Nutrition and Development Facilitator (NDF) - Sahiwal Division

Act International; Sargodha Division; On-site; PKR 446,000 - 781,000; Full time

Job summary

Act International in Pakistan seeks a Nutrition and Development Facilitator (NDF) to connect BISP/Kafaalat households with FC services, LHWs and community platforms. The role focuses on promoting nutrition, child development, service uptake and positive family behaviors through outreach, counselling and referral support.

The NDF will work with caregivers, community leaders and health workers to address barriers, conduct group sessions, and monitor progress using simple tools.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in nutrition, public health, social sciences, community development, education, psychology, or related field.
• 1–2 years of relevant experience in community mobilization, nutrition, SBC, ECD, social protection, counselling, or development program.
• Experience working with communities, especially women, children, adolescents, and vulnerable households.
• Knowledge of MIYCN, ECD, parenting, community engagement, and behavior change approaches.
• Fluency in local languages; Urdu proficiency is essential.

Responsibilities

• Map target households within FC catchment area and identify PBWs and children 0–23/24 months.
• Facilitate mother, father, and adolescent groups; conduct counselling and IPC sessions.
• Provide practical counselling at Facilitation centers and support Parenting and Nutrition Counselling Corner.
• Track missed visits, referrals, and SBCC activities; support referral completion for ANC/PNC/EPI/CMAM/NSC.
• Promote nutrition, health, and development service uptake and safeguarding in communities.
• Submit monthly reports and use data to improve SBC micro-plans and outreach.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Counselling

Community mobilization

Data collection

Reporting

Safeguarding

Urdu language proficiency

Education

Bachelor’s degree in nutrition or related field

Job description

Nutrition and Development Facilitator (NDF) - Sahiwal Division

Country Pakistan Locations Haveli Lakha, Arifwala, Chichawatni, Renala Khurd, South City Okara, Depalpur,

Category Development Sector

Type Contractual Positions 12

Experience 3 years Maximum Age 25 years

Background

BNP Phase III is expanding nutrition-responsive social protection with a stronger focus on Social and Behavior Change (SBC) for nutrition, community engagement, Early Childhood Development (ECD), equity, demand generation, and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP).

The Nutrition and Development Facilitator (NDF) will serve as a frontline link between eligible BISP/Kafaalat households, Facilitation Centre (FC) services, LHW/community platforms, and households to promote improved nutrition, child development, service uptake, and positive family behaviors.

The NDF will complement—not replace—the roles of LHWs, LHSs, FC staff, and health providers by supporting community mobilization, counselling, follow-up, referral completion, and practical household-level behavior change.

Key Responsibilities

1. Targeted Outreach and Mapping

• Map BISP/Kafaalat households within the FC catchment area.
• Identify eligible pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBWs) and children aged 0–23/24 months.
• Coordinate with BISP ADs/POS agents, LHWs/LHSs, and relevant community structures.
• Support outreach during Kafaalat payment days where feasible.

2. Community Engagement and Social & Behavior Change

• Facilitate mother, father, and adolescent peer groups.
• Conduct household and group counselling and interpersonal communication sessions.
• Engage fathers, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, religious leaders, community influencers, and other key decision-makers.
• Identify key barriers to desired nutrition and ECD behaviors and contribute to the FC SBC micro-plan.

3. FC-Based Counselling and Early Childhood Development

• Provide short, practical counselling to beneficiaries at Facilitation centers.
• Support and animate the Parenting and Nutrition Counselling Corner.
• Demonstrate appropriate feeding, play, communication, and responsive caregiving practices.
• Support basic developmental monitoring/screening using approved tools and facilitate referrals for identified red flags.

4. Follow-up and Referral Completion

• Track missed visits, defaulters, SAM/MAM cases, PBWs/adolescent girls with nutrition risks, developmental concerns, and incomplete referrals.
• Conduct return-to-service counselling and support referral completion for ANC, PNC, EPI, CMAM/NSC, anemia prevention/treatment, and ECD-related services.
• Promote continuity of essential nutrition, health, and development services.

5. Campaigns, Accountability and Community Feedback

• Support campaigns such as World Breastfeeding Week, Parenting Month, adolescent nutrition initiatives, and other project campaigns.
• Promote practical and consistent nutrition, parenting, and ECD messages.
• Ensure beneficiaries understand their entitlements, service schedules, referrals, and available complaint/feedback mechanisms.
• Promote informed consent, safeguarding, dignity, and respectful engagement with communities.

6. Monitoring, Reporting and Learning

• Maintain simple and accurate trackers covering outreach, counselling, group sessions, referrals, missed visits, ECD screening/referrals, community feedback, and service bottlenecks.
• Submit timely monthly reports to the supervisor.
• Use monitoring data and community feedback/social listening to identify challenges and improve SBC micro-plans and outreach activities.

Priority Behavior Change Areas

The NDF will promote practical life-cycle behaviors related to:

• Uptake and continuity of nutrition and health services.
• Maternal and adolescent nutrition, including improved diets during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• ANC/PNC attendance and appropriate care-seeking.
• Early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.
• Timely, adequate, diverse, and age-appropriate complementary feeding from six months.
• Responsive caregiving and positive parenting.
• Play, talking, singing, storytelling, and age-appropriate stimulation.
• Recognition of developmental milestones and timely referral for developmental concerns.
• Engagement of fathers, mothers-in-law, grandmothers, and other household decision-makers.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in nutrition, Public Health, Social Sciences, Community Development, Education, Psychology, or a related field.
• [1–2] years of relevant experience in community mobilization, nutrition, health, SBC, ECD, social protection, counselling, or development program.
• Experience working with communities, particularly women, children, adolescents, and vulnerable households.
• Knowledge of maternal, infant and young child nutrition (MIYCN), ECD, parenting, community engagement, and behavior change approaches will be an advantage.
• Experience working with BISP/Kafaalat, LHWs/LHSs, Facilitation centers, or similar government/community platforms will be an added advantage.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, counselling, and community mobilization skills.
• Ability to conduct household visits, group sessions, and community-level activities.
• Basic skills in data collection, record keeping, reporting, and use of simple monitoring tools.
• Ability to work respectfully with diverse communities and maintain confidentiality, safeguarding, and accountability standards.
• Fluency in the local language(s) is required; proficiency in Urdu is essential. English communication skills will be an advantage.

Core Competencies

• Community Mobilization & Engagement
• Interpersonal Communication & Counselling
• Social and Behavior Change Communication
• Early Childhood Development & Positive Parenting
• Referral & Follow-up
• Accountability to Affected Populations
• Data Collection & Reporting
• Teamwork & Coordination
• Safeguarding and Ethical Conduct

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to qualified female candidates, in line with the project’s focus on women, children, adolescents, and community-level engagement.