UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

The geographic expansion, growing number of cases and community deaths, and increasing complexity of the Ebola outbreak require senior leadership to strengthen the coordination and effectiveness of the RCCE response.

An urgent shift is needed from broad risk communication to targeted, community-led engagement in transmission hotspots. At the same time, RCCE coordination must be strengthened at national, provincial and health-zone levels, with interventions aligned across Government, UN agencies, operational partners and affected communities.

A P-5 position is required to provide the leadership, strategic expertise and convening capacity needed to lead UNICEF’s SBC/RCCE response and co-coordinate a complex, multi-partner response at national and provincial levels.

How can you make a difference?

The Senior Adviser will provide strategic leadership and oversight of UNICEF’s SBC/RCCE response and co-lead RCCE coordination mechanisms at national and provincial levels.

The position will ensure technical coherence between UNICEF Country Office SBC priorities and the Ebola Incident Management/Coordination structure, operating under the strategic guidance of the Chief SBC and the direct supervision of the Ebola Coordinator.

The Senior Adviser will work under the strategic guidance of the Chief SBC of the UNICEF DRC Country Office and under the direct supervision of the Ebola Coordinator. The incumbent will work in close collaboration with the SBC Section, Health Section, Emergency Team, Field Offices, Government counterparts, UN agencies, RCCE partners and community-based structures.

The post will support both national-level strategic coordination and field-oriented implementation support, including regular deployment to affected provinces and priority health zones as required by the response.

The incumbent must be available for rapid deployment and flexible working arrangements in line with emergency response needs.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  TA ToR Senior Advisor RCCE, P5, Bunia (1).docx

To qualify as a champion for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements

• Education: Advanced university degree in social and behavioral sciences, communication for development, public health, anthropology, sociology, psychology, international development, or another relevant field.
• Work Experience: A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible professional experience in Social and Behavior Change, RCCE, community engagement, public health emergencies or humanitarian response, including significant experience in outbreak settings.
• Demonstrated experience leading or co-leading multi-partner RCCE coordination mechanisms in complex emergency contexts, preferably in Ebola or other high-risk infectious disease outbreaks.
• Strong experience in social listening, community feedback systems, evidence generation and adaptive programming for behaviorally informed public health response.
• Proven ability to advise senior leadership, influence inter-agency priorities, manage partnerships and translate evidence into operational decisions.
• Key skills
• Strategic leadership, political sensitivity and strong convening capacity in high-pressure emergency environments.
• Excellent coordination, negotiation and partnership management skills across Government, UN, NGO and community platforms.
• Strong analytical capacity to interpret epidemiological, operational and community data and translate them into targeted RCCE actions.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and French is required.

Desirables

• Experience with UNICEF, the UN system, Government coordination mechanisms and field operations in fragile or humanitarian contexts 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

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidates willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable [Insert candidates from targeted underrepresented groups] are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions 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.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

Eligible staff members on fixed-term, continuing or permanent contracts applying to IP TA positions in a duty station designated as L2/L3, may be able to retain a lien and their fixed-term entitlements, subject to approval by their Head of Office. The conditions of the temporary assignment will vary depending on the status of their post and relocation entitlements may be limited as per the relevant policies.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.