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 future

Under the general guidance of the SBC Regional Advisor and in close coordination with Sectoral and Cross-Sectoral Sections and Offices, responsible for the design, management, execution, monitoring, and evaluation of regional strategies related to Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) and providing technical support to 8 country offices in delivering SBC initiatives that advance human rights-based approaches and community engagement to promote sustainable results for children in South Asia region in both development and humanitarian contexts around Covid specific and Covid sensitive issues. Support UNICEF offices and partners in applying the latest evidence-backed approaches in the social and behavioral sciences to programming by identifying and addressing the social determinants of behaviour and empowering communities in change processes.

How can you make a difference?

Provide technical support and oversight to countries on designing, planning, and implementing SBC activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms.

Provide advice to UNICEF senior managers, country offices, government counterparts, and partners on SBC, risk communication, social mobilization, and community engagement interventions in line with global standards and UNICEF’s organizational priorities and approaches. Provide technical support to country offices in formulating, implementing, and evaluating quality and appropriate SBC initiatives for both development and humanitarian contexts by facilitating efficient programme delivery, guiding on the quality of materials/activities, and supporting appropriate research and implementation. Bring insights from the latest developments and best practices in the social and behavioural sciences and participatory approaches to community engagement to improve SBC program outcomes in both humanitarian and development contexts. Provide technical inputs on accountability to affected people (AAP), risk communication, and community engagement to countries that are actively responding to humanitarian and or health emergencies and support preparedness activities across all countries in the region.

Enhance effective generation and utilization of research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC programs and outcomes and to build the evidence base for SBC:

Support country teams in developing terms of reference, research tools, frameworks, and protocols for generating evidence to inform SBC initiatives. Strengthen the office's capacity to research, analyse and equitably address trends that drive social and individual behaviours and norms, using a wide range of approaches including, behavioural analysis, human-centered design, social listening, behavioural insights, participatory research, RCT, and other quantitative and qualitative approaches Provide technical support to countries in establishing monitoring mechanisms to collect, analyse and report on SBC indicators Provide advice and technical support in the development and implementation of tools (quantitative and qualitative) for the monitoring, evaluation, and documentation of SBC activities. Disseminate SBC research findings and best practices and support the exchange of experiences and uptake of new methods among government officials, programme staff, UNICEF partners, and/or the wider SBC field. Support countries in organizing and managing formative research, development, pretesting, and production of country culturally relevant materials and activities to support SBC

Ensure smooth SBC programme delivery by providing technical and operational support to UNICEF offices and partners

Establish regional SBC work plans (within sectoral work plans as appropriate), including allocation of resources, monitoring or progress, etc. Provide support to sectoral programs to ensure SBC objectives are met. Participate in budget planning and management of programme funds and support country offices in budget planning Make operational decisions on appropriate materials and media to reach target audiences, technical resources required, allocation of financial resources, as well as the time frame for various activities in support of the achievement of country programme and organizational goals.

Strengthen the SBC function by advocating for SBC, coordinating across offices, networking, and partnership building

Develop, build and maintain partnerships at the regional level with UN agencies, research and implementing organizations, academia, media, INGOs, and other relevant organizations to promote SBC programs and assist in developing the same at the country level Participate in strategic regional conversations and support COs in discussions on policy and agenda setting for SBC advocacy and investments, and related external relations and resource mobilization initiatives. Support offices in ensuring adequate human and financial resources to deliver on SBC work plans, and advocate for and mobilize resources to support them.   Participate in inter-agency groups and/or civil society networks to scale-up SBC programs and enhance results

Promote continuous learning, strengthening, and scaling up in SBC through capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners

In collaboration with HQ and relevant sections, develop tools, guidelines, and training materials and facilitate capacity building on SBC, risk communication, community engagement, and other related topics for staff and partners who are involved in planning, implementation, and evaluation of SBC interventions Identify and plan training and learning opportunities for staff and partners on new approaches, including BI, HCD, social listening, behavioural analysis, and so on. Plan and lead regional-level SBC capacity assessments and support country offices in conducting national capacity assessments Institutionalize/share best practices and knowledge learned on SBC in UNICEF and externally to build the capacity of staff and partners.

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

An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in social and behavioral science, including sociology, anthropology, communication studies/communication for development, psychology, and/or a related field is required.*A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree. A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant progressively responsible professional experience at the national and international levels in developing, implementing, evaluating, and managing social and behavioral change strategies and content is required. Experience in developing or supporting community engagement interventions. Demonstrated expertise in the application of social and behavior change science, theories, research, and analysis, to all stages of the program cycle. Proven ability to manage social research, including quantitative, qualitative, and participatory methods for formative assessments, identifying behavioral drivers, and tracking, measurement, and evaluation of social change is desirable. Demonstrated ability to stay current with new developments in the SBC field is required. Familiarity with new and emerging approaches such as behavioral insights, human-centered design, and social listening, among others is a plus.   Demonstrated experience in the execution of complex priorities, processes, and projects in office work plans. At least four years of country programme experience in with a multilateral development agency or national NGO in a low- or middle-income setting is an asset. Proven ability to work with internal and external stakeholders at multiple levels, including providing technical support and capacity building and establishing/managing external partnerships Fluency in English is required.  Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

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

The UNICEF 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)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

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.

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.

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.

Remarks:

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

UNICEF’s active commitment towards diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable females 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). 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.

This vacancy is archived.

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