Social & Behavior Change Officer, NO-2, Buea - Cameroon, TA 364 days

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.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built, we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Commitment

The South-West and North-West regions of Cameroon are still in a compromised socio-political situation. For more than 6 years now the armed conflict between anglophone separatists and the Cameroon state army has led to a situation of insecurity in these two regions. As a result, there are more than 30 thousands persons have found refuge in neighbouring Nigeria; more than 400 thousands of the remaining population live as internally displaced persons (IDPs) within and out of both regions; several villages have been destroyed/burned down, hence forcing their inhabitants to move in the forests and live in IDP camps. Though the situation has considerably improved in the last 2 years, there is serious degradation of health and other social conditions. Health care providers, services, and facilities as well as health service users remain vulnerable with regular blind or targeted attacks from parties to the conflict. Globally, lack of potable water, poor hygiene, scarcity of food leading to increased malnutrition, absence or low access to health services, increased gender-based violence and sexual harassment and abuse. Adding to this situation natural catastrophes such as flood and landslides can only result to catastrophic consequences, with regular cholera and measles outbreaks.

The Social and Behaviour Change Officers will be based in Buea and covering Bamenda. He will report to the Chief of Field Office Buea for close supervision, and the SBC Section Chief for technical guidance. The SBC Officer provides technical and operational support to sectoral programmes (Education, Child Protection, WASH, Health, and Nutrition), to ensure appropriate implementation of activities in emergency settings/security-compromised areas. This would be done through administering, executing, and implementing a variety of tasks to promote community engagement and participation, digital engagement, and measurable behavioural and social change, requiring the application of technical SBC skills in full respect of organizational goals, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.

How can you make a difference?

The Social and Behavior Change Officer will report to the Chief of Field Office Buea for close supervision, and the SBC Specialist for technical guidance and shall be responsible for following key strategic functions, accountabilities and related duties/ tasks.

• Generate & Use Evidence: contribute to generation and use of research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC strategies and activities in the current emergency context.
• Design, plan and implement: Design, plan and implement SBC strategies and activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in the humanitarian context.
• Advocate & Build Partnerships: Support operationalization of SBC by advocating for SBC, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and partnership building.
• Build Capacities: Promote continuous learning, strengthening, and scaling up in SBC for the current humanitarian context through capacity building of UNICEF staff and partners.
• Initiate, integrate, coordinate, and build capacities of AAP components across the field office.
• Coordinate design/development of social media contents for regular digital presence.

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

The following minimum requirements:

• Education: A university degree (Bachelor’s or higher) in one of the following fields is required: social and behavioral science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education, communication, public relations, or another relevant technical field.

• Work Experience: A minimum of two years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development and social and behavior change programme planning, communication for development, public advocacy, or another related area.

• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and French is required. Knowledge of a local language is an asset (Fulfulde and/or Pidgin English).

The following desirables:

• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)
• Works Collaboratively with others (1)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (1)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)
• Drive to achieve impactful results (1)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

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, time off for breastfeeding purposes[KR5] , and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable female and disabled are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.