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.

For every child, the right to innovate 

UNICEF has been working in Cameroon since 1975 to allow women and children to fully realize their rights to development without restriction, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF provides financial and technical support to Cameroon across seven areas to fully realize the rights of women and children. These areas include Health, HIV/AIDS, Water-sanitation-Hygiene, nutrition, education, child protection, and social inclusion. UNICEF focuses mainly on children and the most vulnerable and excluded families. The task is immense but not insurmountable; it requires the energy of all stakeholders in Cameroon and out of Cameroon: also, women, men, youth and children, government, technical and financial partners, donors, civil society, the private sector, parliamentarians, communities. Everyone is invited to take part in the struggle to meet the challenges that lie ahead. It is together that we will act for Cameroon, a country that summarizes the challenges and hopes of Africa.

Link https://unicef.sharepoint.com/sites/CMR/SitePages/AboutUs.aspx

How can you make a difference? 

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Field Office in Bertoua and the technical supervision of the Chief of the Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Section, the SBC Officer (Temporary Appointment) will play a key role in advancing UNICEF Cameroon’s strategic focus on social norms transformation, demand generation, and the strengthening of community systems for action. The position is established to ensure that SBC programming in the East Region is fully aligned with the Country Programme’s integrated approach to achieving equitable and sustainable results for children, particularly in a context characterized by the coexistence of refugee and host communities, persistent poverty, and recurring public health and social challenges.

The assignment is justified by the need to reinforce community engagement and behaviorally informed programming in a region that continues to face low demand for essential services, harmful social practices, weak feedback and accountability mechanisms, and emerging climate-related vulnerabilities. The Officer will ensure that evidence-based and community-led SBC interventions are effectively implemented across all sectors—Health, Nutrition, WASH, Education, and Child Protection—and that they promote the active participation of communities, local authorities, and civil society actors in identifying and addressing barriers to behavior change.

Specifically, the SBC Officer will contribute to the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of comprehensive SBC strategies that promote equitable service uptake, strengthen local referral and social accountability systems, and integrate social norms transformation into ongoing programme delivery. The role will also focus on the operationalization of Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) mechanisms, including community feedback loops, infodemic management, and the documentation of lessons learned to improve responsiveness and adaptive programming.

Through participatory approaches, behavioral insights, and human-centered design, the SBC Officer will ensure that community perspectives and social evidence directly inform programmatic decisions and advocacy efforts at both decentralized and national levels. The position is therefore essential to bridging humanitarian and development programming, strengthening resilience, and ensuring that social and behavior change interventions contribute to sustainable, inclusive, and community-owned outcomes for children and families in the East Region.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:   SBC TA-Bertoua ToR Form-20.10.2025 (002).pdf

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

Minimum requirements:

• Education:

  A first university degree (Bachelor or equivalent) in one of the following fields is required: Social and Behavioural Sciences, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Public Health, Communication for Development, Education, or another relevant technical field.
  A first-level university degree combined with an additional two years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

• Work Experience:  A minimum of two years of progressively responsible professional experience in the design, implementation, and monitoring of Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) or Communication for Development (C4D) programmes in development and/or humanitarian contexts is required. Experience working in community engagement, demand generation, risk communication, and accountability to affected populations (AAP), particularly within the areas of health, nutrition, education, WASH, child protection, or gender equality, is highly desirable.
  Experience in field coordination, working with local governments, NGOs, and community-based organizations, as well as in fragile or complex humanitarian settings, will be considered an asset

 

• Language Requirements: 

Fluency in French and good knowledge of English is required for this position. Knowledge of one or more local languages spoken in the East Region is a strong asset and will facilitate effective community engagement and field coordination.

Desirables:

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts. (This criteria is essential as a desirable and should be included in all job postings.)

 

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

(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 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 is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable females or disabled 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.

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 UNICEF personnel 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.

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.

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.