UNICEF recruits 01 Communication for Development Specialist

Communication for Development Specialist, Temporary Appointment (364 days), P-3, Nairobi, Kenya, Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO)

Job Number: 521195 | Vacancy Link

Locations: Africa: Kenya

Work Type : Temporary Appointment

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 voice.

The Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region is home to approximately 250 million children under 18 years of age[i] – a population that is expected to double by the end of the century. ESA region is a complex and heterogeneous region comprising low-income and middle-income countries. Some of the challenges experienced across the region include poverty, inequality, fragility and conflict, as well as recurrent weather-related crises, such as drought. Economic growth across the countries is varied and well below population growth[ii].

The region continues to face multiple humanitarian crises fed by a combination of factors including cyclical drought and flooding, erratic weather patterns such as El Niño, and multiple instances of insecurity and conflict often leading to mass population displacements. Persistently high levels of poverty and malnutrition and frequent disease outbreaks further exacerbate those humanitarian needs.

Progress in reducing under-five mortality has been uneven countries. Malnutrition in all its forms remains a grave concern in the region.  While stunting prevalence among children under five significantly decreased, rapid population growth resulted in an increased number of stunted children, and the region is home to 15 per cent of the worlds stunted children. Overall, despite significant socio-economic progress in some countries over the last decades, it is estimated that 43 per cent of children under 5 years of age in the region are not achieving their developmental potential due to malnutrition, poverty, disease, neglect, violence, and lack of early learning.

Harmful social and cultural practices and ongoing discriminatory gender norms tend to reinforce social inequality and further exacerbate vulnerabilities especially among women and girls. Overall, progress in maternal and young child health, nutrition and wellbeing is constrained by limited knowledge and suboptimal practices and attitudes around feeding, hygiene, and health-seeking behaviours among caregivers. Furthermore, the limited interpersonal communication skills among health service provider and frontline workers along with the lack of investment in community systems, tends to negatively impact on the demand and use of services.

[i] Data covers population aged 0–19 years for 21 countries of Eastern and Southern Africa.

Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision, <http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/>

[ii] The World Bank Group, Africa’s Pulse, No. 14, October 2016.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Regional Adviser, Communication for Development and in close collaboration with the Chiefs of Nutrition, Early Childhood Development (ECD), Health and WASH, the C4D Specialist is responsible for assisting selected UNICEF Country Offices in ESAR in the design, management, monitoring and evaluation of evidence-based, human-right oriented and measurable behaviour and social change communication strategies to increase community engagement, social accountability, and demand and uptake of high-impact child survival, development, and protection interventions.

The incumbent will have the following responsibilities:

In line with the Global Community Engagement Standards, provide technical support to selected UNICEF COs, development partners and national governments in the design and implementation of evidence-based C4D plans of action aiming at: (a) behaviour and social change at individual/household and community levels in key behaviours related to child health and wellbeing with a special focus on the adoption of the basket of Key Family Practices around positive parenting, infant and young child feeding, health seeking behaviour, hygiene and sanitation; (b) engagement of civil society organizations; and (c) Increased community participation in child nutrition, health and hygiene interventions.

Provide C4D technical inputs into the development of a regional Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition Framework for actions for improving maternal and early child nutrition outcomes.

Provide guidance to selected COs to assess institutional capacities at community level to deliver SBCC interventions and to develop corrective strategies, jointly with counterparts and other UNICEF partners.

Using available formative/qualitative research, provide guidance to selected COs to develop/manage and test socially relevant communication strategies and approaches to ensure effective and efficient programme delivery. This includes the inclusion of participatory and feed-back mechanisms to ensure optimum social accountability.

Provide support to COs in the development of effective partnerships with social networks, mass media organizations and other local communication networks, to orient them in developing participatory and interactive communication for social and behaviour change for child health and wellbeing.

Advise Country Offices in the identification of regional institutions and external consultants that can support and scale up C4D activities at community level.

Support COs to develop sustainable Capacity Building strategies and training materials to reinforce skills in frontline workers.

In close coordination with the ESARO nutrition team and other data specialist, support COs to reinforce availability of both qualitative and quantitative evidence and data and to more systematically monitor progress of C4D interventions at community level

Support COs identify bottlenecks, best practices and document the interventions (development of Case studies to be disseminated through webinars, C4D Works! Etc.)

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

An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in the social/ behavioural sciences (Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, community-based development) with emphasis on participatory communication, social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) planning, participatory research, data collection and analysis, training and evaluation of SBCC interventions.

A minimum of five years progressively responsible work experience in the planning and management of social and behaviour change programmes, including three years in developing countries, with practical experience in the adaptation and application of communication planning processes to specific programmes. A work experience in the Human-rights based approach programming applied to community participation would be an asset.

Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French and Portuguese would be an asset.

Additional Qualifications

Knowledge of current developments in the fields of communication theory, adult learning theory, indigenous media, community organization and participation.

Training in strategic communication planning, behaviour analysis, formative research and evaluation of communication interventions.

Proven skills in communication, networking, advocacy and negotiation.

Ability to organize and implement training, including development of curricula and methodologies.

Ability to express clearly and concisely ideas and concepts in written and oral form.

Knowledge and work experience in the social, political and economic environment of Eastern and Southern Africa is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The competencies required for this post are Formulating Strategies and Concepts, Relating and Networking, Persuading and Influencing, Applying Technical Expertise, Entrepreneurial Thinking.

View our competency framework at:  http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/UNICEF_Competencies.pdf

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, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

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

Closing Date Thu Apr 18 2019 21:55:00 GMT+0100 (Afr. centrale Ouest)