Social & Behaviour Change/ Community Engagement Officer

Reports to: Social and Behaviour Change Advisor

Location: Kakamega and Vihiga Counties

Duration: 8 Months

Background:

Breakthrough ACTION is a cooperative agreement funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to lead its social and behavior change programming around the world. Led by the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP), Breakthrough ACTION partners include Save the Children, ideas42, Think Place, Camber Collective, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), and Viamo.

CCP is seeking a Social and Behavior Change / Community Engagement Officers (SBC/CE) for its Breakthrough ACTION Kenya malaria project. The project is designed to support the implementation of high-quality social behavior change activities that influence positive behavior to protect at-risk populations from preventable malaria morbidity and mortality. The project also strengthens the institutional and technical capacity of the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) to design, implement, evaluate, and coordinate effective social and behavior change (SBC) programs.

Summary

The SBC/CE Officer will lead the implementation of activities and provide technical support at County and SubCounty level. S/he will lead in the process of planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of all Breakthrough ACTION Kenya SBC and community engagement activities for malaria. S/he will be required to support other projects within the Breakthrough ACTION Kenya portfolio where necessary.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

In addition to the overall technical inputs to the project as described above, specific duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned:

Leadership and Innovation

• Lead implementation of social behavior change and community engagement activities at county and sub-county levels in collaboration with the SC/CHMTs, facilities, community health volunteers, community groups and other relevant partners.

• Support community capacity strengthening activities, advocacy with religious, local administration and other community leaders to create an enabling environment for practice of healthy behaviors as applicable.

● Support training and supervision of SC/CHMTs, Community Volunteers and other social/community engagement agents working supporting the Breakthrough ACTION Kenya project.

● Provide technical guidance and identify unique opportunities and major events that can be leveraged for promoting appropriate health care seeking behaviors while addressing other behavioral determinants of health for healthcare providers.

● Participate in initiatives that apply human-centered design (HCD), behavioral economics (BE) and other methods for deepening stakeholder involvement, questioning assumptions, generating new insights, and testing new approaches to provider behavior change.

Monitoring and Learning

• Support collection, collation and reporting project related data as required.

• Work collaboratively with the CHMTs to support to improve health service provision via supportive supervision, mentoring and coaching.

• Identify issues affecting providers’ motivation, opportunity, and ability to practice the above behaviours and develop tailored support plans in collaboration with the relevant authorities.

• Develop activity budgets and travel plans and work closely with BA Kenya national office and field staff to ensure sound stewardship of project funds, security of staff, and compliance with donor (USAID) regulations.

• Prepare and submit timely and quality monthly and activity reports, including field notes and success stories, to effectively capture lessons learnt in the project implementation areas.

• Other duties as identified and assigned by supervisor and/or project management leads.

Representation and Collaboration

• Assist with the establishment and maintenance of effective relationships at the county level with health partners, implementing partners, CHMTs, SCHMTs and other key stakeholders, with guidance from and in collaboration with the EC Advisor, SBC Advisor and Breakthrough ACTION Kenya Chief of Party.

• Organize meetings with religious, traditional and community leaders, village heads, community groups, women’s groups, trade associations and other relevant community segments as required to mobilize for practice of malaria behaviors, as applicable.

Minimum Qualifications & Competencies

● Bachelor's Degree or Higher National Diploma in Public Health, Sociology, Anthropology, Population Studies or any other health related discipline with a minimum of five years of work experience in public health programme development and implementation

● Experience with Quality Improvement, Social and Behaviour Change, and Human Centred Design, especially programs with health providers as target audiences is highly desirable

● Fluency in written and spoken English required.

● Demonstrated ability to prioritize and meet deadlines in a high demand and rapidly evolving work environment.

● Proven teamwork and facilitation skills

● Excellent writing and oral communication skills

● Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.

● Proficiency in MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc)

● Familiarity with Western and Nyanza regions (desired)

To apply

● Send an email to ccpke-info@jh.edu

● The subject line of your email should include the job title and code

● Attach your CV and a list of the contact information (email addresses and phone numbers) of three references (including your most recent employer)

● Applications should be addressed to the following address: The Hiring Manager/Team Lead Breakthrough ACTION Kenya

● The deadline for submission of applications is Monday, April 8th,2024 at 5 pm. However, due to the urgency of some of these positions, interview will be arranged on a rolling basis and Breakthrough ACTION Kenya may offer some posts before the closing date.

● Please note that only qualified and shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

● These positions are contingent on funding from USAID and as such Breakthrough ACTION has the right to cancel this notice without applicants' consent.