Consultant to support Social & Behavior Change (SBC) Programme in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and The Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI), 6 months, Pohnpei, FSM

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, education.

We operate in the Pacific, specifically in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. These 14 Pacific island countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth. They inhabit more than 660 islands and atolls that stretch across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean. This area is comparable to the combined size of the United States of America and Canada. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu are classified as Fragile States according to World Bank/OECD criteria.

All 14 Pacific Island countries and territories have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, only a third are on track with reporting obligations. You can explore the different areas of our work at the link provided here: www.unicef.org/pacificislands .

Background of Assignment: 

UNICEF North Pacific Office is currently providing social and behavior change (SBC) technical, operational and health promotion capacity strengthening support to the FSM National/State Departments of Health and other non-health departments and areas including Education, Early Childhood Development (ECD), and Nutrition to ensure SBC strategies and approaches are an integral part of interventions being planned and implemented.

As part of efforts to increase and sustain demand for immunization as well as reduce dropout rates, UNICEF is supporting National and State Department of Health & Social Affairs (DoHSA) to implement community engagement and accountability systems through mobilization of traditional, religious and municipal leaders to champion social mobilization efforts for immunization demand including tracking of newborns and immunization defaulters, social listening and providing feedback with relevant bodies.

The FSM is also in the process of validating and launching its Early Childhood Development (ECD) Policy and will coordinate with states to develop robust ECD Action Plans. The consultant will support policy validation meetings as well as state action plan development processes.

Similarly, in April 2023, the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) launched its ECD policy and has recently engaged UNICEF to provide technical assistance by helping develop, implement and monitor a comprehensive and multisectoral Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) strategy to cover elements such as antenatal and early childhood health and nutrition, positive parenting and nurturing care, and others. The SBC Consultant will be supporting the SBC Specialist to undertake consultative and collaborative process for the development of the SBC Strategy. This includes review of existing evidence and other related literature, consultation with key stakeholders, co-creation, and validation activities. The national consultant will support the SBC specialist in retrieving key documents and information for inception, organizing stakeholder meetings and field trips, interpreting key discussions and documents related to the assignment and technical support in conduction and reporting of all proceedings.

How can you make a difference? 

The Consultant is expected to provide technical support to implementation of ongoing social and behavior change interventions in the FSM, including capacity strengthening of government counterparts/Civil Society Organisation (CSO) partners on SBC; traditional/municipal leaders engagement activities; community consultations for Early Childhood Education (ECE) promotion in the FSM; support the RMI ECD programme SBCC strategy development, implementation and monitoring; plan and coordinate with DoHSA to support planning of ECD Policy launch during the FSM Health Summit; support review of FSM state ECD Action plans in alignment with the ECD Policy; coordinate the FSM social listening system through the community engagement processes; and assist production and pretesting of advocacy and IEC materials.

Please refer to the ToR  Terms of Reference.pdf for further information on the deliverables and the timelines.

GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS:

All applications for this consultancy must include a separate financial offer along with the technical proposal.

The financial proposal should be a lump sum amount for all the deliverables and should show a break down for the following:

• Monthly/Daily consultancy fees – based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference
• Travel (economy air ticket where applicable to take up assignment and field mission travel)
• Living allowance where travel is required
• Miscellaneous- to cover visa, health insurance (including medical evacuation for international consultants), communications, and other costs

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

Education:  

• A bachelor’s degree in the related field
• An associate degree with relevant professional experience in social work, community development and social science, with additional one year of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the bachelor’s degree

Experience, Skills and Language:  

• Minimum of two years of professional work experience in social behavior change, health promotion, public health, or a related field
• Strong experience in community development, participatory processes, social work, and community-based work. Good understanding of the FSM and the RMI context is strongly preferred
• Previous work experience in FSM States and/or UN agencies is an asset
• Action-oriented approach and strong drive for results
• Good negotiation and interpersonal communication skills and ability to work in a team and different stakeholders
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of a local language is an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS). 

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Remarks:  

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

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. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy 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. Consultants 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. 

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