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About Bal Raksha Bharat
Bal Raksha Bharat (also known as Save the Children) is India's leading independent child rights organization. It is a member of the Save the Children movement that operates globally with the mission to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and achieve immediate and lasting changes in their lives. We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:
- No child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday
- All children learn from a quality basic education and
- Violence against children is no longer tolerated
We run programs in the remotest corners of India and urban areas in the areas of Health & Nutrition, Education, Child Protection and Livelihood & Economic Wellbeing in order to facilitate quality education, healthcare and protection from harm and abuse and life-saving aid during emergencies to children
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ROLE PURPOSE
Health and Nutrition – counsellor will support high-quality implementation of the nutrition pillar of Project across assigned schools in Coimbatore / Chennai, Tamilnadu. The role will support school teams, teachers, students, parents and caregivers to promote healthy eating, nutrition literacy and healthier school food environments as part of the Whole-School Health Promotion Model for children aged 6–14 years. The role will assist with nutrition education sessions, healthy tiffin and food-environment activities, Eat Right School-aligned actions, BMI screening support, counselling and referral follow-up, parent engagement, documentation and data capture. The position will work under the supervision of the Project Coordinator and in close coordination with the Project Manager, technical experts, MEAL function and school stakeholders, ensuring implementation fidelity, child-centred engagement and adherence to approved program tools and protocols.
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SCOPE OF ROLE
Scope: The person will support delivery of the nutrition pillar across assigned schools in Coimbatore / Chennai, contributing to the project target of 10 schools in the district and the wider 20-school demonstration model. The role will focus on school and family-level activities that improve nutrition knowledge, dietary behaviors and healthy food environments, while supporting integrated screening, referral, physical activity and mental well-being activities as required. The role will ensure timely activity delivery using approved session plans and materials, maintain accurate records and provide regular field updates to the Project Coordinator.
Reports to: Project Coordinator supports planning, documentation, logistics and monitoring of approved nutrition-related activities within delegated authority.
Role Dimensions: Development context; school-based implementation; nutrition-focused field support; government and school stakeholder engagement; child, parent and community engagement.
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KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
The key area of accountability required will be as follows:
- Support the Project Coordinator in planning and sequencing nutrition activities across assigned schools in line with the approved annual workplan, quarterly milestones and school activity calendar.
- Support implementation of the nutrition pillar, including nutrition education, healthy eating promotion, healthy tiffin campaigns, practical food demonstrations and activities that encourage healthier dietary choices among children and families.
- Facilitate age-appropriate and participatory nutrition sessions for students and support teachers in using approved nutrition education materials and activities without changing technical messages.
- Support schools to strengthen healthy food environments through the School Wellness Charter and related school-level actions, including Eat Right School-aligned practices and healthier canteen/food vendor practices where applicable.
- Support orientation and engagement of school food handlers/canteen vendors on healthy food practices and FSSAI-aligned Eat Right principles, as directed by the Project Coordinator and technical team.
- Conduct or support healthy tiffin demonstrations, parent learning activities and practical nutrition engagement using locally relevant, affordable and culturally appropriate food examples identified under the project approach for Tamil Nadu.
- Support parent and family engagement on balanced diets, reducing sugar-sweetened beverages and ultra-processed foods, healthy snacking, meal planning and positive approaches to children's eating behaviours using approved program resources.
- Support biannual BMI and anthropometric screening activities by helping with school preparedness, mobilisation, documentation, data capture and identification of children who may require follow-up through approved referral pathways; do not independently diagnose or provide clinical treatment.
- Support confidential communication and appropriate referral/follow-up processes for children identified through program screening as needing additional support, in accordance with approved protocols.
- Support integration of nutrition actions with relevant school platforms and government initiatives, including PM POSHAN, the Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme, Eat Right School, Ayushman Bharat School Health and Wellness Program and other applicable initiatives.
- Coordinate with teachers, School Wellness Committees, Health Champions, parents and school leadership to encourage participation and ownership of nutrition-related activities.
- Support child-led behaviour change initiatives, including Health Champions activities and healthy food/nutrition campaigns that promote positive peer influence and avoid stigma or body-shaming.
- Maintain accurate and confidential records of nutrition sessions, participation, demonstrations, campaigns, screening support, referrals, follow-up and school food-environment actions.
- Support timely collection and submission of MIS/MEAL data and other program information; conduct basic data checks and immediately flag inconsistencies or gaps to the Project Coordinator.
- Undertake regular school visits and provide implementation feedback on session quality, participation, use of materials, school food environment actions and emerging challenges.
- Document success stories, innovations, child/parent feedback, implementation challenges and good practices related to nutrition for use in program learning and reporting.
- Support approved communication and advocacy activities, including digital wellness messages, nutrition campaigns, school events and dissemination activities.
- Contribute to sustainability by supporting teachers, Health Champions and School Wellness Committees to progressively take ownership of nutrition activities and integrate them into routine school calendars.
- Ensure all activities are aligned with BRB policies and project protocols on child safeguarding, gender equality, inclusion, confidentiality, accountability and ethical engagement with children and families.
- Any other task assigned by the line manager.
Key Performance Indicators
- % of planned nutrition sessions/activities delivered using approved materials and within agreed timelines.
- % of targeted students/teachers/parents reached through planned nutrition education and engagement activities.
- % of assigned schools implementing agreed healthy food environment/healthy tiffin actions against school action plans.
- % of scheduled BMI/screening activities supported with complete and accurate field documentation.
- % of children identified through screening with appropriate documentation of counselling/referral follow-up as applicable to the role.
- Timeliness and completeness of nutrition activity records, attendance, screening support and MIS submissions.
- Quality/fidelity of nutrition session delivery and use of approved program materials as assessed through supervision.
- Quality of nutrition-related feedback, success stories and learning documented from assigned schools.
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BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)
Accountability Takes ownership for timely and quality delivery of assigned nutrition activities, accurate records and follow-up of commitments.
Ambition Demonstrates drive to achieve program targets and contribute to healthier school food environments and improved nutrition practices.
Collaboration Works constructively with teachers, school leaders, children, parents, field colleagues, technical teams and government stakeholders.
Creativity Uses practical and participatory approaches to make nutrition learning engaging and relevant to different school and family contexts while maintaining technical fidelity.
Integrity Maintains honesty, confidentiality, accurate documentation and ethical conduct in all program interactions.
Empathy and child-centeredness Uses respectful, non-judgmental and non-stigmatizing communication, recognizing individual and family realities.
Learning orientation Uses supervision, feedback, monitoring data and field experience to strengthen nutrition session quality and implementation.
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QUALIFICATIONS
Preferred qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Home Science, Nutrition, Social Work, Child Development or another relevant discipline. A postgraduate qualification/diploma in Nutrition, Public Health or a related field will be an advantage.
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EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
Minimum: 2–3 years of relevant experience in NGO/development programs, preferably in health, nutrition, school health, community development or child-focused programs. Experience working with schools, children, teachers, parents/caregivers and government/frontline stakeholders is desirable.
Preferred: Demonstrated experience in nutrition education, IYCF/healthy eating, school food environment initiatives, counselling or facilitation, community mobilization, anthropometric/BMI screening support, documentation and use of IEC materials. Experience with FSSAI Eat Right School, PM POSHAN, School Health and Wellness Program or related government initiatives will be an advantage.
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KEY COMPETENCIES
Technical competencies
- Basic understanding of child and adolescent nutrition, healthy diets, dietary diversity, balanced meals, healthy snacking and prevention of unhealthy weight gain.
- Knowledge of school nutrition and food-environment approaches, including healthy tiffin promotion, Eat Right School principles and school canteen/food vendor engagement.
- Ability to facilitate participatory, age-appropriate nutrition sessions and practical demonstrations using approved program tools and visual/IEC materials.
- Ability to communicate nutrition messages accurately and adapt facilitation for different literacy levels and school contexts without changing technical content.
- Basic understanding of BMI/anthropometric screening and ability to support screening, documentation, identification of follow-up needs and referrals according to program protocols.
- Good community mobilisation, interpersonal communication and stakeholder coordination skills.
- Basic computer skills, including MS Office/Excel and use of digital data collection/MIS tools.
- Good documentation, record-keeping, reporting and time-management skills.
- Ability to travel regularly to assigned schools and conduct field-based program activities.
- Strong understanding of safeguarding, confidentiality, gender equality, inclusion and ethical engagement with children and families.
Generic Competencies
- Being the Voice of Children: Utilizes being part of a global movement to promote change in the policy and public sphere on child-related issues.
- Advancing Equality & Inclusion: Drives an enabling environment for gender equality and inclusion, prioritizing the most deprived and marginalized children.
- Builds & Strengthens Partnerships: Inspires others to embrace the values and principles that underpin partnerships and the localization agenda.
- Child Rights: Promotes the rights of children in own work and in work with colleagues and peers.
- Empathy, active listening and non-judgmental engagement with children, families, teachers and school stakeholders.
- Commitment to confidentiality, data protection, safeguarding and ethical engagement with children and communities.
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Additional job responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.
The Project Assistant will support preventive and promotive nutrition activities, screening support, first-level identification and referral/follow-up in line with program protocols, but will not independently diagnose illness, prescribe medicines, provide clinical treatment or issue individual clinical nutrition prescriptions beyond the scope of their qualification and approved program responsibilities.
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CHILD SAFEGUARDING (Strike out whichever is not applicable)
Level 1: NOT APPLICABLE for this role.
Level 2: NOT APPLICABLE as the primary safeguarding classification for this role.
Level 3: The role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in programs or visit programs; therefore a police check will be required.
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Child Safeguarding
We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
The role holder must comply with all BRB child safeguarding policies and procedures and immediately report any safeguarding concern through the prescribed mechanisms.
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Safeguarding our Staff
The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the BRB's anti-harassment policy.
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Equal Opportunities
Bal Raksha Bharat aims to be an equal opportunity employer. We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or creed. Women candidates are encouraged to apply.
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