UNICEF
Since two years, countries in the ESA region have experienced an alarming increase in the number of new, or re-emerging humanitarian emergencies, including public health (including Ebola, Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, wild poliovirus, and Cholera), armed conflicts and natural disasters emergencies.
UNICEF ESAR has prioritized the critical need to support countries to rapidly scale up capacity to prevent, mitigate, and manage ongoing and anticipated emergencies as well as to enhance capacity for preparedness and response to these emergencies.
Purpose
The purpose of this external announcement is to attract suitable Social Behavior Change in Emergency Specialist (Social Scientist) candidates interested in working in any of the countries within UNICEF’s East and Southern Africa region to respond to emergencies for the next 36 months. The countries within each region are listed on the following website: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html.
How can you make a difference?
The successful candidate will be asked to lead on the implementation the following tasks and activities:
Technical guidance and support
- Undertake a rapid contextual analysis drawing on existing data and evidence and identify key lessons learnt impacting response/interventions.
- Review existing UNICEF tools, platforms and partners/vendors that can support collection of social science data, including U-Report.
- Provide technical advice to enhance standardised approaches to the collection, analysis and use of socio-behavioural data.
- Provide practical advice and tools to RCCE/AAP/SBC/CEA partners to undertake rapid ethnographic assessments on social norms and beliefs, behaviours, perceptions, power dynamics and political economy.
- Commission and provide oversight of social science research activities including design and review of research protocols, data collection, analysis, framing and dissemination of operational findings.
- Contribute to knowledge management aspects to ensure tools, protocols, and methodological expertise are made available to all relevant response partners.
Capacity-Building
- Undertake a rapid capacity needs assessment among community engagement partners and develops targeted capacity-building and training initiatives to strengthen applied social science research during the emergency response.
Partnership
- Map local and national academic institutions and partners with relevant research expertise.
- Liaise with agency focal points and strengthen partnerships with main social science stakeholders in the response to ensure the systematic inclusion of social science intelligence in the humanitarian response plan.
- Facilitate partnerships between operational community engagement agencies and social science expertise to enhance a better understanding of socio-behavioural factors impacting on health seeking, trust and overall reduction of risks.
Coordination
- Map and assess the collection and use of socio-behavioural data across the public health response to identify critical evidence, capacity and resource gaps.
- Support the development of an operationally focused community engagement research agenda which responds to local needs and priorities and strengthens communities’ voices in the design and implementation of operational social science research, and coordinate closely with other social science experts of the response to advocate for emerging priorities.
- Work closely with community engagement partners, Information Managers and available social science expertise to establish effective mechanisms for data sharing and data flow management.
- Collaborate with M&E experts and the community engagement interagency team (where available) to adapt and implement the M&E framework.
- Collaborate with social science experts deployed to the response (where available) to advocate and ensure the systematic inclusion of all social science intelligence in the humanitarian response plan.
- Work closely with the national RCCE/AAP/SBC/CEA Coordinator and commission sub-commission leads to ensure that socio-behavioral research and evidence is underpinning operational and strategic decision-making processes in relation to community engagement and other relevant response pillars. This will mean to assess information needs and data gaps, understand preferred communication channels and formats, and co-develop actionable recommendations with partners and key stakeholders from other response pillars
Key Expected Results
The position will be responsible to embed and strengthen the role of operational social science in the design and delivery of the national community engagement plans with the aim to strengthen community-centred approaches in the overall public health response. The position will provide support to the national level leadership of the response (e.g. national RCCE/AAP/SBC/CEA working group), provide technical guidance and strategic directions and contribute to evidence-based decision-making using a variety of information sources including community-level data (e.g. community feedback, social listening, monitoring data) and social science intelligence (operational social science research). She/he will hereby maximize collaboration and complementarity with other social science capacity across the response.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Education-
An advanced university degree (Master or higher) in one of the following fields is required: social and behavioural science, sociology, anthropology, education, communication or another relevant technical field.
- Advanced degree (Master or higher) in social sciences related discipline – preferably in applied anthropology or sociology. Other social science degrees may be considered depending on type of emergency response and experience.
- *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.
Work Experience-
- At least 5 years practical experience in community-based public health programs at the national and international level. Some of this time should have been spent in humanitarian crisis responses, including public health emergencies.
- At least 3 years of experience in low resource settings, including in emergency response settings.
- Demonstrated ability to conduct operational research in humanitarian crisis and/or public health emergencies.
- Demonstrated ability to use mixed methods with an emphasis on qualitative research methods and approaches.
- Proven experience in delivering capacity building and training courses for local teams to produce and use operational social science data.
- A basic understanding of UNICEF’s core commitments to children in humanitarian action, humanitarian principles, standards, coordination mechanisms, gender and diversity aspects of humanitarian work.
- Fluency in English (verbal and written) is required.
- Good written and spoken skills in French and/or Portuguese is an asset.
Language Requirement:-
- Fluency in verbal and written English and/or French (depending on the country office’s official language). Knowledge of another UN language or a local language is an asset.