Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Addis Ababa
Level: Consultancy
Location: Ethiopia
Categories: Health
Contract Duration: 9 Months
Working arrangement: Office Based
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Ethiopia continues to face persistent gaps in immunization demand and uptake, particularly among zero-dose and under-immunized populations, despite significant progress in expanding service availability. Structural barriers such as geographic inaccessibility, population mobility, and inequities in service delivery are compounded by behavioral and social factors including limited caregiver awareness on immunization schedule, low risk perception of vaccine-preventable diseases, gender-related constraints in decision-making, and varying levels of trust in health services.
In addition, emerging challenges such as misinformation, rumors, and concerns related to vaccine safety and adverse events have affected public confidence, especially during new vaccine introductions and outbreak response campaigns (e.g., COVID-19, HPV). Frontline health workers also face constraints in interpersonal communication skills and community engagement capacity, affecting their ability to effectively address hesitancy and promote positive health behaviors. These challenges highlight the critical need for a coordinated, evidence-based social and behavior change (SBC) approach that strengthens community engagement, enhances social listening systems, and leverages behavioral insights to sustainably increase demand, acceptance, and equitable uptake of routine and new vaccines across Ethiopia.
To provide comprehensive technical support for demand promotion across routine immunization, new vaccine introductions, and vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) outbreak response campaigns, while ensuring systematic monitoring, documentation, and reporting of evidence-based demand generation interventions, and serving as a key liaison and coordination focal point with the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant partners.
The overall objective of this consultancy is to promote public acceptance, uptake and demand of routine immunization and newly introduced vaccines in Ethiopia at the national level. The consultant is expected to understand key drivers of immunization demand among caregivers, barriers and enablers among zero-dose and under-immunized communities, and among frontline health workers to successfully promote and sustain the desired behaviour based on evidence.
With technical support and guidance of the SBC Specialist (immunization & PHE), Health Section of UNICEF Ethiopia, the consultant will be responsible for the coordination of national communication technical working group to accelerate demand generation approaches and strategies to promote evidence-based social and behavior change interventions including advocacy, community engagement, community empowerment, social listening, monitoring and evaluation for the routine immunization, new vaccine introduction and VPD outbreak response vaccination campaigns in Ethiopia.
The consultant is expected to provide technical support to following activities:
• Provide technical support to the Immunization Service Desk (ISD) of MOH and the Communication Technical Working Group (C‑TWG) to design, coordinate, and implement demand promotion strategies aligned with Gavi 6.0, focusing on zero-dose and under-immunized children, routine immunization, new vaccine introductions, and SIAs.
• Coordinate and liaise with ISD/MOH, UNICEF, and partner agencies to organize and facilitate C‑TWG meetings (monthly and ad hoc), including preparation of agendas, documentation of minutes, and follow-up on agreed actions.
• Support the development, operationalization, and monitoring of national immunization demand promotion strategies, integrating evidence-based approaches such as behavioral insights and human-centered design (HCD) approaches.
• Ensure C‑TWG supports the planning and implementation of activities that promote vaccine acceptance and uptake under Gavi 6.0 strategic period, including for newly introduced vaccines.
• Provide technical support to ISD/MOH and C‑TWG on the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of demand promotion and risk communication interventions, including reaching zero-dose and under-immunized communities.
• Facilitate the development, review, pre-testing, and endorsement of multi-channel communication materials at the federal level and support subnational teams in contextualization and translation into local languages.
• Coordinate with government and media partners to strengthen social listening and public opinion monitoring systems, including tracking rumors, misinformation, AEFI-related concerns, and vaccine-related media coverage (e.g., COVID-19, HPV, polio, routine vaccines), in collaboration with EPHI, EFDA, and other stakeholders.
• Support the scale-up of innovative and evidence-based demand strategies, including digital engagement, HCD interventions, and social listening approaches, ensuring alignment and synergy among partners through the C‑TWG.
• Strengthen community engagement systems by working with HEWs, VHLs, community leaders, CSOs, and other local community structures to improve vaccine confidence, uptake, and equitable reach.
• Provide capacity-building support for frontline health workers, social mobilizers, media professionals, and hotline operators on interpersonal communication, demand generation, and risk/crisis communication.
• Facilitate and participate in monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities, including behavioral and social drivers (BeSD) studies, rapid assessments, social investigations, and field visits in collaboration with MOH/RHB and UNICEF.
• Ensure that all SBC approaches are inclusive, participatory, and gender-transformative, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
• Document and disseminate best practices and human-interest stories highlighting community experiences and voices related to immunization in close coordination with UNICEF teams.
• Prepare and submit required technical reports and deliverables to UNICEF and MOH in line with agreed work plans.
Note: At the beginning of the assignment, the consultant is expected to discuss and agree with UNICEF and ISD team of MOH on work plan schedules for the assignment period.
If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: Terms of Reference TMC0005130.pdf
• Education:
Advance university degree in social science, public health, sociology, anthropology, psychology, communication for development/Social and behavioural change communication.
• Work Experience:
• Minimum of seven years of relevant SBC/demand promotion experiences in immunization or health sectors at national/federal level.
• In-depth understanding of Ethiopian communities and SBC/demand promotion for immunization key stakeholders at national/federal level.
• Capacity in the designing, planning, monitoring, evaluation, training and skills-transfer of participatory governance in demand promotion for immunization interventions.
• Language Requirements:
• Excellent communication skills with fluent English and Amharic languages.
• Knowledge/Expertise/Skills:
• Proven ability to work effectively with government/MOH and multi-stakeholders.
• Experience in generating evidence around social and behaviors around immunization practices.
• Capacity in documentation of best practices and lessons learned around demand promotion for immunization interventions.
• Application of Human Centered Design or Behavioral Insights for immunization.
• Experience in SBC evidence generation including facilitation of Behavior and Social Drivers (BeSD) of vaccination in different context.
• Experience in developing, implementing, and monitoring on demand aspect of new vaccine introduction.
• Desirables:
• Experience in addressing service delivery, gender and system level barriers around immunization uptake.
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UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. 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.
Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):
Applicants are requested to submit one writing sample (max 10 pages) demonstrating relevant experience in the development of technical and analytical documents. The sample should meet the following criteria: be co-authored by the applicant, be relevant to the assignment such as BeSD of immunization assessment, align with the deliverables such as technical guidance, analysis or demand for immunization plan of action document.
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