National Consultant: Social & Behavior Change (SBC) Consultant in Health, Kathmandu, Nepal (Only for Nepalese Nationals)

Contract

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, health

The overall objective of this consultancy is to support UNICEF Nepal Health Section and related colleagues technically and operationally by implementing various tasks to promote community engagement and participation and to achieve measurable social and behaviour change for achieving public health objectives.

How can you make a difference?

Support for Immunization

• Develop a draft of evidence-based SBC strategy and tool to address the challenges of zero-dose and underimmunized children, especially among migrants, urban poor, and diverse populations with vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax sentiments.
• Establish a pool of NHEICC approved IEC (print and audio/visual) materials for routine vaccine uptake and VPD outbreak response)
• Support to initiate the advocacy of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) handbook in relation to the challenge of zero-dose and under-immunized children, emphasizing the Continuity of Care (CoC), in a close collaboration with the Government counterparts, WHO and JICA.

Support for Mental health

• Support to develop SBC action plan for mental health among children and adolescents in Karnali province and Madhesh province in coordination with Provincial Health Directorate and implementing partners.
• Draft SBC action plan for increased uptake of tele-mental health services and chatbot services.

Support for NCDs

• Support to develop an SBC strategy for NCDs among children and adolescents in a close collaboration with partner organizations, and the National Health Education, Information and Communication Center (NHEICC).

Support for ECD/Parenting

• Lead the development of the National Parenting Strategy in close collaboration with the Governmental counterparts and the Early Childhood Development (ECD) task team in UNICEF Nepal.
• Support the Health section and ECD team in introducing and expanding the MCH handbook (or Integrated Home-Based Records) in a close collaboration with Government counterparts, partner organizations, and other key stakeholders.
• Support the Health section and ECD team in developing and promoting parenting education packages for primary healthcare

Support for MCH

• Develop and mainstream the respectful care training package for health workers under the National Health Training Center (NHTC), covering SBC, Inter-Personal Communication (IPC), HCD, and right-based approach.

Support for Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE)

• Mainstream and repurpose RCCE partnerships, platforms, and interventions to promote a wide range of health-seeking behaviours.

Overall collaboration

• Support the health section to coordinate and collaborate with partner organizations for mental health and zero-dose and under-immunized children, promoting gender transformation and youth development.
• Support the health section to coordinate and collaborate with the Ministry of Health and Populations (MoHP) /NHEICC, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MoIC), NHRC, provincial and local government, and other stakeholders and partner organizations.
• Support the MoHP/NHEICC and the MoIC in developing and testing SBC materials (print, visual, and audio) and correspondence with another sect, IPC, and SBC for wider dissemination.
• Support the health section in documentation and knowledge sharing on SBC efforts in health, as required.
• Support SBC section in coordinating with the gender focal point in ministry of health especially on work related to social norms GESI strategy/ framework

Duration of Contract: The total duration of the contract is for 12 months tentatively starting from 01 June 2023.

Deliverables for this Assignment:

Tasks/Milestone****Deliverables/Outputs****Timeline****Proposed Fee ( In Nepalese Currency)- Development of a work plan

• Submission of inception report with a work plan developed for the whole consultancy period to finalize methodology, activities, timeline, and deliverables.

  31 July 2023 - Support the development of an SBC strategy for NCDs among children and adolescents.

• Provide support to the Health section and ECD team in conceptualizing approaches to promote parenting education packages in primary healthcare, including ANC and PNC visits.

• Organise a meeting with partner organizations to clarify the roles and develop a collaboration plan

• Develop an SBC strategy for NCDs among children and adolescents.

• A concept note for promoting a parenting education package in primary healthcare.
• A plan for collaboration with the partner organizations

Aug - end Sept 2023 - Support the health section and the ECD team in developing a coordination mechanism and achieving high-level support for the MCH handbook advocacy - Develop a draft of evidence based SBCC strategy and tool to address the challenges of zero-dose and under-immunized children, especially among migrants, urban poor, and diverse populations with vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax

• Meetings and workshops for the MCH handbook advocacy organized, as required.

• An evidence-based draft SBCC strategy and tool for Results from the rapid inquiry (zero-dose and under-immunization) shared in a report that was developed, shared, and received feedback.

  31 October 2023 - Support the NHEICC in reviewing the RCCE strategy.

• Organise a workshop to develop SBC capacity within UNICEF Nepal

• The NHEICC reviewed the RCCE strategy.

• An SBC workshop organized for staff members in UNICEF Nepal

  Nov - end Dec 2023 - Provide technical inputs on SBC in developing PEN-Plus training manuals for medical doctors, health workers, and FCHVs, in close collaboration with the partner organization and NHEICC

• Organise a meeting for reviewing and implementing the RCCE strategy with the Government counterparts and related organizations.

• Draft RI SBCC strategy that covers strategies for zero-dose and underimmunized children

• Draft SBC IEC materials for medical doctors, health workers, and FCHVs.
• A meeting for reviewing and implementing the RCCE strategy was organized.

31 Jan 2024 - Initiate a conversation with the Government counterparts regarding developing National Parenting Strategy

• A meeting/workshop for developing a holistic National Parenting Strategy organized.

• Draft shred, discussed

  Feb - March 2024 - Support to develop SBC action plan for mental health among children and adolescents in Karnali province and Madhes province in coordination with Provincial Health Directorate and implementing partners.

• Draft SBC action plan for increased uptake of tele-mental health services and chatbot services.

• SBC action plan and IEC materials for mental health in Karnali province and Madhes province

• SBC action plan and IEC materials for tele-mental health and chatbot service

30 April 2024 - Support the printing/production and dissemination of SBC materials developed for RI, ECD, NCD, etc., and monitor their distribution and use in the target province and beyond in Nepal

• SBC material, guidelines, and policy documents dismantled
• Monitoring report, feedback, and analysis done/

May 29 June 2024 To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Master’s degree in one of the following: Social and behavioural science, public health/international health/global health, sociology, anthropology, psychology, communication, public relations, or related field of study.
• A minimum of ten years of professional experience at national and international levels in Social & Behaviour Change programming, training, and research, preferably for achieving public health objectives.
• Two-to-three-year of experience in training adults in Nepal.
• Prior work experience with any UN Agency is considered an asset.
• Good written and spoken Nepali and English languages
• Good working relations with federal level multi sectors.
• Good interpersonal skills, team-oriented, work adaptation in multi-cultural environments, proven ability to facilitate cooperation in a multidisciplinary team.
• Self-motivated, able to work with minimum supervision, punctual, and dedicated to quality work

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

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:

Request to submit financial proposal as per deliverables in Nepalese currency.

Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Candidates from under-represented ethnic groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract 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 and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors 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.