Programme Associate - Social and Behaviour Change

Overview

Support the implementation of Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) interventions for community-based Early Childhood Development (ECD), with a focus on parenting, caregiver engagement, maternal and child nutrition, and promotion of healthy child development.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the implementation of ECD and nurturing care interventions.
• Facilitate parenting groups, caregiver learning sessions, community dialogues, and home-based engagement activities.
• Promote positive parenting, responsive caregiving, early stimulation, learning through play and child development.
• Support the adaptation and field testing of ECD counselling materials.
• Strengthen community awareness of child development milestones and referral pathways.
• Promote caregiver participation in the design and improvement of ECD activities.
• Support community-based SBC activities promoting maternal nutrition, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, responsive feeding and dietary diversity.
• Assist community health workers and peer facilitators in delivering participatory counselling and caregiver support.
• Facilitate breastfeeding support groups and engage family members in nutrition and healthy habits promotion.
• Contribute to nutrition-ECD activities linked to nutrition screening, antenatal care and vaccination campaigns.
• Support implementation of SBC activities that contribute to a unified "Healthy Habits" strategy.
• Encourage equitable caregiving practices and greater involvement of fathers and male caregivers.
• Support the safe and inclusive participation of adolescents and vulnerable groups.
• Promote disability-inclusive and gender-responsive approaches within SBC and ECD interventions.
• Support orientation, training and mentoring of community health workers, peer educators and partner staff.
• Participate in supportive supervision visits and field monitoring activities.
• Promote the consistent use of approved communication tools, job aids and monitoring instruments.
• Facilitate peer-learning and reflection sessions.
• Maintain activity plans and support routine monitoring of outreach sessions.
• Assist with collection and analysis of ECD, inclusion and community feedback data.
• Conduct simple knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) assessments and qualitative listening exercises.
• Document behavioural barriers, community insights, lessons learned and promising practices.
• Develop human-interest stories and positive parenting case studies.

Required Experience

• A minimum of two years of progressively responsible experience relevant professional, internship or sustained volunteer experience in ECD, parenting, community engagement, SBC, health promotion, nutrition promotion, education or a closely related area.
• Experience facilitating participatory sessions with caregivers, young people or community groups is desirable.
• Experience supporting community-based programmes, field monitoring or frontline-worker capacity strengthening is an asset.
• Experience in humanitarian, refugee or fragile settings is desirable.
• Experience working with UN agencies, civil-society organisations or public or community systems is an asset.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in communication for development, psychology, social and behaviour change, sociology, public health and nutrition or community development.

Other Details