Program Officer, Behavior Change Interventions - Kenya Office at Nutrition International

The Behavior Change Interventions (BCI) Officer will be responsible for ensuring timely implementation and prompt reporting of BCI related program activities at county level. He/she will work closely with SPO to plan and implement BCI in collaborating with counties and stakeholders at the community level.

Specifically, the officer will ensure evidence-based BCI approaches are adopted in project design and plans for all counties, coordinate implementation and monitoring of the Right Start BCI Strategy.

She/he will provide technical assistance and capacity building to local actors (health manager, health workers and community service providers) in the counties to implement activities in line with the BCI strategy. She/he will design/update training tools and support training-of-trainers (TOT) to cascade training at county level, establish cost effective partnerships with regional and community mass media entities, information dissemination and community nutrition education.

The officer will also revise/reproduce BCI materials and disseminate to counties, monitor coverage and document emerging communication/information needs from to inform response planning.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

• Provide technical leadership and support to counties during project planning to ensure evidence based comprehensive BCI approaches are incorporated in the overall program
• Develop and implement a capacity building plan to improve BCI skills of program personnel at county level
• Continuously review program strategic approaches and make viable recommendations/cost-effective solutions on community strategies, approaches and methods in the areas of participatory engagement, social mobilization and behavior change and on appropriate materials and media to reach target audiences
• Work with program teams to adopt the Anzilisha social, behavior change communication (SBCC) strategy, materials and tools to approaches related to interpersonal, small group, community mobilization and mass media interventions to promote utilization of services
• Provide effective coordination and technical support to county government counterparts, NI county coordinators and other partners in the counties and sub counties to implement and monitor outcomes of BCI activities
• Together with government counterparts, partners and program team, lead the identification, production and/or adaptation of related job aids, or promotional materials related to nutrition and health and ensure dissemination is done to appropriate service delivery points

Monitoring, Reporting and Documentation

• Monitor BCI program outputs and ensure timely, accurate, and appropriate reporting of activities in the monthly, quarterly and annual progress reports
• Participate in periodic NI assessments by providing feedback from collected information on NI interests that is not routinely collected using the Kenya Health Information System.
• Participate in preparation of narrative reports for donor reporting as required, ensuring these are of high quality and submitted for review in a timely manner. This will involve compilation of information from MOH partners and county coordinators by working closely with the SPOS and the

Monitoring & Reporting team

• Promote, guide and support documentation and dissemination of best practices among project teams and partners. This includes preparation of presentations, briefs and articles for presentations
• Participate in supervisory site visits to counties as may be required, documenting the process, output and action points for program improvement.

Coordination, Partnership and Communication

• Represent NI in relevant internal and external fora including national technical working group meetings Advocacy fora, Social Mobilization and Communication team meetings at national and county level (as appropriate)
• Represent NI in partner meetings at national and county level as delegated from time to time
• Foster partnerships with other stakeholders at county and national levels
• Promote NI visibility in every forum.

Supervisory Responsibilities: None

Education / Professional Designations / Experience:

• Master’s degree in one of the following or related fields: public health, health communications, behavioral sciences, health promotion, social sciences or community development with at least 5 years of relevant experience
• Knowledge on application of theories of behavior change in programming
• A good understanding of evidence based approaches in health communication
• Knowledge of current debates and recommended approaches in health communication
• Extensive experience designing, managing, and evaluating culturally-sensitive behavior change components of public health and/or nutrition programs
• Experienced in training needs assessment, learning module/curriculum development and facilitation skills
• Familiarity with the principles and approaches in community mobilization and the application of information technology in development programs and well versed with Kenya’s health system
• Experience in working in diverse cultural background
• Experience in community entry approaches and engagement, and implementing partners’ management coordination skills
• Demonstrated success in planning, facilitation, and management of events including stakeholder/audience consultation workshops, materials/product pretesting activities, focus groups, meetings, conferences, and program launches

Language Skills: Proficiency in English and Swahili Language

Travel Requirements: Official travel within Kenya and occasionally other countries to be authorized when need arises.

Other Specific Skill Requirements:

• Strong leadership and negotiating skills
• Excellent communication, presentation and reporting skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Discretion
• Integrity