Social Behaviour Change Officer at Save the Children

ROLE PURPOSE

The SBC Officer will implement Health, Nutrition and adolescent sexual reproductive health (ASRH) SBC related interventions in Samburu. The SBC Officer will support in the designing of the overall SBC strategy and integrated umbrella campaign. S/he will ensure that all SBC activities support the achievement of health & nutrition targets in the project sites. The position will be responsible for the timely implementation of all SBC related activities based on state of the art SBC practices and capture lessons learned. The SBC officer will also take a leading role in coordination with all project staff and partners in the consortium to adhere to the SBC strategy and approach in their respective Counties.  S/he will work closely with project technical and management staff to generate stakeholder inputs, support in development of implementation plans and suitable knowledge management and measurement.

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Technical assistance and capacity building

• This staff will be the primary driver of developing the SBC approach, branding campaign platforms and working with all purpose leads (Governance, health & nutrition, WASH and Livelihoods) to ensure they are using state-of-the-art SBC approaches linked to the overall strategy and work with them on the development of SBC content (i.e. trigger videos, forum theatre, experiential fairs, radio diaries, experiential and participatory learning) as appropriate.
• Mobilize and engage with communities through the MOH structures including Community Health Services and other change agents in the project to address negative social determinants to health and nutrition.

Capacity Building, Mentorship and development

• Build the capacity of USAID Nawiri field staff to be able to support and oversee the community change agents’ engagement with the community members. Support in the identification and development of innovative approaches for changing the attitudes, perceptions, and practices around decision-making for health and nutrition outcomes, at multiple levels and scales (e.g. individual, HH, community, public and private sector institutions, etc.)
• Lead and motivate the community own resource persons (e.g. CHVs) to ensure effective project implementation. 

Representation and advocacy

• Represent NAWIRI in relevant internal and external fora as required.
• Represent Save the Children in relevant internal and external fora as appropriate
• Work closely with the Health and Nutrition team and any other project and operations teams in advocating for the survival of the child in line with the Country Strategic Plan and global strategy of Save the Children
• Work with consortium members to further Save the Children’s mission for children.

Assessment, monitoring, evaluation and documentation

• Participate in the annual work planning process in close collaboration with USAID, MOH and County health teams and the project staff
• Prepare narrative reports for the donor(s) and Save the Children as required, ensuring these are of a high quality and submitted for review in a timely manner. This will involve compilation of information from a range of project staff and MoH partners
• Facilitate appropriate dissemination of research findings and good practices documentations in the project internally and externally to donors, governments, consortium partners and other key actors for immediate and sustainable development of children in Kenya
• Escalate complaints and feedback of a serious nature to field manager/Technical Head and child safeguarding focal point.

Contract Duration: 8 months 

Number of Vacancies: 1

Work Location: Baragoi (Samburu)

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in social sciences or related field.
• Experience implementing SBC, ASRH, health promotion, social marketing, child health, nutrition or similar programs in Kenya. Knowledge of and ability to implement using the Human Centred Design (HCD) would be an advantage as experience in water, sanitation, and hygiene.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience required in health communication, public health promotion, health or behavioural sciences, or related field and demonstrated experience in community-based and inter-disciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated ability to implemented effective behaviour change campaigns, including community engagement and experiential activities in Kenya; prior experience working in Northern Kenya highly desired
• Demonstrated abilities and experience in SBC strategy and materials development, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of SBC interventions.
• Experience of working with local/national governments and capacity building of systems, partners and staff.
• Demonstrated problem solving skills, collaboration experience, creativity and willingness to innovate;
• Demonstrated ability to lead and work effectively in a team
• Familiarity and understanding of USAID & FFP policies and procedures, or those of other donors, or those of donor-funded projects or community-based projects;
• Outstanding report writing skills
• Fluent oral and strong analytical, written English communication skills is required
• Qualified candidates from Samburu County are encouraged to apply.