while working closely with CHWs, health facilities, and community leaders. Through community engagement, referrals, and follow-up support, the Community Nutrition Counselor promotes improved feeding practices, dietary diversity, and the prevention of malnutrition in target communities.

Responsibilities:

1. Nutrition Education and Awareness

• Conduct community and facility-based nutrition education sessions.
• Deliver awareness sessions on:
• Maternal nutrition.
• Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF).
• Early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding.
• Complementary feeding.
• Dietary diversity.
• Food hygiene and food safety.
• Prevention of malnutrition.
• Nutrition during pregnancy and lactation.
• Use approved nutrition education materials, posters, flipcharts, brochures, and visual aids.
• Support development and adaptation of culturally appropriate nutrition messages and educational materials.

2. Community Outreach and Public Engagement

• Conduct community outreach activities to raise awareness on maternal nutrition, IYCF, dietary diversity, prevention of wasting, and healthy nutrition practices.
• Conduct nutrition awareness and education sessions during public gatherings, community meetings, health shura meetings, religious gatherings, and other community events.
• Collaborate with Community Health Workers (CHWs), community volunteers, health shuras, religious leaders, and other community leaders to promote positive nutrition behaviors and timely care-seeking.
• Disseminate key nutrition and wasting prevention messages through community platforms and public gatherings using approved nutrition education materials.

3. Nutrition Counseling and Behavior Change Communication

• Provide individual and group nutrition counseling sessions.
• Counsel pregnant women, lactating mothers, caregivers of children under five, adolescent girls.
• Promote recommended maternal, infant, and young child feeding practices.
• Support caregivers in improving household nutrition practices using locally available foods.
• Maintain confidentiality and dignity of beneficiaries during counseling sessions.
• Document counseling sessions and agreed follow-up actions.

4. Cooking Demonstrations and Practical Nutrition Education

• Develop and maintain seasonal food calendars for health facilities using locally available and affordable food resources to support nutrition education, dietary diversity promotion, counseling, and cooking demonstration activities.
• Organize and facilitate practical cooking demonstrations.
• Promote preparation of balanced, nutritious, and affordable meals using locally available food items.
• Educate caregivers on dietary diversity and low-cost nutritious food preparation.
• Integrate food hygiene and safe food handling practices into cooking sessions.
• Explain the nutritional benefits of food ingredients used during demonstrations.
• Encourage active community participation and practical learning.

5. Referral and Follow-Up Services

• Identify beneficiaries requiring additional nutrition support or health services.
• Refer suspected malnutrition cases and other health concerns to health facilities.
• Coordinate referral services with health facility staff and relevant service providers.
• Complete referral documentation accurately.
• Conduct follow-up of referred cases where feasible.
• Maintain records of referrals and outcomes.

6. Integration of Nutrition and WASH Activities

• Integrate nutrition messages into WASH awareness sessions.
• Promote:
• Handwashing at critical times.
• Safe food preparation and storage.
• Safe drinking water practices.
• Hygienic feeding of children.
• Household sanitation practices.
• Coordinate with WASH teams and community mobilizers to reinforce behavior change messages.

7. Documentation, Monitoring and Reporting

• Maintain accurate and complete records of:
• Nutrition education sessions.
• Counseling sessions.
• Referrals.
• Cooking demonstrations.
• Community outreach activities (Public Engagement nutrition sessions).
• Prepare daily, weekly, biweekly and monthly reports.
• Support monitoring visits and data verification activities.
• Maintain attendance sheets, activity reports, and registration books.

Education and Experience:

A minimum of Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, Public Health, Nursing, Midwifery or any other related disciplines.

Training or certification in Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN/ IYCF), Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM), or prevention and management of wasting is preferred.

A minimum of Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in nutrition, health promotion, public health, community mobilization, and behavior change communication, conducting nutrition education, counseling and cocking demonstration activities.

Experience of working with mothers, caregivers, children under five, and vulnerable populations including conducting community outreach and public engagement visits are highly preferred.

Skills:

Knowledge of Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN/IYCF).

Knowledge of community-based nutrition programming.

Understanding of malnutrition prevention and behavior change communication.

Strong facilitation and training skills.

Strong interpersonal and counseling skills.

Ability to engage effectively with communities and local stakeholders.

Fluency in Pashto preferred.

Ability to work independently in rural and hard-to-reach areas

Interested candidates (couples) are requested to send their joint CVs to the attention of following link: https://forms.gle/FHxChpgX97CEFak28

After submission your information. onlu eligible shortlisted candidates will be directly contacted for test/ Interview.

This announcement is open to applicants of all nationalities, with strong preference given to qualified candidates available within the same region.

Note: please be informed that only couples who submit a joint CV/ application will be considered.

“Being committed to diversity & equal employment opportunity we highly encourage females & people living with disabilities to apply, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to ethnicity, language, religious sect.”