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, passion.

Niger is a landlocked Sahelian country of 24 million population predominantly by young and rural people (81.3%). Children aged 0-14 is 51% of the total population and 20% for those aged 15-24. Although poverty has declined, inequality persists, as the progress made has been lost owing to a combination of many vulnerabilities. While two thirds of the country is a desert, it also experiences high population growth, accelerating natural disasters, the effects of climate change and significant insecurity in the cross-border regions of the central Sahel.

The current country program of UNICEF in Niger is aligned to the UNSDCF and covers the period 2023 – 2027 with the aim at ensuring all girls and boys, from birth through adolescence, survive, thrive, learn, develop to their full potential, are protected from all forms of violence and exploitation, and thus contribute to positive social change in their communities.

UNICEF supports the delivery of a set of interventions targeting the most vulnerable children and adolescents, especially those affected by humanitarian emergencies and migration on the : (a) use of high-impact health and HIV interventions; (b) use of quality nutrition and food services and benefit from good nutrition practices; (c) adoption of good hygiene practices and access and use safe water and basic sanitation services; (d) access to quality education and training that ensures the acquisition of basic skills; (e) are protected from violence, exploitation, abuse and child marriage; and (f) benefit from social policies and social protection that facilitate their socioeconomic inclusion.

The delivery of all the above priority interventions is supported by a social and behavior change, and Community engagement strategy rolled out using innovative and gender transformative approaches to address cultural barriers,  harmful practices, as well as negative social and gender norms and accelerate key results for children in both development and multifaceted humanitarian context.

UNICEF Niger operates from the capital city, Niamey, as well as from 4 zonal offices, Agadez, Maradi, Diffa and Tahoua.

How can you make a difference?

The Chief, Social and Behaviour Change reports to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and direction. The Chief, SBC is responsible for developing a systematic, planned and evidence-based strategy and process for SBC as an integral part of programme development, planning and implementation. Through the use of appropriate social and behavioural science, as well as the empowerment and participation of stakeholders, communities, children, civil society partners and government counterparts, s/he promotes measurable behavioral and social change/mobilization. This subsequently contributes to the achievement of sustainable and concrete results on improving children’s rights, survival and well-being in the country.

Key functions, accountabilities and related duties/tasks

• Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC programs and outcomes in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC  
• Design, plan and implement SBC activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts  
• Support operationalization of SBC by advocating for SBC, mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and partnership building  
• Promote continuous learning, strengthening and scaling up in SBC for both development and humanitarian contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners. 

1. Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC programs and outcomes in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC. 
2. Design, plan and implement SBC activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts. 
3. Support operationalization of SBC by advocating for SBC, mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and partnership building. 

• Establish and provide strategic leadership for partnerships and resource mobilization opportunities to support SBC. Advocate for UNICEF priorities within these mechanisms.  
• Lead collaboration with national, regional and/or global partners to link and coordinate SBC approaches. 
• Mobilize financial resources for SBC within CPDs and other financial mechanisms. 
• Provide strategic leadership and vision for the SBC teams/staff and mobilize workforce and flexible external expertise to achieve SBC goals and objectives.  
• Oversee financial planning, budgeting, tracking and management of funds for SBC.
• Oversee the identification, vetting and recruitment of consultants, vendors and other technical expertise to support delivery of SBC activities. Manage and oversee their activities and deliverables. 
• Make viable recommendations to senior managers (internal and external) on inclusion of social and behavioural drivers in sectoral workplans and strategies. 
• Advocate among senior decision makers (internal and external) for inclusion of social and behavioural approaches in sectoral workplans, strategies and funding plans. 
• Contribute to the policy and agenda setting for SBC advocacy and investments within UNICEF office and among partners. 
• Lead and represent UNICEF interests among stakeholders and partners for the implementation of community engagement and SBC in humanitarian actions. 
• Represent UNICEF’s national SBC interests among partners and in national and international level fora. 
• Advocate internally and externally for integration of SBC in national systems, in the country programme, and in sectoral plans. 
• Initiate and provide strategic guidance for relationships with external partners, vendors and consultants for research and evidence generation.

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

• Lead on the development and/or use of tools, guidelines and training materials to build SBC capacity among country staff, implementing partners and other relevant government and non-government partners. 
• Identify capacity development needs of country offices and partners and oversee design and organization of SBC capacity development initiatives, including new approaches such as behavioural analysis, behavioural insights, human centred design, social listening, and social accountability mechanisms.   
• Promote and advocate for best practices and uptake of new SBC methods and knowledge internally and externally. 
• Oversee SBC capacity assessments. 
• Advocate with government counterparts for the uptake of SBC capacity building in national systems and plans. 
• Provide strategic leadership for partnership development with academia and learning institutions for the delivery of SBC capacity development activities.  
• Advocate for, establish and oversee mechanisms to strengthen systems for community engagement and SBC in humanitarian contexts. 
• Initiate and oversee capacity development activities for humanitarian programming with a focus on preparedness, response and recovery. 
• Secure resources for SBC capacity development activities. 

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

• An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, or another relevant technical field.  

• A minimum of eight (8) years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development programme planning, communication for development, public advocacy or another related area.  
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.  

• Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset. 
• Fluency in English and French is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language 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…

• Nurtures, leads and manages people (1);
• Builds and maintains partnerships (2);
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (2);
• Drive to achieve results for impact (2);
• Innovates and embraces change (2);
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2);
• Thinks and acts strategically (2);
• Works collaboratively with others (2).

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, time off for breastfeeding purposes, 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:

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 female candidates 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.

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

Please note that Niamey is a Category E non-Family duty station. The Rest and Recuperation Cycle is 8 weeks.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.