Consultancy - Development of National Nutrition Social & Behavior Change Strategy and Implementation Tool Kit, Monrovia, Liberia (FOR LIBERIAN NATIONALS ONLY) (7 months) - Onsite - Advertise

Contract

This is a NO-2 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. More about NO-2 contracts.

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Background:

A trend analysis of anthropometric data in the 2013 and 2019-20 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey (LDHS) shows that stunting and wasting, have improved in the last seven years. Stunting prevalence reduced from 32 to 30 percent and wasting from 6 to 3 percent. However, the stunting prevalence is still very high based on the WHO threshold. The stunting rates are spatially distributed across the counties with geographical variations. The children residing in urban are less likely to be stunted than those living in rural areas (25 and 35 percent, respectively). The prevalence of stunting is highest in River Cess county (41 percent) and lowest in Montserrado (21percent) indicating the urban-rural disparities.

In Liberia, inadequate infant and child feeding, and caring practices are the main drivers of stunting as evidenced by the, LDHS 2019/20. The stunting prevalence highest increase was recorded among children within the complementary feeding age of 6-23 months, increasing gradually from around 13 percent among children aged 6-8 months and peaks at 31 percent among children 18-23 months. Children from educated mothers and those from the highest wealth quintile are less likely to suffer from stunting. Stunting has long-term consequences for children’s survival and development because of the effects on brain development, learning performance and, ultimately, on adults’ health and productivity. Stunting is also strongly associated with increased morbidity and mortality.

Micronutrient deficiency is also a public health concern in Liberia. Overall, 45 percent of women of childbearing age are anemic. The prevalence of anemia is higher among adolescent girls within the age range of 15-19 years (55 percent) than among women in the other age groups (40-44 percent). The prevalence of anemia is 52 percent among pregnant women indicating their high likelihood to suffer from anemia than their breastfeeding (48 percent) and non-breastfeeding/non-pregnant (43 percent) counterparts.

While an enabling environment and service provision are crucial to support optimal nutrition, targeted social and behavior change (SBC) interventions are very important to empower individuals, households, and communities to make healthy choices and engage in healthy patterns of behavior linked to improved nutritional outcomes. Given this backdrop, the Government of Liberia with support from UNICEF and other partners plan to develop and implement,

National Nutrition SBCC strategy to guide a shift in demand creation, adaptation of optimal nutrition practices at individual, households, and community as well as awareness-raising on nutrition in the country. The SBC will complement the National Multi-sectoral Costed Strategic Plan for Nutrition (NMCSPN) and ensure that many of the behavioral determinants linked to nutrition are adequately addressed.

UNICEF with technical support from the international institution and national consultant will support the MOH-Nutrition Division and Health Promotion Unit, in the development of SBC strategy and tool kit which will include a standardized, branded implementation material and tools as well as costed implementation plan of mutually reinforcing activities and strengthen the actions within it to accelerate results towards improved nutrition outcomes through a variety of programs, multiple channels and contact points.

There are two main SBC Strategy components. Component one, the national level co creation workshop, strategy and SBCC activities, branding and call to action which includes a national level co creation workshop conducted with all key stakeholders at national level to develop a common vision, shared by all main actors and that will guide the strategy. The main aim of component one is to outline a national level strategy and SBCC activities that are national in scope. This includes the branding, call to action and key evidence-based information to help frame all communication content and messages around priority behaviors that will be defined. Component two, county level co-creation workshops strategy and localized SBCC tools and activities include two co-creation workshops held with state-level stakeholders, including intended audiences, in selected two counties representing urban and rural. These co-creation workshops will feed into the overall strategy development process, to ensure that the resulting messages, tools, products, and activities, will be grounded in the reality of the Liberian context.

Objectives and Methods:

Specific behavioral objectives for the SBC strategy will be determined following a situation analysis, which will consist of a thorough desk review of existing materials, strategies and formative research already conducted as well as key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussions (FGD) with representatives from different audience segments. Objectives will aim to influence social and behavioral determinants as defined by the situation analysis which may include changes in knowledge, attitudes, risk-perception, skills, self-efficacy, commitment, and engagement. The SBCC strategy will provide an evidence-based framework to guide behavior change activities and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework to monitor progress towards desired behaviors. The SBC implementation materials and tools will be adapted as needed into relevant nutrition-sensitive programs.

To ensure buy-in from all stakeholders, the development of the SBC Strategy will be a consultative and participatory process, engaging key stakeholders and intended audiences through KII, FGD and co-creation workshops framed around the human centered behavior Driver Model (BDM) developed by UNICEF and PennSoNG and unpacks the main drivers of behavior that starts with where people are rather than where we want them to be. Using the BDM will increase attention for meta-norms around social influences on practices as well as family and community dynamics, local level government entities and structural barriers, attention for the communication environment and emerging alternatives. The purpose of the co-creation workshops is to define a shared vision, priority areas and approaches to the overall strategy development process, to ensure that the messages, tools, products, and activities, will be grounded in the reality of the Liberia context.

While stakeholder consensus will determine the key behaviors related to nutrition that will be prioritized under this strategy, it is expected that key behaviors related to the first 1000 days, such as maternal, infant, and young child feeding, will be a main focus, including relevant early childhood development practices such as early stimulation, play, responsive feeding, hygiene and sanitation. The strategy will ensure that all nutrition actors work towards the same goals, targeting the same audience segments with the same key messages. The SBCC strategy will allow for behavior change communication activities to be focused on key determinants and to be mutually reinforcing, thus increasing the likelihood of achieving the desired changes in behaviors and norms.

Rationale and Justification for a National Consultant:

The national consultant is expected to provide support to the international consultant in ensuring that the SBC strategy is developed according to the local context and country specifics, to meet the human centered behavior Driver Model (BDM) and facilitate co creation workshops at county level.

Purpose of Assignment:

The national consultant will work along with the international consultant to facilitate sub national level co creation workshops, support contextualization of the SBC strategy and implementation plan as well as the initial roll out of the phased approach implementation plan in selected counties accordingly.

Basic objectives of consultancy/contractor (assignment) services (2-5 Objectives).

1. Inventory of available information and FGD on the dynamics and socio-cultural norms and nutrition related barriers and motivation to promote optimal nutrition practices in Liberia.
2. Support the development, per-test and finalize the SBC strategy, toolkit, materials, phased approach implementation plan and training roll out in selected counties.

Objective 1: Inventory of available information and FGD on the dynamics and socio-cultural norms and nutrition related barriers and motivation to promote optimal nutrition practices in Liberia.

Key Activities/Tasks

Outputs/Deliverables

Time frame

1. Provide inventory of relevant national and local available data (surveys, studies etc) and information/reports on the dynamics and depths of social and cultural norms nutrition related issues including barriers and motivation to promote optimal nutrition practices among children, adolescent and women that need urgent SBC interventions and identify opportunities and feasible entry points.
2. With the support of international institute, the national consultant will conduct the FGDs (community mobilizers, health workers, mothers, fathers etc) to understand norms, barriers, motivations, and overview of the SBC theories on behavior changes and social norms, promising practices and innovations that are essential to inform the design of the SBC strategy both at national and county level.

Deliverable 1 – summary and inventory of report on reports on social and cultural norms, nutrition related issues including barriers and motivation to promote optimal nutrition practices and potential platforms.

30/09/22

Deliverable 1

Deliverable 2 - FDGs report which includes key barriers and local perceptions of the randomly selected community members in the South East and North West of Liberia clearly articulated for local context of the SBC strategy.

30/10/22

Deliverable 2

Objective 2: Support the development, per-test and finalize the SBC strategy, toolkit, materials, phased approach implementation plan and roll out training in selected counties:

1. Conduct (2) two county level (urban and rural) co creation workshop with key county level stakeholders to provide more localized guidance on contextualization of SBC tools and activities.
2. Conduct pretesting of essential tools and materials as well as relevant formats/channels to reach and engage with intended audiences.
3. In collaboration with the Nutrition Division, UNICEF and Nutrition Partners develop a guide to developing videography, message development, engagement and awareness activities using the SBC strategy
4. Identifying and training the delivery platforms on how to utilize the toolkit in a pre-selected location (to be determined in consultation with nutrition division).

Deliverable 3; Two county level Co-creation workshops reports submitted highlighting shared vision, outline priority elements, approaches, and tool for improving maternal, adolescent, infant, and young child optimal nutrition behaviours

30/11/22

(Deliverable 3)

Deliverable 4 – SBC strategy and toolkit pretested, and inputs submitted for finalization and validation

30/12/22

(Deliverable 4)

Deliverable 5 – developed guidance on messaging, videography, and engagement activities

30/01/23

(Deliverable 5)

Deliverable 6 – developed rollout framework, selection of targeted staff, implementation plan and toolkit approved for rollout training

30/02/ 2022

(Deliverable 6)

Deliverable 7 – Training conducted in selected counties and report submitted in a timely manner

30/03/ 2023

(Deliverable 7)

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master/PG) in communication, behavioral science, Public health, nutrition, or related social sciences field.

Work Experience:

• Minimum 2-5 years of proven work experience in social behavior change, including development of SBC strategies and implementation plans, training and roll out.

Consultant Skills Required:

• Successful proven track record designing SBC strategies, conceptual frameworks, implementation plans and messaging on maternal health and nutrition while show measurable social impact or behavior change and must provide evidence of recent work in similar area.
• Ability to analyses and present findings in appropriate format for results to feed into future actions.
• Experience in pretesting and contextualizing the design tool kit to ensure that it can improve the efficiency of the SBC strategy implementation in Liberia
• Demonstrated familiarity with social behavior change approaches (especially as it related to nutrition)
• Experience in building capacity at local level
• Demonstrate experience at sub-national level with government, NGOs and community-based organizations in Liberia.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Language skills required: Fluency in written and spoken English
• Excellent representation skills and coordination competency

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

• Builds & Maintains Partnerships.
• Demonstrates Self-Awareness & Ethical Awareness.
• Drive to Achieve Results for Impact.
• Innovates and Embraces Change.
• Manages Ambiguity and Complexity.
• Thinks and Acts Strategically.
• Works Collaboratively with others-Establish.

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

For every child, a future!