Social & Behavior Change Officer Vacancy-Job Ref: JKAOUNICEF/0106/202641

Social & Behavior Change Officer Vacancy-Job Ref: JKAOUNICEF/0106/202641

Luanda (Angola)

Job Description

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

For every child, the right to a Future

How can you make a difference?

Reporting to the Immunization Specialist and under the general overall guidance of the Chief of Health & Nutrition, the SBC Officer (P-2) TA is responsible for the design, management, monitoring and evaluation of evidence-based, inclusive and innovative SBC strategies in support of the country programme. By following the UNICEF SBC global programme and operational guidances, the role designs, plans and implements activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts.

The role contributes directly to Gavi 6.0 priorities to reach zero-dose and under-immunized children by implementing context-specific strategies focused on strengthening community engagement participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts; as well as build the capacity of government counterparts from the national immunization programme (NIP) to development and institutionalization of best practices, facilitate the exchange of experiences and provide technical assistance for the uptake of new SBC methods and knowledge internally and externally. In addition, the position supports the NIP in designing, piloting, and scaling an evidence-based national SBC package of interventions to ensure that demand promotion are systematically embedded to improve immunization outcomes.

The SBC Officer is accountable for effective technical and programme support to facilitate the application and adaptation of UNICEF policies and strategies to achieve strategic priorities and objectives and expansion of UNICEF assisted Immunization, nutrition and child health interventions, including the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals agenda.

Education
Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational set-up, the incumbent may be assigned the primary, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key end-results.

1. Promote continuous learning, strengthening and scaling up in SBC for both development and humanitarian contexts

Contribute to the development and institutionalization of best practices, facilitate the exchange of experiences and provide technical assistance for the uptake of new SBC methods and knowledge internally and externally
Coordinate and provide inputs into SBC capacity needs assessments and the development of capacity-strengthening plans aligned with national and Gavi 6.0 priorities
SBC technical support and capacity building to government counterparts within a system strengthening strategy.

Identify, design, and/or organize SBC training materials and opportunities for Ministry of Health, including on new approaches such as behavioural analysis, behavioural insights, human-centered design, social listening, and social accountability mechanisms
Use and adapt existing UNICEF learning resources, such as SBC UNICEF channels, guidelines and training materials to build SBC capacity among implementing partners and relevant government and non-government counterparts
Facilitating the documentation, exchange, and uptake of best practices and lessons learned in SBC for immunization across internal and external stakeholders.

2. Generate and utilize behavioural research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of programs and outcomes focused on equity, zero-dose and under-immunized children

Support the Ministry of Health, Health Promotion and the National Immunization Program (NIP) in design, implement, and/or participate in situation analyses and formative research that identify social and behavioral drivers
Assist in the use of data (e.g., community feedback) to inform targeting of high-risk populations and underserved communities
Promote the application of SBC approaches, such as human-centred design and user’s journey, to improve service uptake.

In collaboration/consultation with UNICEF sectoral and cross-sectoral specialists, relevant government officers and other UN/NGO partners, provide technical and administrative support for the development, implementation and monitoring of evidence-based SBC strategies and activities, in line with global standards and UNICEF priorities and approaches
Ensure that the community, stakeholders and partners engaged validated the evidence generation generated through workshops, meetings, community dialogues.

3. Design, plan and implement SBC activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms

Supporting the MoH/NIP in reviewing, adapting, and institutionalizing SBC approaches, tools and guidelines to promote demand for immunization
Leading or co-facilitating the development and rollout of capacity-building packages for health workers, community mobilizers, and supervisors on interpersonal communication (IPC), community engagement, and demand generation
Applying and contextualizing UNICEF global SBC learning resources, including modules on behavioural insights, human-centred design, social listening, and social accountability mechanisms.

Provide technical support to interventions that address demand-side barriers, including vaccine fatigue and hesitancy, access constraints, social norms (social norms related to gender and disability included)
Ensure that programmes and implementation are SBC designed to support routine immunization, outreach services, SIAs (e.g., polio), and life-course vaccination platforms
Ensure messaging is context-specific, culturally appropriate, gender-responsive, and tailored to priority groups (e.g., caregivers of zero-dose children)
Support the development/adaptation and testing of key messages and communication materials
Contribute to disseminate SBC best practices adopted by the immunization program, supporting articles, reports, summaries.

4. Design, plan and implement Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCEE) interventions for Immunization

Support the design and implementation of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies, including quantitative and/or qualitative rapid assessment for immunization, including outbreak response (e.g., polio, measles, cholera, maternal and neonatal tetanus) and integration with broader health emergencies
Advocate for the inclusion of community engagement and social and behavioral approaches in workplans based on active participation in sectoral programme planning and reviews and viable recommendations for the integration of SBC.

Assist in rapid deployment of RCCE interventions in humanitarian contexts
Strengthen collaboration with community structures, civil society, and local leaders to create ownership and improve self-efficacy
Support the implementation of mechanisms for community feedback and accountability to affected populations (AAP)
Contribute to co-create and/or building from the existing sustainable systems/community platforms for demand promotion within primary health care
Develop and/or adapt capacity development tools and activities for humanitarian programming with a focus on preparedness, response and recover
Assist in the development of targeted communication materials and campaigns to promote immunization uptake, aligned with the Heath Promotion from the Ministry of Health, in promoting the “Little Star” national symbol of vaccination
Collaborate with partners to align SBC with broader advocacy and social mobilization efforts.

5. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

Support development and tracking of SBC indicators within immunization results frameworks, including Gavi 6.0 indicators and aligned with existing UNICEF SBC core indicators, considering diverse reporting needs
Contribute to monitoring of community engagement activities, including supportive supervision and field visits, supporting the mainstreaming of SBC data into local, national and regional systems
Provide inputs to donor reports (e.g., Gavi, partners), and programme reviews, ensuring documentation of results and lessons learned.

6. Other assigned duties and responsibilities are effectively accomplished

Assumes any other duties and responsibilities assigned as appropriate to the purpose of this post, and delivers the results as required

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

Minimum requirements:

Education: A university degree (Bachelor’s or higher) in a social and behavioral science, including sociology, anthropology, communication studies/communication for development, psychology and/or related field is required.
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 or social and behaviour change, public advocacy or another related area.
Skills: Anthropology, Communication Studies, Development, Humanitarian, Psychology, Social Science.

Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Portuguese is required.
Desirables:

Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered an asset.
Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

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.

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