Social & Behavior Change Officer at the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Social & Behavior Change Officer, NOB

Job No: 564677
Location: Sokoto
Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment
Level: NO-2
Categories: Social and Behavior Change

How Can You Make a Aifference?

• The Social & Behavior Change Officer reports to the Chief S&BC/S&BC Specialist for supervision and guidance.
• The Officer provides technical and operational support to the S&BC Specialist and internal colleagues by administering, implementing, monitoring and/or evaluating a variety of S&BC initiatives and activities to promote community engagement and participation, and measureable behavioral and social change/mobilization, requiring the application of technical and theoretical skills and thorough knowledge of organizational goals, rules, regulations, policies and procedures to complete tasks.

Summary of Key Functions / Accountabilities

• Support to strategy design and development of S&BC activities
• Support to implementation of S&BC activities
• Advocacy, networking and partnership building
• Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

Key Functions / Accountabilities
Support to strategy design and development of S&BC activities:

• Research and/or participate in conducting comprehensive S&BC situation analysis of social, communication, cultural, economic and political issues in the country/region. Collect and synthesize qualitative and quantitative information and data to support the establishment of comprehensive and evidence-based information for developing and planning the S&BC component of the Country Programme of Cooperation (and UNDAF).
• Collect, synthesize, draft and/or organize materials and related documentation for evidence-based S&BC strategies and plans (as a component of the CO and/or UNDAF Programmes) to ensure optimum impact, scale and sustainability of achievements/results.
• Assess, select and/or recommend appropriate information and materials for S&BC initiatives verifying accuracy and quality for dissemination.
• Monitor and assess the impact of S&BC strategies and activities on the CO and UNICEF goals to achieve measurable behavioral and social change resulting in improving children’s rights and wellbeing. Submit qualitative report/synthesis of results for development planning and improvement.

Support to the implementation of S&BC activities:

• Collaborate and/or consult with internal and external partners to provide operational and technical support to research, develop, and produce evidence-based strategies and test, produce and use quality S&BC materials, organize events and activities to ensure community engagement and participation, and maximize outreach and impact on behavioral and social change.
• Provide technical, administrative and logistical support and background materials to carry out S&BC 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 S&BC initiatives.
• Follow up and monitor the production of S&BC materials to ensure the technical quality, consistency and relevancy of communications materials that are developed, produced and disseminated to target audiences (e.g. individuals, communities, government officials, partners, media etc).
• Collect, assess and organize information for budget planning and management of programme funds and prepare documentation and related materials for financial planning for S&BC initiatives. Monitor/track the use of resources as planned and verify compliance with organizational guidelines, rules and regulations and standards of ethics and transparency.

Advocacy, networking 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.
• Collaborate with internal global/regional communication partners to harmonize, link and/or coordinate messaging to enhance S&BC outreach and contribution to programmatic outcomes.

Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

• Institutionalize/share best practices and knowledge learned/products with global/local partners and stakeholders to build the capacity of practitioners/users, and disseminate products to key audiences, including partners and donors.
• Support the organization, administration and implementation of capacity-building initiatives, including partnerships with training and academic institutions, to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders/partners across programme sectors in S&BC planning, implementation and evaluation in support of programmes/projects. Develop training materials for training activities, and revise and update them as necessary.

Qualifications
Education:

• A 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.

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, public advocacy or another related area.
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

• UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies:  Builds and maintains partnerships (II); Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (II); Drive to achieve results for impact (II); Innovates and embraces change (II); Manages ambiguity and complexity (II); Thinks and acts strategically (II) Works collaboratively with others (II) Nurtures, leads and manages people (II

The functional competencies required for this post are:

• Leading and supervising (I)
• Formulating strategies and concepts (II)
• Analyzing (III)
• Applying technical expertise ((III)

Application Closing Date
16th August, 2023.