Social & Behaviour Change (SBC) Officers, Programme and Emergency Roster, Kampala, Uganda, 2 years

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, a fair chance

Uganda is one of the over 190 countries and territories around the world where we work to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease, and discrimination place in a child’s path. Together with the Government of Uganda and partners we work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the objectives of the Uganda National Development Plan, and the planned outcomes of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework.
Visit this link for more information on Uganda Country Office https://www.unicef.org/uganda/

How can you make a difference?

Background

UNICEF’s Strategic Plan, 2022-2025 foregrounds Community Engagement, Social and Behaviour Change (CE, SBC) as one of the key “Change Strategies” to contribute to programme-specific outcomes and accelerating progress towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and realization of children’s rights.

UNICEF SBC’s design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation framework utilises the Social Ecological Model (SEM) to identify opportunities and entry points for interventions that promote individual behavioural and broader social change, linking behavioral and social change strategies with efforts to strengthen environmental and community support and participation.

The SBC role contributes to:

• Increased demand for and utilization of services and optimal caregiving/wellbeing practices.

• Shifting norms and abandonment of harmful social practices across sectors;

• Enhanced social cohesion and empowerment of communities, adolescents and children, particularly the most marginalized in decisions and actions to improve their wellbeing.

• Improved capacity for preparedness and response and engagement of communities in humanitarian action for strengthened community resilience.

SBC in UNICEF Uganda

SBC is at the heart of programming across different sectors. The SBC team also supports social mobilization and community engagement in emergency situations as its often at the forefront of the response to humanitarian and health emergencies.

Housed under the office of the Deputy Representative, SBC supports interventions in UNICEF-supported priority districts through the application of multi-level, evidence-based and equity-focused communication strategies utilizing different communication platforms.

Justification

The purpose of this request for applications to solicit for suitable Social & Behaviour Change (SBC) Specialists for inclusion in the UNICEF Uganda’s SBC Roster for both programmatic and emergency work. The SBC roster ensures that UNICEF Uganda’s staffing response is in line with the organisation’s strategic goals, to support programmatic and emergency preparedness and response through a predictable and coordinated approach. This is NOT a regular vacancy announcement but rather a call for standby personnel with Social and Behaviour Change Communication/ experience in development programming and emergencies/disease outbreaks and interested in short term assignments with UNICEF Uganda. Inclusion in the SBC roster does not guarantee any future contractual relations with UNICEF Uganda.

Objectives

The SBC roster is comprised of external personnel who specialise in a wide array of programmatic and operational areas. As emergency needs are often difficult to predict, the roster ensures sufficient staffing capacity in the pipeline to provide near real time profles to support response when emergencies strike.

This announcement is targeting external candidates with interest in working for the next 12 to 24 months.

We are currently looking for Social & Behaviour Change (SBC) Specialists with experience in the following areas:

• Child Survival & Development

• Child Protection

• Basic Education and Adolescent Development

• Early Childhood Development

• Emergency SBC including disease outbreak communication

• Risk Communication and Community Engagement

• Community Outreach

• Planning & Strategy Development

• Capacity building

• Monitoring and evaluation

• Evidence generation and research

• Peacebuilding/Humanitarian contexts

• Accountability to Affected Populations

MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Provide technical support to UNICEF Country Office, Development partners and National and Subnational Governments in the design and implementation of SBC interventions for regular programming as well as emergency context including Risk Communication and Community Engagement for disease outbreak response

2. Support evidence generation and use of behavioral insights to inform programming

3. Develop strong partnerships with key stakeholders – community groups, leaders and other partners in the community, local government and civil society including strengthening UNICEF’s coordination role in emergency response

4. Provide technical advice on monitoring and evaluation of emergency SBC activities on the basis of applied research, including community-based monitoring.

5. Provide guidance to districts on planning and managing of emergency SBC response interventions, overseeing the collection and utilization of behavioral research

6. Oversee and support the development, production and distribution of culturally relevant communication materials, including documentation of SBC interventions

7. Support capacity building in participatory approaches and & social and behaviour change communication in humanitarian settings

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

Education

Advanced university degree in communication for development of the social/behavioral sciences (Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, community-based development, Health Education) with emphasis on participatory communication, strategic communication planning, social mobilization, participatory research, training and impact evaluation of communication interventions.

Work Experience

A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in the planning and management of communication for development programmes, including experience in Emergency settings, with practical experience in the adaptation and application of communication planning processes tailored to Humanitarian contexts. Experience in the field of Social and Behavior Change Communication in a UN/Humanitarian organization and particularly in emergency/humanitarian context is an asset.

Languages:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of an additional Ugandan language is an asset. Please note that working knowledge of English is required for all assignments.

Competencies Required

• Knowledge of current developments in the field of development programming for Social Behaviour Change Communication

• Knowledge of current developments in the fields of risk communication and community engagement and emergency Social and Behavior Change Communication.

• Training in strategic communication planning, social and behaviour analysis, formative research and evaluation of communication interventions.

• Relevant experience in emergency context dealing with natural and humanitarian emergencies

• Proven experience in rapid assessments, social data methods and analysis, including participatory and qualitative methods such as Participatory Action Research, Appreciative Inquiry, Focus Group Discussion, etc.

• Proven skills in communication, networking, advocacy and negotiation.

• Ability to express clearly and concisely ideas and concepts in written and oral form.

Conditions:

  • The consultancy will only commence when the contract has been signed.
  • Consultants will not have supervisory responsibilities nor authority on UNICEF budget and other resources.
  • Consultants will be required to sign the Health statement for consultants/Individual contractors prior to taking up the assignment, and to document that they have appropriate health insurance, if applicable.
  • The Form ‘Designation, change or revocation of beneficiary’ must be completed by the consultant upon arrival, at the HR Section.
  • No contract may commence unless the consultant provides a certificate of completion of a mandatory course on “Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse”. A certificate to be submitted with the signed contract should have been obtained in the last three months.
  • Under the consultancy agreements, a month is defined as 21 working days, and fees are prorated accordingly. Consultants are not paid for weekends or public holidays
  • Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement and are paid according to satisfactory completion of deliverables
  • No contract may commence unless the consultant provides a certificate of completion of a mandatory course on “Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse”. A certificate to be submitted with the signed contract should have been obtained in the last three months.
  • Clearance from DHR will be required for former UNICEF staff
  • Clearance from the Government required for civil servants
  • COVID19 Vaccination for this position is mandatory.

How to Apply

UNICEF is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff. Well qualified candidates, particularly females are strongly encouraged to apply.

Qualified and experienced candidates are requested to submit a letter of interest including a Technical Proposal outlining a road map for review and implementation timeline. In their letter of interest, candidates should highlight their previous work experience relevant to the assignment, the attributes that make them suitable, and their proposed approach to the assignment.

The applicant should also submit a Financial Proposal outlining the total costs for this consultancy with payment linked to the main deliverables outlined above. The financial proposal should indicate an all-inclusive lumpsum fee composed of consultancy fees, travel costs and subsistence/living allowances (where applicable).

Remarks: 

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

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

Advertised: E. Africa Standard Time
Deadline: E. Africa Standard Time

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