Vacancy Announcement - Social & Behavior Change Officer, NOB, Hyderabad, India, South Asia Region (SAR), Post Number 00122369 (This post is open only to Indian Nation

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 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!

Click here to learn more about UNICEF: https://youtu.be/43aiG4w2q_M

For Every Child, AN ADVOCATE:

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 fulfil 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?

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children in the world's thereby ensuring a better future for every child, this is the chance to make a difference.

Job Organizational Context

Hyderabad Field Office of UNICEF covers the three large southern states - Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. These three states together account for 91 districts and 145 million population. These states, which have witnessed accelerated economy, still suffer with poor social indicators on many accounts, which are often masked by the state averages. One of the reasons for this is insufficient capacity and efforts to bring about social and behaviour change coupled with inadequate service delivery. Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) is considered to be a critical input to meeting objectives of Government of India’s national flagship programmes and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through its focus on influencing behaviours and social norms; generating demand for services and fostering participation of the excluded and most marginalized groups.

Chennai Field Office is a Social Policy Office catering to a broad programmatic needs of the state governments in both Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Chennai Field Office in the two states is working with a diverse group of stakeholders in the government and the civil society sector for RCCE for COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviours (CAB), COVID-19 Vaccination and SBCC for issues such as Routine Immunization and other areas of child health and Development.

Purpose of the job:

The Social & Behavior Change Officer reports to the SBC Specialist, Hyderabad field office for supervision and guidance and a matrix reporting to Chief of Chennai Social Policy office only for matters, related to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Officer provides technical and operational support to the S&BC Specialist and internal colleagues in HFO and Chennai (related ones) and CFOs 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.

This position will support SBC priorities across 5 South Indian states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala).

The SBC NOB-TA will report to the SBC NOC Specialist based in HFO with a programme reporting to CFO-Chennai Field Office for the prioritized SBC interventions in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Major duties and responsibilities:

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 organizations, 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…

Education:

• A 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.

Work Experience:

• 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.

Languages

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of relevant local languages is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Core Values (Required)

• Care
• Respect
• Integrity
• Trust
• Accountability

Competency Areas

• 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)

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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, 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.

UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

Remarks:

• This position is based in Hyderabad (India).
• Selected applicant will have a 364 days Temporary Appointment contract.
• UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited / recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/.
• UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNICEF does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process including application, interview, meeting, traveling, processing, training etc. UNICEF is a non-smoking working environment.

  For more information about UNICEF India, please refer to the link below: - https://www.unicef.org/india/