Location: Hawassa, Ethiopia
Job Description
LOCATION: Dara Otilcho and Loka Abaya woredas of Sidama region
POST TYPE: Regular
Social Behavioural Change Officer _ Immunization Project
TEAM/PROGRAMME: Immunization project/ Program management
GRADE: 4A
Child Safeguarding:
Level 3: the role holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work in country programs; or are visiting country programs; ore because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff. |
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Activity Overview
Immunization is one of the key life-saving interventions the government of Ethiopia has scaled up to address under five mortalities. There are noteworthy successes through EPI. Ethiopia is certified for polio free since 2017 and maternal and neonatal tetanus are eliminated. Coverage from successive Ethiopian Demography and Health Survey revealed a positive rise in the coverage of vaccine antigens. The magnitude and trends of vaccination inequalities in Ethiopia persists by equity markers despite steady improvement in overall coverage. The major variation in coverage is geographic where there is high variation in coverage among different regions in the country. According to the Ethiopian mini-DHS 2019, there are over 1.2 million zero dose and under immunized children in Ethiopia. For over two decades, Save the Children has been supporting immunization program in Ethiopia to contribute for the reduction of child mortality from vaccine preventable diseases. Through the different projects that have been implemented over the years, Save the Children supported expansion of access for immunization services, supported demand generation for immunization in the community and has supported an enabling environment for equitable service delivery and improved financing for immunization. Currently, Save the Children is implementing BMGF and Pfizer funded Immunization Program in Ethiopia that supports equitable and sustainable access to life-saving immunization and essential healthcare by focusing on zero-dose and under immunized children for a new phase of the partnership with BMGF and Pfizer during the period of 2023-2027. Save the Children partnered with BMGF and Pfizer to create an innovative partnership to help reduce preventable deaths and illness in children under the age of five, from vaccine preventable diseases by combining Save the Children’s vast experience in supporting children and mothers’ health in communities around the world with BMGF and Pfizer research and expertise in partnership with Ministries of Health, local and academic partners. The program is expected to ensure equitable and sustainable access to life-saving immunization and essential healthcare, working together with local communities and partners and leveraging on Save the Children’s and BMGF and Pfizer joint expertise to reach zero-dose and under-immunized children. The BMGF and Pfizer funded immunization program is multi country and will be implemented in Ethiopia and Nigeria. This post is for the Program in Ethiopia to support the SBC interventions to generate demand for immunization in the community. Position Overview Save the Children is looking for highly qualified and motivated Social Behavior Change Coordinator for Immunization with high caliber to facilitate and support the SBC components of the BMGF and Pfizer funded Ethiopia immunization programme at the field level. S/he will be responsible to support, follow up, and ensure SBC interventions of the project are tailored, implemented, monitored, supervised and reported. S/he will be responsible to support assessments designed to understand specific socio cultural and gender related barriers for utilization of immunization service, and closely work with the Project team both at the Country Office and Field Offices. S/he will be providing technical assistance for government partners at Regional/Zonal/Woreda level on SBC related to immunization and to strengthen the capacity of field project staffs around SBC and demand generation for immunization. S/he will facilitate and support the development of SBC strategies that is aligned with government community mobilization strategies, to address those barriers to immunization service delivery and utilization. S/he will contribute to the development and review of IEC/BCC messages / materials in collaboration with Sr. Technical Specialist for SBC and other program staff and relevant stakeholders. S/he will facilitate and support implementation of SBC interventions to address individual, social, and environmental determinants (factors) that can affect utilization of immunization service. S/he will lead/facilitate and contribute to the documentation of lessons, evaluation/ documentation of the impact of BCC activities in collaboration with Sr. Technical Specialist SBC, project staff and other relevant stakeholders. S/he will facilitate and support and closely follow up on the implementation of new/adopted SBC approaches in the learning woredas of the project and document and share learnings for adoption/scale up. S/he will build and maintain strong working relationships with government and partner agencies in the implementation region/zones and woredas, on SBC on immunization though active engagement in the communication TWG and different taskforces and related platforms and promote adoption of evidence-based project SBC strategies and approaches to raise demand for vaccination in underserved communities with high zero dose and under vaccinated children. Will be responsible for the development of SBC plans, updates, case stories, regular progress update and reports. |
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SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Immunization Project Coordinator Staff directly reporting to this post: No |
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KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
SBC Technical Support
Evidence and Learning
Capacity Building, networking and representation
General
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SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)
Accountability:
Ambition:
Collaboration:
Creativity:
Integrity:
KEY COMPETENCIES (Indicative / Key Competencies) Technical competencies:
Generic Competencies
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QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
Education
Experience and Skills:
Attitudes:
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