Social and Behaviour Change Assistant (Demand Generation)

UNICEF is an international humanitarian agency for children established by the United Nations Charter in 1946. The organization is present in more than 192 countries and works in the areas of health, education, water and sanitation, child protection, HIV and AIDS, nutrition, policy, and social protection. UNICEF operates in both humanitarian and development contexts, addressing the needs of children and women, particularly girls and the most vulnerable. UNICEF has been present in Cameroon since 1975. The organization works in the areas of education, water and sanitation, child protection, and HIV and AIDS. Meanwhile, its upstream efforts focus on advocacy and lobbying for budgetary conditions favorable to children and women, as well as on the formulation of policies to promote their growth and development. At the operational level, UNICEF Cameroon focuses on strengthening the capacity of stakeholders, service delivery, and the creation of partnerships to improve services for children and women. The Child Protection Program aims overall to ensure that children—particularly adolescent girls in vulnerable areas—are better protected against violence, exploitation, and harmful practices, including in the context of humanitarian emergencies. The program thus contributes to strengthening government and community child protection systems in order to identify and address violations of children’s rights more effectively. Particular attention is given to birth registration, the prevention of and response to physical and sexual violence, and the elimination of child marriage, based on evidence.

Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) 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 behavioural practices like immunization, breastfeeding, hygiene, and positive discipline. UNICEF SBC employs a mix of approaches including community engagement, strategic communication, applied behavioural science, service delivery improvement, systems strengthening and policy advocacy, and social mobilization to advance child rights, survival, development, protection and participation. SBC in Cameroon promotes nurturing care behaviours and practices as well as demand for ser-vices. SBC in the intervention program addresses harmful social norms and practices, along with attitudes and be¬haviours that perpetuate continued social acceptance of various forms of vio-lence against children. SBC interventions are integrated into program implementation activities using a diverse approach of service improvement, community engagement, social and behaviour change and applied behaviour science. To drive change for children, UNICEF in Cameroon is supporting the Government for the implementation of the national Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Strategy, focusing on demand generation for the effective and efficient use of available services, both in humanitarian and development contexts. The results achieved during the last three years by SBC on demand generation have considerably contributed to accelerating results for children in the domains of Child Protection, Education, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, Adolescent and Youth Engagement, HIV and Health, Nutrition, and climate. Strategies implemented in various sectoral domains have contributed to reaching and engaging caregivers, families, and communities for positive change for children. For the coming years, demand generation along with community engagement, behaviour insight and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), Social and Community Listening will reinforce UNICEF’s leadership as a credible voice for and with children. To maintain and reinforce the strategic positioning of UNICEF Cameroon as lead of demand generation, UNICEF Cameroon is seeking to recruit an exceptional Demand Generation United Nations Volunteer (UNV ) to spearhead UNICEF’s continued growth on SBC and reach the bold targets set by the organization and Cameroon Government for SBC response. The Demand Generation UNV will have proven skills to contribute to the implementation of the demand generation strategy to achieve results for children and promote child rights in communities for a lasting commitment of parents and families for every child's wellbeing. Specifically, this position will ensure Cameroon SBC strategy facilitates increased engagement and participation from targeted groups, as well as ensuring better use of available services to achieve results for children.

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the demand or XXXXX specialist or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will: a) Learn and support to design SBC strategies for demand generation: - Under the guidance of the SBC-UNICEF and Programme Section guidelines, the SBC UNV demand generation learns and supports the design, management, and facilitation of the implementation of Social and Behaviour Change Communication strategy and action plans targeting the general public and service providers through: (a) behavioral development/change at the individual/household level; (b) social mobilization of civil society organizations; and (c) increased community participation in development programs for positive social change. - Contribute to facilitating the exchange of experiences and provide technical assistance for the uptake of new SBC methods and knowledge primarily externally with Implementing Partners (IPs ) and communities. - Contribute to the development of mechanisms to strengthen systems for community engagement in humanitarian contexts. b) Support the production of Program Communication Materials: - In collaboration with partners, the SBC UNV Demand Generation supports the organization of formative research, development, pre-testing, and production of culturally relevant communication materials to ensure effective and efficient program delivery, including facilitating behavior change where appropriate. c) Learning and Capacity Building Support: Under the guidance of the SBC Section, the UN Volunteer will learn and support partners and Programme Section to - Develop materials and training activities to build capacity in participatory communication and behavior change. Identify, adapt, and organize SBC training materials and opportunities for staff and partners, including on new approaches such as behavioural analysis, behavioural insights, human-centered design, and social accountability mechanisms. - Use and adapt existing UNICEF learning resources, guidelines, and training materials to build SBC capacity among implementing partners and relevant government and non-government counterparts. - Adapt capacity development tools and activities for humanitarian programming with a focus on preparedness, response, and recovery. d) Support the coordination and collaboration with government and other partners: Support government counterparts on the development and appropriate use of social development communication aimed at both individual behavior change and collective action. Provide technical support as needed. e) Support to Monitoring and Evaluation of SBC activities: Monitor and evaluate program activities based on applied SBC research and frequent visits to project sites; Disseminate SBC research findings, exchange and share experiences, lessons learned, best practices, and new methods with government officials, program staff, and other UNICEF partners; Contribute to the preparation of reports to donors. f) Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building: Implement innovative practices and approaches and the latest technologies across multiple media and social/digital platforms and networks that are appropriate and available for the Cameroon context. g) Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: - Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); - Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; - Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities. - Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; - Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; - Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible. Results/expected outputs: As an active UNICEF team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support rendered to UNICEF and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: - Strengthened Community Engagement and Demand - Monthly report on the contribution to the design, management and facilitation of the implementation of Social and Behaviour Change Communication strategy and action plans. - Quarterly report on support to the organization of formative research, development, pre-testing, and production of culturally relevant communication materials to ensure effective and efficient program delivery, including facilitating behavior change where appropriate. - Quarterly reports on materials developed and training activities organized to build capacity in participatory communication and behavior change for partners and Programme Section staff. - Monthly reports of coordination meetings held with government counterparts, UN Agencies, and other IPs. - Final report on Monitoring and Evaluation activities; regular dissemination of SBC research findings, exchange and sharing of experiences, lessons learned, best practices, and new methods; and contribution to the preparation of reports to donors. - Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated, and documented in all activities throughout the assignment. - A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in, and capacities developed.