Malaria Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Senior Specialist

Contract

This is a IICA-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Individual Contractor Agreements. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's an external contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education. More about IICA-3 contracts.

Background information- ECR

Based in Geneva, the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR) supports UNOPS offices throughout the region through: management, financial and programmatic oversight of global and country-specific portfolios, clusters and operations centres, including hosting services; fund and management advisory services; project implementation; procuring goods and services; and managing human resources.

ECR ensures that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between business units and projects across the entire region.

Background Information - Job-specific

RBM Partnership to End Malaria

The past twenty years have seen tremendous gains in reducing the burden of disease and progressing towards malaria elimination. Since 2000, global malaria deaths have been cut by more than half, saving over 10 million lives, primarily among children less than five years of age. Expansions in financing, strong political commitments, novel diagnostic and preventative measures, and multi-sectoral coordination have facilitated this progress. Since 1998, RBM Partnership to End Malaria has been central to the global fight against malaria. It has been essential to mobilizing resources and scaling up innovative interventions, putting the world onto a path towards eliminating malaria. The Partnership comprises more than 500 partners committed to end malaria, including malaria endemic countries, their bilateral and multilateral development partners, the private sector, nongovernmental and community-based organizations, foundations, and research and academic institutions.

The RBM Partnership's Vision is of a world free from the burden of malaria. The work of the RBM Partnership is guided by the 2021-2025 RBM Partnership Strategic Plan.

The RBM Partnership is based in Geneva and hosted by UNOPS.

Functional Responsibilities

The Country/Regional Support Partner Committee (CRSPC) provides a platform to engage the RBM Partnership community in coordinating support to countries and regions as they execute their malaria control and elimination implementation programmes. Support is tailored to suit the requirements and existing capacity in each country and region.

The consultant shall work for the RBM Country/Regional Support Partner Committee (CRSPC) to provide technical support to national malaria programmes in malaria Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) in implementation of their malaria programme.

Purpose of Assignment

Reporting to the Country and Regional Support Partner Committee Manager, and working with the Sub-Regional Network Coordinators, the consultant will support the National Malaria Programme and national/regional RBM partners to perform any of the following duties, as appropriate:

• Support development/review of malaria SBC strategy sections of National Malaria Strategic Plans (NMSP), standalone SBC strategies to accompany NMSPs which do not already include SBC sections and/or guidelines for SBC coordination and implementation including:

  • Providing guidance on conducting formative research and using existing local data and global evidence base to build the foundation of country strategies and guidelines
  • The setup up or improvement of systems for developing and vetting country SBC materials (including multi-media, social media, interpersonal and social community mobilization materials) at the national, regional and local levels reflecting local context, in line with the national SBC strategy, to ensure the quality, consistency and appropriateness of communication materials that are developed, produced, and disseminated to local communities, government officials, partners and the press.
  • Developing approaches for health provider behaviour change, particularly when it comes to malaria testing and treatment and IPTp
  • Developing (where it doesn’t already exist) a national umbrella malaria SBC identity/campaign to bring together all thematic interventions (vector management, treatment, testing, MiP, etc) including the development, pre-testing, and refinement of the concept
  • Establishing detailed Monitoring and Evaluation indicators for the SBC based on best practices in malaria SBC M&E, including the RBM Malaria Social and Behaviour Change Communication Indicator Reference Guide (https://endmalaria.org/our-work/working-groups/social-and-behaviour-change)
  • Ensuring that the SBC sections of NMSPs position SBC as a cross-cutting activity that supports all aspects of malaria prevention and control
  • Ensuring SBC sections of NMSPs are aligned with global guidance for malaria SBC, including the RBM Strategic Framework for Malaria Social and Behaviour Change Communication 2018-2030 https://endmalaria.org/our-work/working-groups/social-and-behaviour-change
  • Identifying opportunities as they arise to include non-communication behaviour change interventions to support malaria prevention and control
• Identify gaps in local capacity and develop training plans to address these gaps including locating and refining existing training modules and conducting training activities to build capacity for SBC across the spectrum of SBC interventions, including developing plans for ongoing mentorship
• Support MPR/MTR with the SBC components.
• Write and submit a report to the RBM CRSPC outlining in detail the support process outlining successes, challenges and lessons learnt for future support.

Competencies

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.(for levels IICA-2, IICA-3, LICA Specialist- 10, LICA Specialist-11, NOC, NOD, P3, P4 and above) Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

a. Education

• Advanced university degree preferably in the social and behavioural sciences (Communication, Public Health, Health Education) or related fields.

• A Bachelor’s/first level university degree with two additional years of relevant experience may be acceptable in lieu of the advanced degree.

  b. Work Experience

• A minimum of 7 years proven experience in one or more of the fields of health-focused social and behaviour change, health education/promotion, community mobilization, social marketing, participatory communication and new technologies.

• Progressively responsible and applied professional work experience in the development, planning and management of social development programmes, including experience in developing countries - with demonstrated abilities in: leadership; strategic thinking; application of global best SBCC practices, gender integration and innovations in SBCC is required.
• Experience in developing monitoring and evaluation indicators for SBCC and systems for collecting data on these indicators is desirable
• Excellent analytical and advocacy skills is desirable
• Experience in team working in culturally diverse contexts is desirable

c. Languages

• Fluency in oral and written English or French is required;
• Knowledge of other UN language/s would be an asset.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA), Retainer Contract level: International ICA 3 / ICS-11 Contract duration: Open-ended (initially 12 months), subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

Additional Considerations

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

Background Information - UNOPS

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.