Social & Behavior Change Specialist, P3, Cotonou/Benin - Republication

Contract

This is a P-3 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 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 106,300 USD and 139,192 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, [insert tagline]

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, 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 favoritism. 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 fulfill 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 nations.

How can you make a difference?

The Social & Behavior Change Specialist reports to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and supervision. The Specialist provides technical and operational support for developing a systematic, planned and evidence-based strategy and process for Change and Behavior Change as an integral part of programme development, planning and implementation. Through communication and engagement, as well as the empowerment and participation of stakeholders, communities, children, civil society partners, and government counterparts, s/he promotes measurable behavioral and social change/mobilization. This subsequently contributes to the achievement of sustainable and concrete results in improving children’s rights, survival and wellbeing in the country.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Support to strategy design and development of social and behavior change activities

• Conduct and/or participate in comprehensive social and behavior change situation analysis of social, cultural, economic and political issues in the country/region, including through national/subnational working groups or committees. Assess/synthesize qualitative and quantitative information, data and evidence to support the establishment of comprehensive and evidence-based information for developing and planning the social and behavior change component of the Country Programme of Cooperation (and UNSDCFUNSDCF).
• Participate in country programme planning and reviews to contribute to discussions on the underlying and contextual issues to be addressed (e.g. policies, gender/children inequality, cultural/social behavior etc) to ensure the successful and sustainable delivery of programme results and provide technical recommendations on approaches, strategies and plans of action for social and behavior change to promote behavioral and social change.
• Prepare or provide quality assurance on materials and related documentations for social and behavior change strategies and plans (as a component of the CO and/or UNSDCF Programmes) to ensure optimum impact, scale and sustainability of achievements/results.

• Collaborate/consult with a wide range of partners and stakeholders to ensure synergy, integration, coherence, and harmonization of social and behavior change activities with UNICEF MTSP, CO global communications and advocacy activities and UN System development activities and initiatives at the CO level, including in humanitarian response.

  2. Implementation of social and behavior change activities

• Collaborate with, advise and/or consult internal partners and external partners to design social and behavior change strategies, including formulation, production and testing materials to organize social and behavior change events and activities to ensure engagement and participation of key audiences, and maximum outreach and impact on behavioral and social change, including in humanitarian response.

• Confirm/verify the technical quality, consistency and relevancy of communications strategies, including materials that are developed, produced and disseminated to target audiences (e.g. individuals, communities, government officials, partners, media etc). Recommend appropriate multiple media formats (e.g. print, digital/social media, TV/Radio, Web, community networks, etc.). Oversee the production and implementation of multi-media initiatives for compliance with targets and plans that integrate the latest evidence.

• Carry out social and behavior change advocacy activities with/for a wide range of constituents, stakeholders, partners, communities, etc. to encourage/promote engagement and dialogue, inclusion, self determination and participation in mobilizing social, political, behavioral and cultural change to achieve sustainable programme results on children and women’s rights, equity and wellbeing. Develop/select materials and other communication tools for social and behavior change events.
• Identify, establish and maintain active interaction/relations with media, academia and other strategic partners to communicate/advocate UNICEF’s competencies and achievements to ensure their engagement, interests and support in promoting social/political engagement for political action on children’s rights, and measurable changes in social and behavioral outcomes.
• Conduct and/or participate in M & E and Evaluation exercises, including country programme previews, meetings and mid-term/annual reviews to assess/report on efficacy/outcome of social and behavior change on UNICEF and CO Strategic Plans/Goals. Recommend timely action to ensure the achievement of results as planned and allocated. Integrate/disseminate lessons learned in development planning and improvements.

3. Technical and operational support

• Collaborate with internal CO, RO and/or RO colleagues to contribute to the development of strategies, approaches, policies and the planning of social and behavior change social and resource mobilization initiatives in support of programmes/projects implementation and delivery of results, including humanitarian response.

• Participate in CO strategic discussions to collaborate on policy and agenda setting for social and behavior change advocacy and investments and related external relations and resource mobilization initiatives.

• Participate in budget planning and management of programme funds and prepare financial plan for social and behavior change initiatives. Monitor/track the use of resources as planned and verify compliance with organizational guidelines, rules and regulations and standards of ethics and transparency.

4. Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Identify, build and maintain partnerships through networking and proactive collaboration with strategic partners, e.g. academia; social networks; celebrities, journalist, media, all sectors/levels of (socially aware) society and critical audience to reinforce cooperation and/or pursue opportunities for social and behavior change 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 and use of multiple media and communication platforms to enhance social and behavior change outreach including in humanitarian contexts.

• Participate in organizational and/or inter-agency (UNCT; National UN Communication for Development Roundtable) discussions and planning to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues in the UNSDCF planning and preparation of social and behavior change advocacy and resource mobilization initiatives including emergencies.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

• Implement innovative practices, approaches and latest technology on multiple media and social/digital platforms and networks for social and behavior change that are appropriate/available for the CO context and audience.

• Institutionalize/share best practices and knowledge learned/products with global/local partners and stakeholders to build capacity of practitioners, and disseminate these products to key audiences including donors and partners.

• Organize/implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders/partners (government and non-government) in social and behavior change planning, implementation and evaluation in support of programmes/projects including in humanitarian settings.

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: social and behavioral science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education, communication, public relations or another relevant technical field.

  ***(A university certificate combined with 5 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree in the field of social development programme planning, communication for development, public advocacy or another related area). .

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant 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.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.

• Fluency in French and 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 values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

[insert competencies here: List all 7 mandatory competencies and add the 8th competency for supervisory role]

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

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.

[Remove below text if not a child safeguarding elevated risk role]

[If applicable] This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either: a role with direct contact with children, works directly with child, is a safeguarding response role or has been assessed as an elevated risk role for child safeguarding. 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 [Insert diversity profile] are encouraged to apply.

Remarks:

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 may also be 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.