Nutrition & Health Specialist Consultant

POSITION TITLE: Nutrition & Health Specialist Consultant 

PROJECT OR DIVISION: iDE Innovation Lab

REPORTS TO: iDE Innovation Lab Senior Design Manager

BASED IN: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

We are looking for an experienced Nutrition & Health Consultant with experience in Cambodia to work with a team of designers, researchers and changemakers. Ideally, you are comfortable being a part of in-depth research to understand the root-causes and social determinants of public health (especially nutrition) issues, can work on research for innovation  in health, can proactively collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams including government, and proactively manage client relationships and most importantly, bringing innovation methodologies, ideas and ways of working to the team. We welcome applications from both Cambodian and non-Cambodian candidates, although Cambodian candidates are strongly preferred.

WHO WILL YOU BE WORKING FOR?

You will be working with the in-house social innovation lab of iDE called Innovation Lab located in Asia and Africa, with a mission to practice, coach, and promote research, design and innovation processes as a co-creative, power-shifting problem-solving approach to address complex systemic challenges by understanding user needs, motivations, and behaviours and developing new interventions to power entrepreneurs.

The iDE Innovation Lab also functions as a research, strategy and innovation consultancy in the focus areas of water, sanitation and hygiene, climate change (clean energy, conservation), agriculture, and maternal health and nutrition. Over the years, we have worked with a portfolio of international development organizations such as Care International, Hellen Keller, USAID, UNICEF, World Bank Group, Plant and Food Research, Save the Children, and SNV.

iDE is a global non-profit organisation spanning offices in 14 countries, employing over 1,000 people directly, and indirectly enabling income and opportunities for our rural audience of focus through market-based approaches across different sectors. Find out more about iDE here!

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING:

Technical Support: 

• Review relevant Cambodian national nutrition policies, strategies, clinical guidelines, and programme documents related to child wasting prevention, early identification, referral, treatment, and follow-up.
• Contribute to building the knowledge and practices of existing nutrition service delivery models, referral pathways, and health-system capacity in the selected implementation areas, identifying key gaps, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Identify the root cause issues contributing to the existence and persistence of child wasting prevalence in target locations in Cambodia, and developing intervention packages which address these root cause issues, across the areas of wasting prevention, identification, mitigation and relapse prevention. 
• Identify opportunities to integrate child wasting mitigating interventions into existing maternal and child health, infant and young child feeding, growth monitoring, community outreach, and other relevant nutrition programmes.
• Contribute to the methodology creation by acting as a technical expert in nutrition for the research and implementation team. 
• Participate in stakeholder and end-user interviews fieldwork, including interviews and observations. 
• Contribute to the analysis and synthesis of the results of the research, especially the contextualisation of nutrition specific findings.
• Provide technical guidance on the design of evidence-informed and contextually appropriate interventions across the continuum of child wasting prevention, screening, referral, treatment, and recovery follow-up.
• Collaborate with iDE's Human-Centred Design (HCD) team to translate nutrition evidence and health-system findings into actionable insights, identify barriers to service access and uptake, and co-design feasible, user-centred intervention models.
• Provide technical input into the development and review of intervention concepts, implementation strategies, referral processes, communication materials, and programme recommendations, ensuring alignment with national guidelines and local implementation realities.
• Recommend appropriate monitoring indicators, data sources, and learning approaches.
• Contribute to technical reports, programme documentation, and recommendations on implementation feasibility, sustainability, and potential scale-up.

Stakeholder Engagement: 

• Participate in meetings and workshops with UNICEF, partners, and other relevant stakeholders throughout the project.
• Engage relevant government health and nutrition stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, Provincial Health Departments, Operational Districts, health centres, and other actors involved in child nutrition service delivery.
• Conduct or contribute to key informant interviews, technical consultations, and stakeholder discussions to understand existing practices, service delivery challenges, and opportunities to strengthen child wasting prevention and management.
• Consult health professionals, community health workers, caregivers, and relevant community stakeholders to understand their experiences, needs, and barriers to accessing and delivering nutrition services.
• Support co-creation and validation workshops with relevant stakeholders to review findings, refine intervention concepts, and ensure that proposed approaches are technically sound, locally relevant, and operationally feasible.
• Present technical findings and recommendations to UNICEF, government, partners and relevant stakeholders, incorporating feedback into the proposed intervention model and implementation strategy.
• Maintain effective collaboration with government counterparts and implementation partners throughout the assignment to support alignment with national priorities, existing health-system structures, and ongoing nutrition initiatives.

THE TYPE OF EXPERIENCE THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• At least 5 years of experience working in nutrition and/or health, particularly in maternal, infant and young child feeding (MIYCF).
• Demonstrated experience working in Cambodia is essential. Experience working in other countries, across diverse cultural environments, or in remote areas would be an advantage.
• Experience conducting interviews and observations in Cambodia on nutrition- and/or health-related topics.
• Experience overseeing, managing, and leading design projects, including developing project plans, meeting deadlines, and delegating tasks, would be an advantage.
• Strong skills in analysing and synthesising research findings and translating insights into clear, actionable strategies and plans.
• Experience developing strategies and interventions and communicating them effectively to donors, partners, and team members. Confidence in presenting to large audiences is an advantage.
• Experience facilitating workshops, including stakeholder alignment, consultation, and co-creation workshops.
• Strong digital literacy, including proficiency in Google Workspace.
• High proficiency in English across listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

BONUS POINTS IF YOU HAVE:

• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience working in contexts beyond Cambodia.
• Previous experience applying Human-Centered Design (HCD) approaches.

IDEALLY, WE WOULD LOVE TO FIND SOMEONE THAT:

• Fluent in Khmer
• Is optimistic, passionate, dynamic, and curious
• Is a fast learner and very hands on 
• Is open and happy to share new methods and ideas with the team
• Is an autonomous problem-solver with a mind full of ideas ready to be tested
• Brings a positive attitude to the team and doesn’t take themselves too seriously
• Is driven by a social mission
• Has cultural sensitivity and respect towards unfamiliar contexts
• Has a flexible mindset, is agile and adaptive, and at the same time takes into account their capacity, deadlines and limitations
• Has excellent time and people management skills
• Can embrace uncertainty and manage stress
• Will challenge the status quo to create creative solutions

WE COVER:

This opportunity is for a duration of 5–6 months. Both part-time and full-time arrangements will be considered. 

We intend to pay our consultant a competitive compensation benchmarked with market pay scales and commensurate with experience. This position will follow iDE Cambodia policy. 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO APPLY?

Please submit through Workable with your: 

1. CV
2. Portfolio with your previous projects
3. Through a video, a poster, or a sketch/another creative medium, tell us about yourself, your practice, your motivations to work at iDE, and why you are the best candidate. Just be creative and tell us a good story!

Our deadline for applications is October 31st, 2026

DIVERSITY

iDE takes pride in our talented and diverse workforce. Minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Hiring, promotion, and compensation of employees are conducted without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, or age.

DIVERSITY FAMILY FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT

iDE is more than just a workplace; we are a family. We respect, support, and appreciate one another. We aim to balance our mission with the health and wellbeing of our team, and we strive to create a work environment that values and supports your personal and family life.