Social & Behavior Change Officer, NO-1, (Maldivian National) 124892

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Application deadline 9 months ago: Tuesday 6 Jun 2023 at 18:55 UTC

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This is a NO-1 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-1 contracts.

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.

: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, every right.

ADVERT - SOCIAL & BEHAVIOR CHANGE OFFICER, NOA (TEMPORARY POSITION) - UNICEF MALDIVES

(for Maldivian Nationals only)

Organizational Context and Purpose for the job:

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favouritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfil their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nation.

Social and Behaviour Change in UNICEF is a cross-cutting programme strategy that analyses and addresses the cognitive, social and structural determinants of individual practices and societal changes in both development and humanitarian contexts. SBC uses the latest in social and behavioural sciences to understand people, their beliefs, their values, the socio-cultural norms and the economic and institutional contexts that shape their lives, with the aim of engaging them and increasing their influence in the design of solutions for change. SBC brings social and behavioural evidence generation together with participation in community-led and human-centred processes. SBC is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate, with corporate results across sectors revolving around behaviours like immunization, feeding practices, learning, hygiene, and positive discipline, as well as transformations across sectors needed to make societies more inclusive, equitable and peaceful.

UNICEF SBC employs a mix of approaches including community engagement, strategic communication, applied behavioural science, service delivery improvement, systems strengthening, social mobilization and policy advocacy to advance child rights, survival, development, protection and participation.

Job Organizational Context:

The SBC Officer will work for the UNICEF Maldives Country Office (MCO) and report to the SBC Officer, NOB.

Purpose for the job:

Under the general guidance of the supervisor, the SBC Officer is accountable to contribute to the design, management, monitoring and evaluation of evidence-based, inclusive and innovative SBC strategies in support of the country programme.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

1. Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC programs and outcomes in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC.

2. Design, plan and implement SBC activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts.

3. Support operationalization of SBC by advocating for SBC, mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and partnership building.

4. Promote continuous learning, strengthening and scaling up in SBC for both development and humanitarian contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC programs and outcomes in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC.

• In collaboration with programme staff, relevant government officials and other UN/NGO partners, design, implement, and/or participate in SBC situation analyses and formative research that identify social and behavioural drivers.

• Manage and utilize qualitative and quantitative research on social and behavioural drivers that include behavioural analysis, human centred design, social listening, behavioural insights, participatory research including crowdsourcing and/or RCT.

• Support data collection, tracking, monitoring and reporting SBC results and prepare syntheses of results.

• Collate and summarize data, evidence and trends for social and behavioural issues to inform evidence-based SBC strategies, plans and activities.

• Assist in establishment of community feedback mechanisms and use feedback to inform community engagement and SBC actions for disaster preparedness, response, recovery and resilience. Generate and use SBC evidence, data, and assessments for disaster preparedness, response, recovery and resilience.

• Contribute to terms of reference, research tools, frameworks and protocols for generating evidence to inform SBC initiatives and apply tools, methodologies and frameworks for data collection, tracking, monitoring and reporting and disseminating SBC results.

• Conduct and/or participate in country programme monitoring and evaluation exercises and support development and revision of workplan based on the results.

2. Design, plan and implement SBC activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts.

• In collaboration/consultation with UNICEF staff, relevant government officials and other UN/NGO partners, provide technical and administrative support for the development, implementation and monitoring of evidence-based SBC strategies and activities, in line with global standards and UNICEF priorities and approaches.

• Provide technical and administrative support throughout all stages of the SBC programming processes by executing/administering a variety of technical and programme transactions, preparing materials/documentations, and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support gender-sensitive programme planning, results-based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluation of results.

• In collaboration/consultation with UNICEF staff and implementing partners, select appropriate SBC activities and platforms for engagement, ensuring quality and integration of the latest evidence and science-backed approaches. In this process, oversee coordination with SBC stakeholders and partners to align plans and activities.

• Identify/propose actional evidence-based programme/strategy recommendations from current data, evidence and trends for priority social and behavioural issues and ensure the integration of latest innovative approaches and technology in SBC in programme approaches and advocate for their adoption among internal and external stakeholders.

• Apply the above skills of designing, planning, implementing, and monitoring of community engagement and SBC interventions in the context of humanitarian emergencies as relevant.

3. Support operationalization of SBC by advocating for SBC, mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and building alliances and partnerships.

• Represent UNICEF’s interests in partnerships and manage development of and progress against joint programme agreements with relevant partners; represent the UNICEF MCO and SBC team in national and international level fora and among partners as relevant and necessary.

• Collaborate with national, regional and/or global partners to link and coordinate SBC approaches.

• Cultivate resource mobilization opportunities and contribute to proposals, reports and other materials to support resources mobilization. Contribute to mobilizing human resources for SBC, including staff, consultants and external vendors.

• Identify, support hiring of and collaborate with consultants, vendors and other technical expertise to support delivery of SBC activities. Plan, use and track the use of resources and verify compliance with organizational guidelines and standards.

• Contribute to financial planning, budget planning and tracking and financial management for SBC.

• Advocate for and support the inclusion of community engagement and social and behavioural approaches in sectoral / programmatic workplans based on active participation in sectoral programme planning and reviews and viable recommendations for the integration of SBC. Advocate internally and externally for integration and institutionalisation of SBC in national systems, in the country programme, and in sectoral plans.

• Identify, disseminate, and adopt best practices and innovative approaches and technology in SBC, integrate them in programme approaches and support SBC and sectoral teams in implementing them.

• Coordinate with stakeholders and partners for the implementation of community engagement and SBC in humanitarian actions.

4. Promote continuous learning, strengthening, and scaling up in SBC for both development and humanitarian contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff, partners and implementers.

• Identify, design, and/or organize SBC training materials and opportunities for staff and partners, including on new approaches such as behavioural analysis, behavioural insights, human-centred design, social listening, and social accountability mechanisms. Use and adapt existing UNICEF learning resources, guidelines, and training materials to build SBC capacity among staff, implementing partners and relevant government and non-government counterparts.

• Contribute to the development and institutionalization of best practices, facilitate the exchange of experiences, and provide technical assistance for the uptake of new SBC methods and knowledge internally and externally.

• Coordinate and provide inputs into SBC capacity and other needs assessments.

• Identify and mobilize resources to support capacity development internally and externally and provide SBC technical support and capacity building to government counterparts.

• Identify and contribute to the development of mechanisms to strengthen systems for community engagement in humanitarian contexts.

• Develop and/or adapt capacity development tools and activities for humanitarian programming with a focus on preparedness, response and recovery.

Impact of Results

Efficient and effective technical, administrative and operational support provided to the development and implementation of SBC initiatives and products that support UNICEF’s ability to promote SBC results. This in turn contributes to enhancing the ability of UNICEF to fulfil its mission to achieve sustainable, locally-owned and concrete results in improving the survival, development, protection and wellbeing of children in the country.

Competencies and level of proficiency required (based on UNICEF Professional Competency Profiles/ratings).

Core Values

  • Commitment
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • Integrity

Core competencies

  • Communication (II)
  • Working with people (II)
  • Drive for results (II)

Functional Competencies:

  • Leading and supervising (I)
  • Formulating strategies/concepts (I)
  • Relating and networking (I)
  • Applying technical expertise (I)
  • Entrepreneurial thinking (I)

Recruitment Qualifications

Education: A university degree (Bachelor’s or higher) in a social and behavioural science, including sociology, anthropology, international relations, communication studies/communication for development, psychology and/or related field is required.

Experience: A minimum of two years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development programme planning, communication for development or social and behaviour change, public advocacy or another related area. Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered an asset.

Languages: Fluency in English and Dhivehi is required. Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset

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. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. 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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable [Insert diversity profile] are encouraged to apply.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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

Added 10 months ago - Updated 9 months ago - Source: unicef.org