Social & Behavior Change Officer (S&BC), NO-2, Sofia, Bulgaria

Contract

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.

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.

**Vacancy Open for only Nationals of Bulgaria**

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, a Champion

Bulgaria is an upper-middle-income country and has been a member of the European Union since 2007. Since the opening of its office in Sofia in 2005, UNICEF has been assisting the government in promoting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of every child in Bulgaria. Social and Behaviour Change programming is a core component of the programmes and advocacy, with a focus on the promotion of healthy behaviors, access to social services, child-friendly policies, social cohesion and inclusion.

The Social & Behavior Change Officer reports to the Deputy Representative for supervision and guidance. The Officer provides technical and operational support to the Deputy Representative and internal colleagues by administering, implementing, monitoring and/or evaluating a variety of S&BC initiatives and activities to promote community engagement and participation, and measurable behavioral and social change/mobilization, requiring the application of technical and theoretical skills and thorough knowledge of organizational goals, rules, regulations, policies and procedures to complete tasks.

How can you make a difference?

As the S&BC Officer your key functions and accountabilities are:

1. Support to strategy design and development of S&BC activities

• Research and/or participate in conducting comprehensive S&BC situation analysis of social, communication, cultural, economic and political issues in the country/region. Collect and synthesize qualitative and quantitative information and data to support the establishment of comprehensive and evidence-based information for developing and planning the S&BC component of the Country Programme of Cooperation (and UNDAF).
• Collect, synthesize, draft and/or organize materials and related documentations for evidence-based S&BC strategies and plans (as a component of the CO and/or UNDAF Programmes) to ensure optimum impact, scale and sustainability of achievements/results.
• Assess, select and/or recommend appropriate information and materials for S&BC initiatives verifying accuracy and quality for dissemination.
• Monitor and assess the impact of S&BC strategies and activities on the CO and UNICEF goals to achieve measurable behavioral and social change resulting in the improvement of children’s rights and wellbeing. Submit qualitative report/synthesis of results for development planning and improvement.

2. Support to the implementation of S&BC activities

• Collaborate and/or consult with internal and external partners to provide operational and technical support to research, develop, and produce evidence-based strategies and test, produce and use quality S&BC materials, organize events and activities to ensure community engagement and participation, and maximum outreach and impact on behavioral and social change.
• Provide technical, administrative and logistical support and background materials to carry out S&BC strategies and activities and recommend operational strategies, approaches, plans, methods and procedures to ensure community engagement and participation, and optimum outreach and impact.
• Assess and recommend potential contacts, networks, resources and tools to support maximum impact and outreach of S&BC initiatives.
• Follow up and monitor the production of S&BC materials to ensure technical quality, consistency and relevancy of communications materials that are developed, produced and disseminated to target audience (e.g. individuals, communities, government officials, partners, media etc).
• Collect, assess and organize information for budget planning and management of programme funds and prepare documentations and related materials for financial planning for S&BC initiatives. Monitor/track the use of resources as planned and verify compliance with organizational guidelines, rules and regulations and standards of ethics and transparency.

3. Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Build and maintain partnerships through networking and proactive collaboration with national and international civil society organisations, community groups, leaders and other critical partners in the community and civil society to reinforce cooperation through engagement, empowerment and self determination and to pursue opportunities for greater advocacy to promote UNICEF mission and goals for child rights, social equity and inclusiveness.
• Collaborate with internal global/regional communication partners to harmonize, link and/or coordinate messaging to enhance S&BC outreach and contribution to programmatic outcomes

4. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Institutionalize/share best practices and knowledge learned/products with global/local partners and stakeholders to build capacity of practitioners/users, and disseminate products to key audiences including partners and donors.
• Support the organization, administration and implementation of capacity building initiatives, including partnerships with training and academic institutions, to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders/partners across programme sectors in S&BC planning, implementation and evaluation in support of programmes/projects. Develop training materials for training activities, and revise and update them as necessary.

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

• A university degree in social and behavioral science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education, communication, public relations or another relevant technical field.
• 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, public advocacy or another related area.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English and Bulgarian is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

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

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework 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. 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:

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is:a role with direct contact with children, works directly with children, is a safeguarding response role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) applies.

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

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. 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.