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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. 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 personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

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

For every child, … social change,

Social and Behavior Change in UNICEF is a cross-cutting programme strategy that addresses the cognitive, social and structural determinants of social change in both development and humanitarian contexts. SBC uses the latest in social and behavioral sciences to understand people, their beliefs, values, and the socio-cultural norms that shape their lives, with the aim of engaging them and increasing their influence in the design of solutions for sustainable behavior and social change. SBC is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate, with corporate results across sectors revolving around social and behavioral practices like immunization, breastfeeding, hygiene, and positive discipline. 

UNICEF SBC employs a mix of approaches including community engagement, strategic communication, applied behavioral science, service delivery improvement, systems strengthening and policy advocacy, and social mobilization to advance child rights, survival, development, protection and participation.

How can you make a difference?

Under the general guidance of the Senior Adviser, SBC and in close coordination with sectoral and cross-sectoral sections and Offices, responsible for the design, management, execution, monitoring and evaluation of global digital engagement strategies and approaches to advance Social and Behavior Change (SBC), with an emphasis on scaling innovations that foster government ownership, sustainability, and open-source development. In addition, the incumbent will serve as Internet of Good Things (IoGT) global lead.

The incumbent will also support UNICEF regional and country offices and partners in applying the latest evidence-backed approaches in leveraging the digital space to advance the social and behaviour change programming by identifying and addressing the social determinants influencing specific issues and behaviours, tracking key trends through social and community listening and empowering digital communities in change processes.

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

• Generate & Use Evidence: Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC digital programs (including IoGT) and outcomes, in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC.  
• Design, plan and implement: Design, plan and implement digital engagement SBC initiatives that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts.  
• Advocate & Build Partnerships: Support the conceptualisation and operationalization of the SBC digital engagement portfolio, including the Internet of Good Things platform, by advocating for SBC, mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and partnership building.  
• Build Capacities Promote continuous learning, strengthening, and scaling up in digital engagement for SBC for both development and humanitarian contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners. 

Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC digital programs (including IoGT) and outcomes, in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC.  

• Provide expert advice to UNICEF senior managers, decision makers and planners of government donor organizations, civil society groups, private sector and other partners on SBC digital engagement interventions in line with global standards and UNICEF’s organizational priorities and approaches.  
• Participate in programme planning and reviews to determine/discuss the behavioral and social drivers to be addressed and ensure successful and sustainable delivery of programme results. Provide technical advice to inform digital engagement strategies and plans of action for SBC.  
• Guide SBC teams in bringing insights from latest developments and best practices in digital community engagement to improve SBC program outcomes related global priorities such as immunization, climate, online protection, mental health, adolescent girls, among others.
• Provide technical support to regional and country offices, when agreed, in formulating, implementing and evaluating quality and appropriate digital engagement SBC initiatives, including through the Internet of Good Things platform, for both development and humanitarian contexts by facilitating efficient programme delivery, guiding on quality of content and supporting appropriate research and implementation. 

Design, plan and implement SBC digital engagement initiatives that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts. 

• Promote and advocate for application of evidence, insights, innovations and new technologies from the latest developments in digital engagement to inform SBC strategies and activities. 
• Provide technical advice and leadership in development, implementation and monitoring of SBC digital engagement strategies in line with global standards and UNICEF priorities and approaches, including to maximise UNICEF-managed platforms like IoGT.
• Advise on technical quality, consistency and relevance of SBC digital engagement activities and platforms for engagement, ensuring quality and integration of the latest evidence and science-backed approaches.  
• Identify, vet and recruit UNVs, consultants, vendors and other technical expertise to support delivery of SBC digital engagement activities, including for IoGT. Manage and oversee their activities and deliverables.  

Support the conceptualisation and operationalization of the SBC digital engagement portfolio, including Internet of Good Things, by advocating for digital engagement, mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and partnership building. 

• Establish and maintain regional/global partnerships and resource mobilization opportunities to support SBC digital engagement, including building Business for Results partnerships. Support UNICEF offices in prospecting and managing regional and national level partnerships for digital engagement.
• Mobilize financial resources for SBC digital engagement, including on IoGT at the global and regional level and support UNICEF offices in national level resource mobilization.  
• Represent UNICEF interests among regional stakeholders and partners for the implementation of SBC digital engagement interventions in humanitarian. Provide technical advice to UNICEF offices for coordination among stakeholders and partners at the national level.   

Promote continuous learning, strengthening, and scaling up in SBC digital engagement for both development and humanitarian contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners. 

• Lead and plan SBC digital engagement capacity assessment and support offices in conducting capacity assessments.
• Develop and/or apply tools, guidelines and training materials to build global SBC digital engagement capacity among CO staff, implementing partners and other relevant government and non-government partners. 
• Develop cross-regional SBC digital engagement capacity development initiatives, including new approaches such as social and community listening, digital behavioural analysis, behavioural insights, human centered design, digital engagement, and social accountability mechanisms. 
• Provide technical assistance to systems strengthening initiatives that has a digital engagement, social and community listening component in both development and humanitarian contexts.

The following minimum requirements:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in digital communication, digital marketing, social and behavioral sciences, including sociology, anthropology, communication for development, psychology and/or related field is required.
• A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant progressively responsible professional experience at the national and international levels in developing, implementing, evaluating, and managing digital engagement for social and behavioral change strategies and content 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*
• Proven ability to manage digital engagement platforms and programmes, social and community listening approaches, social research, and tracking, measurement and evaluation of social change is desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in the execution of complex multi-regional, multi-country initiatives.
• At least four years programme experience in with a multilateral development agency are required.
• 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. Working knowledge of another UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is considered 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

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

• Builds and maintains partnerships
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
• Drive to achieve results for impact
• Innovates and embraces change
• Manages ambiguity and complexity
• Thinks and acts strategically
• Works collaboratively with others 

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

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.

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. UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children.

All selected candidates will 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.

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 may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

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

This post is subject to MTR approval

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.

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.

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.