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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 chance.

In Nigeria, UNICEF works in a complex humanitarian and development setting to fulfill and protect children's rights in partnership with the government, civil society, children, and families.  UNICEF Nigeria is one of the largest UNICEF Country Offices globally - click the link to learn more about UNICEF in Nigeria: https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/

Background:

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy, and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias, or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic, and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education, and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. Therefore, the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

The prevalence of cervical cancer and other cancers in Nigeria remains high and poses a great socio-economic risk to the population, especially women. Cervical cancer is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality of women in Nigeria and only 5% of all women are screened for pre-cancer and cancer at least once in 5 years. One of the most significant barriers to preventing cervical cancer amongst young girls is the limited platform for immunization for adolescents against HPV, including reaching out-of-school girls in communities where school enrolment is low. This gap necessitates the implementation of an integrated platform to ensure the maximum reach of young girls and the reduced burden of cervical cancer. The introduction of HPV vaccination in Nigeria, therefore, does not only have the direct effects of mitigating the risk of cervical cancers and related complications and mortality among young girls and women but also contributes significantly to reducing the burden of cervical cancer in Nigeria and the West African sub-region. The introduction of the HPV vaccine into the immunization programme is Nigeria’s primary prevention strategy for cervical cancer.

The HPV vaccination MAC campaign in Nigeria implemented for the 9 to 14-year-old girls in all states in two phases in 2023-24. Following the introduction, girls of nine years of age and missed children only with fixed sessions and other structured outreach-based routine immunization services are now being implemented. This age group generally has few contacts with the health system; hence a significant decline of routine HPV vaccine coverage has been experienced, despite the campaign provided a good entry point for Nigeria to offer other healthcare services to adolescent girls and an excellent opportunity for integrating services at the delivery level. The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP)1 underscores the importance of integration. Using immunization and polio community engagement structures to drive primary healthcare programmes in countries with weak health systems can potentially strengthen those systems. The routinization and targeted intensification of the HPV vaccination shall use a delivery method to reach adolescent girls including schools platforms; community outreaches through NGOs and CSOs; health facility-based/youth-friendly centers, outposts by health facilities, women groups, religious groups (churches, mosques).

Purpose for the position

Under the general guidance of the Health Manager -Immunization and oversight from the Health manager for polio and Chief of Health and HIV and in close collaboration with the Chief of SBC section, chief Gender & Development Manager, the incumbent will be part of the Routine Immunization Working Group (RIWG) for HPV at national/state levels to support the effective and efficient routinization intensification of the vaccine, technical support is required to facilitate strategic planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the process. Meaningful youth engagement of young people, the incumbent shall support the development of communication messages, taking into consideration their ideas and aspirations, identify key/relevant influencers and gatekeepers, CSO partnership, school & community platforms, modalities of service delivery, and what and how to integrate additional youth-friendly services.

The adolescent health and social mobilization technical support shall link the wider state immunization/health education/polio team with the adolescent and youth-friendly voices (youth groups), gatekeepers (parents, religious and community leaders, government and policymakers, etc), and platforms (schools, health facilities, youth-friendly centers), as well as the polio eradication platforms.

Key function, accountabilities, and related duties/tasks

1. Support strategic micro planning meetings, and co-creation sessions with adolescents and young people for detailed state and LGA level roll-out plans.
2. Support the States to integrate adolescent girl-centered approaches for the planning of demand-generation activities for the routinization of HPV to the selected states through UNICEF Field Offices
3. Support the state communication and social mobilization teams to produce and implement an evidence-based, integrated Adolescent, demand generation and mobilization plan for the NVI, assist the state Health team for polio social mobilization innovation.
4. Support the state ACSM (Advocacy, Communication, and Social Mobilization) working group for the HPV routinization and polio campaign to support the development of adolescent-friendly social media messages as well as polio social mobilization messages.
5. Support identification, coordination, and engagement of state-level and LGA-level stakeholders and CSO partners (education, women affairs, NGOs, CBOs, faith-based, youth, etc.) for community engagement, mobilization, mapping of adolescent-friendly platforms, networks, and enumeration of eligible girls in and out of school.
6. Support the LGA team to Identify facilities and map catchment areas for facility-led community outreaches (hub and spoke model)
7. Work with and mobilize Adolescent and Young People (AYP) platforms at national and state levels to ensure meaningful engagement of AYP in the design and development of innovative IEC materials, roll-out, monitoring, and documentation of the HPV campaigns

The incumbent will:

1. Submit a work plan at the beginning of each month to the supervisor including the plans for activities and travel if there are any.
2. Compile a state micro plan for adolescent mobilization and the advocacy communication and social mobilization plan for the HPV routinization intensification and polio OBR campaigns.
3. Map the state-level and LGA-level stakeholders (education, women affairs, NGOs, faith-based, youth, etc) for community engagement, mobilization, mapping of adolescent-friendly platforms, networks, and enumeration of eligible girls in and out of school.
4. Provide technical oversight and coordinate the CSO partners for HPV community engagement and demand promotion.
5. Develop innovative IEC materials for the mobilization of Adolescent and Young People (AYP) platforms and community engagement.

if you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  Health Specialist HPV Adolescent and Social mobilization_Abuja TOR.pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

Advanced university degree in Social and Behavioral Change Communication, Public Health, or other social/behavioral sciences or community health area (Health promotion, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Health Education, bio-medical sciences, public health) or related area, with emphasis on participatory communication, communication planning, social mobilization, and participatory research.

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible work experience in public/adolescent health or community health and Social and Behavioral Change Communication, the planning and management of social communication programs, including immunization. A background in public health and strong management skills would be highly considered.

Knowledge of current developments in the fields of adolescent health & immunization communication theory, motivational psychology, adult learning theory, indigenous media, digital communication, community organization and participation, strategic communication planning, behavior analysis, formative research, and evaluation of communication interventions.

Knowledge of interdisciplinary approach in programme development and implementation in behavior and social change communication, social mobilization, and behavioral change.

Knowledge and experience to organize and implement training, including the development of curricula and methodologies.

Computer knowledge, skills, and practical experience, including internet navigation, network, telecommunications and various office applications

Temporary Assignment:

UNICEF staff members holding fixed-term, continuing, or permanent appointments who are considered to be on abolished post status may apply for this temporary position and, if selected with a start date before 31 December 2025, may take it up as a temporary assignment, in line with UNICEF guidance on separation due to the abolition of posts or staff reduction. They will retain their fixed-term entitlements but will not hold a lien to their abolished post. For other scenarios where a Temporary Assignment may be possible, please refer to  Additional guidance on IP to IP temporary assignments after completion of the full TOD.pdf (accessible to internal staff only).

The conditions of a temporary assignment, including relocation entitlements, will depend on the status of the staff member’s original appointment and may be limited in accordance with applicable UNICEF policies, procedures, and practices in force.

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…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (1)

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (1)

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact (1)

(4) Innovates and embraces change (1)

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

(6) Thinks and acts strategically (1)

(7) Works collaboratively with others (1)

(8) Nurtures, leads and manages people (1)

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

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.

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 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 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 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:

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

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.