Social Behaviour Change Officer

Contract

This is a UNV National Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Specialist contracts.

UNICEF began its development work in Rwanda in 1986. After the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, UNICEF's assistance focused on emergency, recovery, and small-scale projects. In 2007-2008, UNICEF's work in Rwanda shifted to large scale projects and national policy support to key government priority areas.

The 2018-2023 UNICEF Rwanda Country Programme continues to support the realization of the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged. The programme focuses on seven priority areas: child health, including HIV prevention; nutrition; early childhood development; education; child protection; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and social policy and research.

Parenting is a fundamental aspect of child development, significantly influencing a child's well-being and future. Recognizing the importance of supporting parents and caregivers, comprehensive 8 parenting guides have been developed by the government of Rwanda with technical and financial support from UNICEF. This United Nations Volunteers (UNV) assignment is part of UNICEF Rwanda Country Office’s parenting education programming initiative. The position will enhance utilization, accessibility, and engagement of the parenting guides implementation and social and behaviour change involvement in strategic intent to disseminate guides through existing community engagement and social mobilization platforms including and integrating them into user-friendly platforms.

The UNV for SBC (integrated parenting) will be engaged in various tasks to support and promote effective parenting practices in UNICEF Rwanda Country Office and key partners both government and civil society organizations.

The following tasks will be initially prioritized: I. Needs Assessment: facilitate to conduct surveys and interviews to assess the parenting education needs within the community and proper use of the parenting guides developed by the National Childhood Development Agency (NCDA) and identify specific challenges and gaps in parenting knowledge and skills.

ii.Develop Educational Materials: participate in creation in culturally sensitive and age-appropriate parenting education materials such as Development of the pamphlets, brochures, and multimedia resources to disseminate parenting information.

iii.Training Programs: participate and facilitate the organization of the parenting workshops and training sessions at National and sub-national level and collaborate with local experts to ensure the content is relevant and applicable to the Rwandan community.

iv. Community Outreach: in collaboration with the key stakeholders in parenting education, engage with local communities to raise awareness about the importance of parenting education, co-organize community events, fairs, or seminars to promote parenting knowledge at national and sub-national levels. Ensure feedback mechanisms are tailored out to capture the insights from the community.

v.Partnership Building: Establish partnerships with local NGOs, government agencies, and academia institutions to enhance the reach and impact of parenting education initiatives throughout Rwanda and ensure knowledge management of the SBC parenting education.

Vi. Online Platforms: Contribute to co-creation workshop to develop and ensure the parenting contents maintenance in existing online platforms or social media channels to share parenting tips, resources, and engage with a wider audience. The key partners may include but not limited to the RBA, NCDA, Imbuto foundation, Umuhuza and other relevant organization.

vii.Monitoring and Evaluation: establish metrics to assess the effectiveness of parenting education programs. Collect and analyze data to measure the impact and identify areas for improvement from the parenting education contents in different platforms such as Itetero program, and different relevant campaigns (#OneEggPerchildEveryday campaign, national events, child online protection, etc.)

viii.Research and Best Practices: Stay updated on the latest research and best practices in parenting education and share relevant findings with stakeholders to continually improve program content.

ix.Other tasks: Contribute on demand to the other Social and behaviour change activities related to the positive parenting educations.

•Builds and maintains partnerships. •Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness. •Innovates and embraces change. •Drive to achieve results for impact. •Manages ambiguity and complexity. •Thinks and acts strategically Nurtures. •Leads and manages people. •Works collaboratively with others. •Accountability

the field of social and behaviour change communication, media, public health, and other relevant development fields.

•Experience in community health, social mobilization, outbreak/risk communication, media, and development of information, education, and communication (IEC) materials will be an asset.

•Knowledge of the key actors in parenting education in Rwanda

•Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills.

•Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing.

•Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development.

•Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel.

•Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, among others), email, and internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment.

•Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines.

•Have affinity with or interest in positive parenting education, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN system.

Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, has undergone an incredible period of rejuvenation and stability that is clearly visible the moment you step out into this beautiful city. Concerning transport, even though motorcycle taxis are not recommended, they are the fastest way to get around this metropolis. Helmets are provided, but it is better to have your own helmet. You can also take a standard taxi. Those with a yellow stripe will be run by individuals, while the majority will belong to either Kigali Taxi Service (3122) or Kigali Airport Taxis (476586).

Public transportation is the cheapest way to get around Kigali, and many of the buses are new and well- maintained. You can also take these buses farther afield; expect to pay a fare based on distance. Transport prepaid cards are available for passengers at each bus station, and you can load a minimum amount of two hundred Rwandan francs (200RWF). If public transport isn’t your style, cars are available for rent or purchase in Kigali. Major investment has been made in infrastructure, including roads, and congestion in this city has never been particularly bad. Accommodations are found easily and at the relevant standards and recreation infrastructures (swimming pools, aerobics, etc.…) can be found in the various places.

Shops and markets are available with necessary items including imported goods, home furnishings and electrical appliances and vehicles spare parts. Public and private health facilities are available in Kigali and some of them such as King Faisal Hospital, Legacy Clinic, Hospital la Croix du Sud, etc …work with CIGNA insurance. The above Hospitals have necessary health equipment; ambulances, adequate health services and can handle any emergency.

Kigali is an exceptionally safe city. However, in case of emergency, there are several emergency numbers in Kigali, so be sure to know which to call. You can reach the police on a special line by dialing 999. Fire fighters can be reached at 111 and the emergency services are at 112. If you have or see a traffic accident, call 113. The contract lasts for the period indicated above with possibility of extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity, and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment. The Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications, and other basic needs.

Unified Conditions of Service for UN Volunteers can be accessed on the following link: https://www.unv.org/sites/default/files/unvpf/UNVcos2021%20Complete%20hi-res- final_compressed_30.08.2021.pdf

UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate.