Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. By transforming children’s lives now, we change the course of their future and ours. Please give monthly and support our mission. Save the Children is working to strengthen health systems and support maternal and child health in four northern states. Much work needs to be done for Nigeria to deliver its promises on Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 (which aim to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health) before 2015. Facts About Nigeria More than 173 Million people live there The average girl stays in school only until she’s 9 123 out of 1000 children die before their 5th birthday A parent earns an average of just $4 a day Our Work Save the Children has been working in Nigeria since 2001. We’re helping to improve health systems in northern Nigeria to delivery maternal, newborn, and child health services, including the revival of routine immunization.
- Job Type: Full Time
- Qualification: MBA/MSc/MA
- Experience: 5 years
- Location: Kano
- Job Field: NGO/Non-Profit
ROLE PURPOSE:
Under the guidance of the Chief of Party and in collaboration with the Community Mobilization and Engagement Manager, the SBC Coordinator will be responsible for providing overall technical assistance for the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of SBC strategies and strengthening the capacity of government partners and their frontline workers in SBC. S/he will ensure the utilization of evidence-based, best practices and SC’s global SBC Framework and Process to inform the development of effective SBC strategies, frameworks, tools, materials for the SBC interventions targeting communities with zero-dose and under-immunized children. S/he will support the Chief of Party to promote an innovative agenda in the delivery of quality primary health care with focus on improving quality and access to immunization services through strengthening systems for health, and creating an enabling policy and social environment through deep community engagement for collective action to address the social, cultural and behavioural barriers to immunization service uptake. The incumbent will ensure an increased and sustained demand for vaccine services by caregivers and communities with child populations at highest risk of being under-immunized or zero-dose
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Programme Quality
- Provide technical expertise to ensure programs are of high quality and comply with the country and SCI standards by contributing to the writing, reviewing and improving ToRs, tools, SoPs, guidelines and protocols.
- Provide technical direction to define evidence-informed SBC approaches and activities to influence shifts in community norms, attitudes and behaviours in support of vaccination demand and uptake by households and communities.
- Develop detailed implementation plans for SBC interventions, and ensure high quality and timeline delivery of deliverables against intended objectives, targets, and timelines.
- Strengthen the capacities and provide technical support on SBC to the Social and Behavioural Communication Officer and other project team members at the state level
- Provide oversight to the SBC program components, including undertaking field visits to partners to oversee implementation, provide on-site feedback and supportive supervision on required improvements, and generate field visit reports with timely and appropriate follow-up on action points.
- Provide mentoring and support to community mobilisation officers, partners and SC staff in SBC, encourage the development of peer networks and learning opportunities, including review meetings.
- Lead in documenting and disseminating programme results, including success stories and reports, case studies, briefing papers and presentations for internal and external audiences as relevant in close coordination with SCI Nigeria’s Knowledge Management team.
- Ensure that all materials produced have been posted to the Programme’s Sharepoint/Onenet site, SC workplace and external platforms in collaboration with the CO Media and Comms Team;
- Facilitate the sharing of experience and learning about the Programme across the country office, Region and SC movement and wider sector including publishing in journals and giving presentations/ attending conferences.
- Support systems for research, analysis and documentation that underpin evidence-based social and behaviour change at state level.
- In collaboration with the MEAL Coordinator put in place metrics and measurement tools to collect data and analyse the progress of project’s SBC activities.
- Actively contribute to the process of learning, evaluation, capturing and disseminating lessons from the programme for continuous improvement of programme performance and overall outcome
Social and Behaviour Change (SBC)
- Lead in the development and implementation of project-specific Social and Behaviour Change Strategy with tailored SBC approaches that will foster improved individual, interpersonal and community positive perceptions and care seeking for vaccination and health services.
- Apply formative research findings and community and stakeholder mapping data to co-create and produce evidence-based and contextualised content, including messages, scripts and materials on promoting the benefits of immunization over social barriers and misconceptions
- Engage community members and partners to co-create, adapt and pretest SBC packages (framework, tools, messages, and materials) on vaccine demand, acceptance and uptake for use by community members, leaders, and volunteers.
- In cooperation with the MEAL Team, provide tools and support to project staff for the effective monitoring and evaluation of social and behaviour change and community capacity strengthening efforts, enabling measurable outcomes and impact to be demonstrated;
- Develop and implement dissemination and monitoring plans for content, materials and messages, including mass and social media broadcasts, and community events and campaigns as part of an integrated SBC strategy, including mobilisation for outreach programmes.
- Lead in the development of SBC training materials and conduct training for relevant influencers and change agents such as community volunteers, traditional and religious leaders, and CBOs using participatory training techniques and adult learning principles.
- Support innovations aiming at increasing community participation, empowerment and ownership of quality immunization and health service delivery (Community Action Cycle, Partnership Defined Quality Scorecard).
- Lead in exploring platforms to improve positive social and gender norms to create an enabling environment for positive practices within households and at community levels. Platforms should include but not limited to forums for men and women, mother-to-mother support groups, cooperative societies, Community Development Associations, traditional birth attendants (TBAs) etc
Safeguarding
- Support safeguarding team in carrying out safeguarding risk assessment, develop and implement a mitigation plan when needed.
- Flag safeguarding concerns noticed during programme implementation as well as share good practices identified in the field.
- Ensure that all children and programme participants are provided with ongoing, age-appropriate verbal or written information in relevant languages about Save the Children’s Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct.
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
Essential
- Master’s degree in the social or behavioural sciences, public health, health education, health promotion, development studies, development economics, rural development/sociology or other related fields.
- Ability to conduct training using participatory techniques and adult learning principles.
- Minimum of 5 year-experience in design, development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of SBC strategies and materials as well as related training, and enhanced voice and accountability or similar roles, three of which should be at managerial level
- Experience in planning and implementing participatory learning and action approaches
- Experienced in pre-testing and concept testing SBC approaches and content;
- Strong organizational skills and ability to lead a stream of work;
- Ability to work independently as well as in cooperation with a multi-cultural team;
- Ability to think creatively and strategically;
- The proven capacity of management, leadership, and teamwork;
- Excellent communication skills and a willingness to be respectful, kind, sensitive, and empathize with all participants and their carers;
- Willingness and capacity to be flexible and accommodating when faced with difficult and frustrating working conditions;
- Demonstrable ability at report writing ;
- Prepared to live and work in an uncertain security environment;
- Proficient written and verbal communication skills;
- Ability and willingness to frequently travel and stay at the field;
- Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values, and principles;
- Relevant computer software skills (including, at a minimum, the standard applications in MS
- Office)
- Fluency in English language. Knowledge of local languages (Lagos-Yoruba and Kano-Hausa) will be an added advantage
- Experience of working in a multi-cultural environment
- Comply with the requirements of Save the Children’s commitment to protect children in accordance with the Child Safeguarding Policy.
