ACBAR

Over the past few years, Afghanistan has witnessed a relative improvement in security and stability across much of the country. This has allowed humanitarian actors like INTERSOS to maintain uninterrupted access and expand services in areas that were previously hard to reach. Despite this progress, the humanitarian situation remains critical, with millions of Afghans continuing to face acute vulnerabilities due to prolonged economic hardship, natural disasters, and limited access to essential services.

In 2025, more than half of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, with food insecurity, child malnutrition, and displacement remaining key concerns. Natural disasters, such as floods and recent earthquakes, have further compounded the needs of already struggling communities.

INTERSOS continues to operate through a community-based approach with field bases in Kabul, Kandahar, and Zabul, delivering primary healthcare, nutrition, and protection services with a focus on women, children, and persons with disabilities. The organization enjoys strong community acceptance and collaborates closely with relevant national authorities, including maintaining the full participation of female staff in all activities.

While the operational environment is largely stable and conducive, funding shortfalls and systemic barriers such as restrictions on financial flows and administrative bottlenecks continue to impact the scope and scale of humanitarian response. Sustained support is crucial to ensure the continuity of life-saving services and to address the urgent needs of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable populations.

The Nutrition Counsellor will provide messages on appropriate feeding practices to pregnant and lactating mothers, caregiver of malnourished children and community people in Zabul province – Afghanistan.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Helps to identify needs for breastfeeding counselling and provide adequate counselling
• Facilitates sessions on nutrition, health and hygiene good practices to pregnant and lactating women and caregiver of malnourished children attending the Out-patient Therapeutic Programme (OTP) sites
• To provide one on one breastfeeding counselling for mothers experiencing difficulties in breastfeeding, including demonstration and breastfeeding techniques and supporting re-lactation 
• Facilitate the scheduling of outreach worker/volunteer for follow-up of caregiver of children with breastfeeding difficulties at home.
• Identify mothers to become peer educators in their home villages, and to support them to undertake sensitization and referral to the Mother Baby Area
• To refer children for intensive nutritional/medical care as required
• To train outreach worker and volunteers on best practices for infant and young child feeding
• Prepare daily/weekly reports on activities and any necessary reports as requested by the MAM

• Attend training and team meeting as requested.
• Register and undertake growth monitoring and promotion (GMP) including measure weight, height, age and check oedema of all children under two years of age.
• Conduct GMP based counseling of mothers/caregivers of all children under two years of age on appropriate Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) practices and infection prevention.
• If the child is normal, encourage and counsel mother to reinforce and promote age appropriate MIYCN practices
• If child is suffering from SAM, refer to the doctor of the clinic for giving adequate treatment and counselling.
• Counsel mothers/ caregiver to bring under two children for the continues monthly GMP visit
• Undertake Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) of children 6-59 Month of age
• Check whether child has received Vitamin A supplementation during the previous NID, if no then refer to the administrator of Vitamin A in clinic
• Conduct complementary feeding demonstration once per month.
• Pass and explain of the IYCF message to mother,
• explain the benefits of the breast milk in the first 1000 days,
• explain the benefits and importance of iodized salt,
• explain the benefits and importance of Vitamin-D,
• explain the benefits and importance of fruit and vegetable,

Counselling on Maternal Nutrition

• Measure lactating mothers MUAC, weight, height and find BMI and categories as normal, underweight, overweight and obese after the first PNC till the mother breastfeed her child
• Provide individualized nutrition counselling on appropriate practices, based on the BMI findings.
• Check whether lactating mother receive adequate IFA tablets during three months after delivery.

At the Community level:

• Work and coordinate with Hygiene promoters (HPs) and Community social mobilizer (CSMs) during the CSMs monthly meetings (as much as possible) to:
• To Share the GMP defaulter cases list with CSMs and follow up.
• To ensure that the GPM session conducted in community by CSMs regularly.
• Mentoring CSMs on topics such as GMP, counseling skills, proper home visit

Recording and Reporting:

• Maintain regular reports to monitor and track delivery of nutrition services.
• Using MCH handbook reporting in provinces the MCH handbook apply.
• Identify beneficiaries which require follow-up visits and share information with HPs/CSMs within the catchment area of the MHT/SDPs.

• Completed higher secondary level education
• 1 – 2 years’ experience in a similar role
• A good understanding of breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices within the target community
• Ability to work within a tight timeframe
• Motivated and prepared to work in the field areas in challenging conditions
• Passionate about improving the lives of children
• Women candidate are preferable for this job profile   
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to
• Experience in individual /group counselling
• Pashto skills are required; English is preferable
• Work experience in Health as emergency response projects is preferable.
• Previous experience working for an international NGO is preferable.
• Commitment to INTERSOS principles.
• Comply with all relevant INTERSOS policies and procedures.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, with the ability to effectively present information and respond appropriately to questions from supervisor in the field.

Respected Applicants, please visit the link below and fill in the required information.

https://forms.gle/1G8oGVsE46XcrAVe9

Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted and called for a test/Interview.

Qualified People with Physical Disabilities and Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

https://forms.gle/1G8oGVsE46XcrAVe9