Social Behavior Change Officer, (NO-B), Honiara, Solomon Islands #81592

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, hope.

In the Pacific we work in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu: These 14 Pacific island countries are home to 2.3 million people, including 1.2 million children and youth, living on more than 660 islands and atolls stretching across 17.2 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean, an area 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, but only a third are on track with reporting obligations. Explore the different areas of our work in the link provided here www.unicef.org/pacificislands   

How can you make a difference?

The Social Behavior Change (SBC) Officer reports to the Chief of Field Office with a second reporting line to the Chief SBC and Chief Communication in Suva for technical supervision and guidance.

There are two key areas of the role:

• Provide technical and operational support to the Supervisor, Communications and SBC team by administering, executing and implementing a variety of tasks to promote community engagement and participation, and measurable behavioral and social change/mobilization.
• Assists in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating an advocacy and communication strategy to get children’s and women’s issues into the public domain, strengthen political will in support of UNICEF’s mission and objectives in the country, and enhance the organization’s credibility and brand.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities … 

Support to UNICEF Pacific communication, advocacy and social and behaviour change strategies at the country level

• Provide technical, administrative and logistical support and background materials to carry out SBC activities and recommend operational strategies, approaches, plans, methods and procedures.
• Support the identification and maintenance (stock take) of resources, channels, tools, contacts, and networks to support maximum impact and outreach of communication and community engagement initiatives;
• Follow up on the production of SBC and advocacy materials to ensure the technical quality, consistency and relevancy of communications materials that are developed, produced and disseminated to the target audience (e.g. individuals, communities, government officials, partners, media etc.).
• The production of communication products and materials to support the UNICEF Pacific communication strategies ensuring country context;
• Develop content and coverage of relevant country efforts to identify effective relevant country programme activities and results;
• Develop complementary, country-specific and local community materials and activities (e.g. briefing notes, images, videos, web pages etc.) that meet the country and global standards as set out in the Communication Toolkit;
• Assist in drafting and editing articles, press releases, human interest stories and other advocacy/information materials for both web-based and traditional media, as appropriate. Recommend appropriate information and communication materials for use in media, and other advocacy and communication activities.

Advocacy, media management 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;
• Effective and timely professional assistance and support are provided in developing, drafting and maintaining contact information, materials and relationships with journalists and media outlets covering all media in the country to communicate the story of UNICEF’s cooperation to a wider audience;
• Ensure that the field office’s contact list of individuals, groups, organizations and fora (including Government, UN, and bilateral counterparts), are maintained and further developed, whose support is essential to/can assist in achieving the advocacy and communication objectives and who support and are able to actively participate in special events and activities that further the country programme goals;
• Collaborate with internal global/regional communication partners to harmonize, link and/or coordinate messaging to enhance Communication for Development outreach and contribution to programmatic outcomes;
• Support the organization of public events and mobilization activities to ensure maximum outreach and intended impact of communication strategies (SBC, Advocacy).

Capacity building and systems strengthening initiatives

• Collaborate and/or consult with internal and external partners to provide operational and technical support on social mobilization and community engagement activities;
• Provide technical, administrative and logistical support and background materials to carry out SBC 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 SBC initiatives at national and sub-national level;
• Support UNICEF Pacific partners in Vanuatu in media engagement and capacity-building initiatives for appropriate reporting of children’s rights and wellbeing issues;
• Support the organization, administration and implementation of capacity-building initiatives to enhance the communication competencies of clients/stakeholders/partners/media across programme sectors in support of programme goals in development and humanitarian agenda.

Innovation, monitoring & evaluation and knowledge management

• Facilitate research and/or participate in conducting comprehensive Social Behavior Change situation analysis of social, cultural, economic, communication and political issues in the country/region;
• In close collaboration with the innovations lead in the office develop creative approaches to strengthen social and behaviour change communication outreach and community engagement, with a specific focus on youth and other marginalized stakeholder groups;
• Institutionalize/share best practices and knowledge learned/products with partners and stakeholders to build capacity of practitioners/users and disseminate products to key audiences including partners and donors;
• Monitor/track the implementation and progress of communication/advocacy and communication for development activities implemented;
• Support the evaluation of results of communication strategies implemented in support of programme goals, assessing contribution, impact and lessons learned.

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

Education:

• A university degree in one of the following fields or relevant experience is required: social and behavioural science, sociology, communication, journalism, public relations or another relevant technical field.

Experience:

• A minimum of two years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: communication for development, communication, print and broadcast media, social development programme planning, advocacy or another related area.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered an asset.

Language: 

• Fluency in English is required, and knowledge of the Pijin language would be an asset. 

For every Child, you demonstrate…

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

The functional competencies required for this post are…

• 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)

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

Remarks

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. 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.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

With regard to higher educational qualifications, UNICEF only considers degrees 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 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance.  Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

Internal and external candidates are welcome to apply.

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