BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

Legal technical support on the regulation of the marketing of breastmilk substitutes and prevention of overweight and obesity.

Background:

UNICEF is active in more than 190 countries and territories through country programmes and national committees. UNICEF works with governments, civil society organizations, and other organizations around the world to advance children’s rights to survival, growth, development, protection and participation and is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Improving the nutritional status of children and their mothers is a core part of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan.

Breastfeeding is crucial for child health and development during the first 1,000 days of their life, yet global exclusive breastfeeding rates for infants under six months are only at 48%. One of the main challenges to scaling up breastfeeding is the aggressive and unethical marketing tactics of breastmilk substitutes, feeding bottles, and teats. To address this, the World Health Assembly adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in 1981. However, few countries have substantially aligned legal measures with the Code. UNICEF advocates for Code implementation and strong maternity protection and policies to support breastfeeding in the workplace. Strong policies and regulation can help protect, promote and support breastfeeding and complementary feeding, and better prepare regions and countries for emergencies.

Unhealthy diets are causing a global rise in overweight and obesity, with over three quarters of affected children under 5 living in middle income countries. Globally, 1 in 5 children aged 5 to 19 are overweight, and the issue is impacting urban, rural, and poor communities. Overweight and obesity lead to stigma and can result in diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, burdening health systems with preventable diseases. Aggressive marketing of unhealthy foods to children, inadequate labelling, and obesogenic food environments have shifted children’s diets towards highly processed foods high in fat, sugar, and salt. Governments have been slow to adopt and enforce legislation to control the sale and marketing of unhealthy food and drinks. UNICEF has prioritized overweight and obesity prevention and recommends policy and regulatory actions to improve children’s food environments, including policies and standards on food and physical activity in schools, implementation of WHO recommendations on food marketing to children, health-related food taxes, and front-of-pack nutrition labelling requirements.

Scope of Work:

Provide technical legal advice to support HQ, RO and CO office work with governments on the development of measures to address overweight/obesity and to implement the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk substitutes, maternity protection regulations, monitoring and enforcement systems, including capacity-building and resource development.

1. 1. Legal technical support on draft legal measures and policies related to Code implementation and/or overweight and obesity.
      1. Collate internal and external resources on Code implementation, legal drafting of Code provisions and monitoring and enforcement guidelines, in consultation with PG-Nutrition Legal Specialist.
      2. Advise on and develop a detailed legal analysis, in consultation with a local lawyer, of the current legal framework related to Code implementation and/or overweight and obesity.
      3. Develop recommendations for legal measures and policies that could be implemented to address Code obligations and/or overweight and obesity prepared for discussion with country office teams or government stakeholders, in consultation with PG-Nutrition Legal Specialist.
      4. Advise on and oversee a detailed review of draft legal measures upon request of government and/or country office teams, in consultation with PG-Nutrition Legal Specialist.

2. 2. Development of legal resources and workshops to support Code implementation and overweight and obesity policies
      1. Identify the specific legal technical resources that are needed based on UNICEF global surveys and RO/CO priority needs
      2. Research and draft the resources in consultation with relevant PG Nutrition staff and Legal Specialist.
      3. Develop presentations and resources for workshops and meetings on training and capacity building related to Code implementation and/or overweight and obesity measures. This could involve creating slide decks, handouts, and other materials to support the presentations, as well as identifying key messages and talking points for each presentation.
   3. Support PG-Nutrition colleagues engage with Codex Alimentarius
      1. Review work across relevant Codex committees that relates to PG-Nutrition work priorities.
      2. Consult with PG-Nutrition staff to identify issues of importance to monitor at Codex across different thematic areas.
      3. Identify specific committees and working groups for UNICEF to engage in, and prepare relevant documents for input.

This scope of work seeks to ensure that increasing needs arising from governments taking action on implementing the Code and regulating food environments can be met over the next three years.

Funding may not be available to cover all planned activities in 2026 and 2027. Some deliverables are planned to be completed if additional resources become available.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

See  ANNEX .pdf for details of key deliverables.

Qualifications

Education:

• Masters Advanced University Degree in Law, with specialization in Public Health Law or Global Health Law

Work experience:

• A minimum of 5 years working experience in relevant area of expertise, including:
• Provision of legal advice and support in the context of public health
• Advocacy for strengthened public health policy frameworks
• Capacity building of policy makers and/or health professionals

Competencies/Knowledge:

• Experience in the application of international legal standards in global health law to different national contexts.
• Proven experience in analysis of public health legislation in different countries
• Proven experience in drafting of legal products
• Experience with developing training seminars and programs for government lawyers and local advocates on public health legal issues.

Requirements: 

Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and

• Upload copy of academic credentials
• Financial proposal that will include/ reflect:
  • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability
• Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF
• At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage
• Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check

Remarks:  Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.