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 champion
How can you make a difference?
Organizational Context:
The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, 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 fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Hence, 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.
Purpose for the job:
Under the supervision of the Health Manager, and in collaboration with other cross-cutting
programmes/sections such as SBC section, Gender, and other sections, the SBC Officer will work to
accomplish or share in the accomplishment of the following key results:
1. Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC
programs and outcomes in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC.
2. Design, plan, and implement SBC activities that are backed by social and behavioral evidence and strong
engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts.
3. Support the operationalization of SBC by advocating for SBC, mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders,
sectors, and teams, and partnership building.
4. Promote continuous learning, strengthening, and scaling up in SBC for both development and humanitarian
contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners.
5. Ensure UNICEF procedures and measures are applied and closely monitored regarding Aid Diversion Risks
6. Ensure programmatic visits are planned and implemented to monitor implementing partners, NGOs supporting.
demand and SBC interventions.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES and DUTIES & TASKS
Within the delegated authority and under the given organizational setup, the incumbent may be assigned the
primary, shared, or contributory accountabilities for all or part of the following areas of major duties and key results
- Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC programs and outcomes in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC.
- In collaboration with sectoral and cross-sectoral specialists, relevant government officers, and other UN/NGO partners, design and conduct SBC situation analyses and formative research that identify.
- social and behavioral drivers; initiate, commission, manage, and/or utilize qualitative and quantitative.
- research on social and behavioral drivers that include behavioral analysis, human-centered design, social listening, behavioral insights, participatory research, and/or RCT.
- Establish community feedback mechanisms and use feedback to inform community engagement and SBC actions for disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience. Generate and use SBC evidence, data, and assessments for disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience.
- Develop terms of reference, research tools, frameworks, and protocols for generating evidence to inform SBC initiatives and apply tools, methodologies, and frameworks for data collection, tracking, monitoring, and reporting, and disseminating SBC results.
- Conduct and/or participate in-country program monitoring and evaluation exercises and make recommendations on work plan revisions based on the results.
- Develop and manage relationships with external partners, vendors, and consultants for evidence generation and support of SBC.
2. Design, plan and implement SBC activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and
strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts.
- In collaboration/consultation with UNICEF sectoral and cross-sectoral specialists, relevant government officers and other UN/NGO partners, develop, implement, and monitor evidence-based SBC strategies.and activities, in line with global standards and UNICEF priorities and approaches.
- In collaboration/consultation with UNICEF sectoral and cross-sectoral colleagues and implementing partners, select appropriate SBC activities and platforms for engagement, ensuring quality and integration of the latest evidence and science-backed approaches. In this process, oversee. coordination with SBC stakeholders and partners to align plans and activities.
- Identify/propose actional evidence-based programme/strategy recommendations from current data,evidence and trends for priority social and behavioral issues and ensure the integration of the latest. innovative approaches and technology in SBC in programme approach and advocate for their adoption among internal and external stakeholders.
- Apply the above skills of designing, planning, implementing, and monitoring community engagement and SBC interventions in the context of humanitarian emergencies.
3. Support operationalization of SBC by advocating for SBC, mobilizing resources, coordinating across
stakeholders, sectors and teams, and building alliances and partnerships
- Represent UNICEF’s interests in partnerships and manage the development of and progress against the joint. Project agreements with relevant partners; represent the UNICEF CO and SBC Section in national and international level fora and among partners as relevant and necessary.
- Collaborate with national, regional and/or global partners to link and coordinate SBC approaches.
- Cultivate resource mobilization opportunities and produce proposals, reports, and other materials to support resource mobilization. Contribute to mobilizing human resources for SBC, including staff, consultants, and external vendors.
- Identify, recruit, and supervise consultants, vendors, and other technical experts to support the delivery of SBC activities. Plan, use, and track the use of resources and verify compliance with organizational guidelines and standards.
- Contribute to financial planning, budget planning tracking, and financial management for SBC.
- Advocate for the inclusion of community engagement and social and behavioral approaches in sectoral. work plans based on active participation in sectoral programme planning and reviews and viable. recommendations for the integration of SBC. Advocate internally and externally for integration of SBC in national systems, in the country programme, and in sectoral plans.
- Identify, disseminate, and adopt best practices and innovative approaches and technology in SBC, integrate them in programme approaches, and support SBC and sectoral teams in implementing them.
- Coordinate with stakeholders and partners for the implementation of community engagement and SBC in humanitarian actions.
4. Promote continuous learning, strengthening and scaling up in SBC for both development and
humanitarian contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners.
-
Identify, design, and organize SBC training materials and opportunities for staff and partners, including.
on new approaches such as behavioral analysis, behavioral insights, human-centered design, social
listening, and social accountability mechanisms. Use and adapt existing UNICEF learning resources,
guidelines, and training materials to build SBC capacity among staff, implementing partners and
relevant government and non-government counterparts.
-
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.
- Plan and implement SBC capacity assessments within the CO.
-
Identify and mobilize resources to support capacity development internally and externally and provide.
SBC technical support and capacity building to government counterparts.
-
Initiate and manage partnerships with academia and learning institutions for the delivery of SBC
capacity development activities.
-
Identify and develop mechanisms to strengthen systems for community engagement in humanitarian.
contexts.
-
Develop and/or adapt capacity development tools and activities for humanitarian programming with a
focus on preparedness, response, and recovery.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
-
An advanced 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
- A minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience in the following areas are required: social.
development programme planning, communication for development or social and behavior change, public advocacy or
another related area. Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered an asset.
Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergencies is considered an asset.
- Fluency in English is required, and local language is an asset.
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.
During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.
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.
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.
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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.
Remarks:
UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.
All selected candidates will 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.
Government employees that 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.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.