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UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, the right to Opportunity

The State of Palestine is one of UNICEF's most complex operating environments, encompassing humanitarian response, recovery, resilience, and development programming across Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. In Gaza, children and families continue to face the effects of conflict, displacement, damaged infrastructure, constrained access to essential services, and significant protection risks. UNICEF works with government counterparts, communities, civil society organizations, UN partners, and donors to deliver lifesaving assistance, restore and strengthen essential systems, and support longer-term recovery and resilience. Operating in a highly dynamic and challenging environment, UNICEF is committed to ensuring that children and families have access to critical services, protection, and opportunities to survive, develop, and thrive.

How can you make a difference?

As Social & Behavior Change Specialist, you will provide strategic and technical leadership, guidance and support for the design, implementation, coordination and monitoring of evidence-based social and behaviour change strategies across UNICEF programmes in Gaza. Working in a complex humanitarian and recovery context, you will lead efforts to strengthen community engagement, risk communication, accountability to affected populations, social mobilization and behavioural insights to support programme results for children and families. Through close collaboration with programme sections, government counterparts, civil society organizations, communities, and humanitarian and development partners, you will promote meaningful participation, trusted communication and positive social and behavioural outcomes that contribute to the protection, survival, development and well-being of children and women in Gaza.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities: 

1. Generate & Use Evidence: Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC programs and outcomes in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC.  

2. Design, plan and implement: Design, plan and implement SBC activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts.  

3. Advocate & Build Partnerships: Support operationalization of SBC by advocating for SBC, mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and partnership building.  

4. Build Capacities Promote continuous learning, strengthening, and scaling up in SBC for both development and humanitarian contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners. 

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here:  Social Behavioral Change Specialist Level 3_Gaza_ JD.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

Minimum requirements

• Education: Master or equivalent (Advanced University Degree) in Social Science,Political Science, International Relations and any other related fields.
• Work Experience:

• • • 1. At least 5 years of relevant work experience in Social and Behavior Change, social development programme planning, communication for development, risk communication, community engagement (RCCE), and any other related fields.
      2. Experience in Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE), including outbreak response, public health emergencies, and misinformation management is required.
      3. Experience designing and implementing SBC strategies and programmes in humanitarian and/or development settings is required.
      4. Experience working with communities, civil society organizations, government counterparts and implementing partners is required.
      5. Experience generating and using evidence, research, behavioral insights, social listening and community feedback mechanisms to inform programming is required.
      6. Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder engagement and partnerships across programme sectors is required.
      7. Experience in emergency and fragile contexts is required.

• Skills: Strong experience in Social Behaviour Change, Community Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Behavioural Insights, Risk Communication, and Strategic Partnerships is required.
• Language Requirements : Fluency in English is required.

Desirables

• Language: Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language
• Experience working in humanitarian emergencies, conflict-affected or highly fragile operating environments.
• Experience applying behavioral insights, social listening, human-centered design, digital engagement, and innovative communication approaches.
• Experience supporting multi-sectoral programming, particularly in Health, Nutrition, WASH, Child Protection and Education.
• Experience leading or coordinating SBC functions across multiple programme sectors.
• Knowledge of UNICEF programme policies, humanitarian principles, and the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs).

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children's data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidates willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel. Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants' bank account information.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF's Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.