Website UNICEF
JOB OPPORTUNITY
Consultancy on Risk communication, community engagement and accountability, RCCE Network Senior Officer
Job no: 552208
Contract type: Consultancy
Duty Station: Kathmandu
Level: Consultancy
Location: Nepal
Categories: Social and Behavior Change
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
For every child, an advocate
Risk communication, community engagement and accountability (RCCE) has been recognized as a central pillar of public health and humanitarian responses, essential to the successful delivery of both medical and non-medical interventions. Encompassing everything addressing misinformation and supporting community leadership, RCCE is a cross cutting priority that requires a broad range of humanitarian and public health partners to work together with governments, and affected communities.
These efforts must be coordinated and supported by a system that strengthens best practice, facilitates partnerships, increases efficiency, and provides systematic and quality support to governments and partners in their work to adopt community-centred approaches.
For public health and humanitarian responses to be effective and have long-term positive impacts, organizations active in emergencies and crises need to work collectively to ensure and sustain a community-centred approach at all levels of a response. This means facilitating access to life-saving information and essential services; proactively enabling the participation of affected communities in response and relief efforts; ensuring decisions at all levels within the humanitarian and public health architecture are taken and adapted according to community feedback, concerns, and priorities, as well as social insights; and supporting local responders to lead responses whenever possible. Such approaches help build trust with communities and local gatekeepers, increase the uptake of protective and health seeking behaviours, and ultimately ensure sustainability of humanitarian work.
A collective approach is essential: previous health emergencies and responses, particularly the COVID-19 response and recent Ebola outbreaks, have demonstrated beyond doubt that collective working leads to better results.
At the global level, the Collective Service for Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) was launched in June 2020. This is a collaborative partnership between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO), which leverages active support from the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), and key stakeholders from public health and humanitarian sectors. The partnership enables collaboration between a wide range of organisations to increase the scale and quality of RCCE approaches. It catalyses and accelerates expert driven, collaborative, consistent and localised RCCE support for governments and partners involved in the national response to emergencies and crises. In the Asia Pacific region the RCCE working group (RCCE WG) is currently co-chaired by UNICEF ROSA, IFRC and WHO.
How can you make a difference?
The position will be responsible for supporting, strengthening, and expanding the existing RCCE network in the region. Learning from National Working groups to strengthen a collective and well linked approach to Risk communication, Community Engagement and Accountability which promotes coordinated capacity building efforts, targeted guidance and collaborative technical support based on harmonised standard of practice, collective advocacy and rapid sharing of knowledge, innovations, and learnings. They will ensure collective community engagement priorities are reflected throughout the humanitarian/preparedness and response plan and programme cycle, including leading resource mobilisation. The network senior officer represents the platform in relevant coordination fora (e.g. Pillars coordination platforms, IMST, HCT and ICCG, or equivalent), reporting on the priority community engagement issues and advising on appropriate courses of action, to enable decision-making. In addition, the coordinator advocates for the integration of community engagement approaches within public health and humanitarian operations and facilitates the development of joint planning, fundraising and common advocacy. Preference for candidates to be based in South Asia or Asia/Pacific. Work remotely with some travel to facilitate events.
To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…
Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent degree) in behavioral science, social science, public health, international studies or equivalent practical experience in a related field is required. A bachelor degree might be accepted, with 2 additional years of experience.
A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in community engagement, behavioral science, RCCE, participation and accountability in epidemics and other humanitarian emergencies
Experience in project management
Demonstrable experience in coordinating multi-stakeholder working groups to achieve common goals in humanitarian settings, in developing and implementing community engagement strategies.
Experience in building consensus and brokering partnerships
Experience facilitating participatory approaches
Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team in a challenging and highly fluid environment, flexibility and the ability to handle constant change.
Experience with the UN or an international organization or NGO
Experience of working with UN Humanitarian Coordination Teams, clusters and health emergencies coordination systems
A good understanding of information management (including data flows, data protection and analysis), as well as qualitative and quantitative data collection methods
Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.
For every Child, you demonstrate…
UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).
To view our competency framework, please visit here.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 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.
Remarks:
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.
Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.
The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. The candidate may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid).
Download File ToR RCCE Coordinator_DA.docx
Deadline: 01 Jul 2022 Nepal Standard Time