Contract

This is a P-4 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 135,454 USD and 174,640 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

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, support.

Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) 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 behavioral 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-centered 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 (CE), strategic communication, applied behavioural science, service delivery improvement, systems strengthening and policy advocacy to advance child and adolescent’s rights, survival, development, protection and participation in both development and emergency context.

How can you make a difference?

The Social and Behaviour Change Specialist (Immunization/Health) reports to the SBC Regional Adviser (RA). Under the supervision and guidance of the RA, and in close collaboration with the Health section, the incumbent will provide technical assistance to UNICEF Country Offices (COs) in Eastern and Southern Africa region (ESAR) on overall SBC, but particularly contributing to the achievement of: 1- specific regional priorities, with a focus on addressing drivers and barriers associated to addressing maternal, neonatal and under-five mortality through primary health care; and, 2- the Immunization Agenda 2030, a global strategy to leave no one behind.

The SBC Specialist will provide support to all countries in ESAR on the development of systematic, planned and evidence-based and theory driven SBC strategies aiming at increasing sustainable demand and uptake of essential health services, including immunization. The incumbent will also support capacity building of UNICEF staff and partners on SBC, with particular emphasis on research and analysis (including human-centered design), evidence-based planning (with emphasis on micro-planning), implementation of demand promotion interventions (including behavioural insights), preparedness and response to vaccine-related events, community engagement, capacity development on front line workers, and monitoring and evaluation of demand promotion interventions.

Key function, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

1. Technical support and oversight to countries: support UNICEF ESAR COs on the development of evidence-based SBC initiatives and plans aiming at sustainably increasing demand and uptake of essential health services, in particular those related to immunization and maternal and neonatal child health.
2. Generate and Use Evidence: support ESARO COs and their counterparts on the generation, analysis and utilization of SBC data to inform the design, testing, measurement, and monitoring of programmes, interventions and outcomes aiming at increasing the uptake of essential health services in both development and emergency contexts. This includes not only demand-related components, but also service-related aspects such as the improvement of quality of services and the adjustment of service delivery modalities to reach all.
3. Advocate and Build Partnerships: Support the operationalization of SBC by advocating and mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and building alliances and partnerships in the region.
4. Build Capacities: Promote continuous learning, strengthening, and scaling up in SBC for both development and humanitarian contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff, partners and implementers in the region.

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

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in social and behavioral science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education, communication, public relations or other related social science field is required.
• A minimum of eight years of relevant professional experience in strategic planning for social and behaviour change with a strong focus on community engagement, behavioural science, social norm programming and participatory communication with at least 4 years served in a developing country leading/supporting SBC.
• Proven competence in practical application of Risk Communication and Community Engagement applied to immunization in health outbreak (preparedness and response) is required.
• Relevant experience in related areas in a UN system agency or organization is an asset.
• Fluency in English 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:

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

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

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.