United States of America: Nutrition Social and Behavior Change Advisor

Global Health Fellows Program

Technical Advisor II: Nutrition Social and Behavior Change Advisor

Nutrition and Environmental Health Division, Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development

Location: Arlington, VA

Assignment: Two year fellowship

GHFP-II-P6-229

The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP-II) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute in partnership with Global Health Corps, GlobeMed, Management Systems International and PYXERA Global. GHFP-II is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

GHFP-II’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID health programs by addressing the Agency’s immediate and emerging human capacity needs. The program seeks to accomplish this goal first through the recruitment, placement and support of diverse health professionals at the junior, mid and senior levels. These program participants include fellows, interns, corporate volunteers and Foreign Service National professionals. The program then provides substantial performance management and career development support to participants, including annual work planning assistance, and ensures that professional development opportunities are available.

Looking to the future, GHFP-II also seeks to establish a pool of highly-qualified global health professionals that will ensure the Agency’s ongoing technical leadership and effectiveness. This objective is supported by an extensive outreach program that brings global health opportunities and specialized career advice to a diverse range of interested individuals, with a particular focus on those underrepresented in the field of global health.

BACKGROUND:

The Nutrition Division, currently located within the Office of Health, Infectious Disease and Nutrition in the Bureau for Global Health (GH), will be reorganized in 2016 as the Nutrition and Environmental Health Division (NUT-EH) within the Office of Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in GH. The Nutrition Division provides global technical leadership to USAID Missions, host governments, partners and stakeholders to improve strategies, policies and programming on nutrition and food security. The Division works with various USAID operating units and partners in the implementation of nutrition and food security programs including the Feed the Future (FtF) Presidential Initiative and its successor, the Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS), the Global Health’s Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths, Title II Cooperating Sponsors/Private Voluntary Organizations, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief partners, and Child Survival and Health Grant Program partners.

Undernutrition contributes to 45% of under-5 deaths. Through GH and FtF/GFSS, USAID works to reduce stunting and other nutritional deficiencies, and to end preventable child and maternal deaths by supporting country-owned programs to address the root causes of undernutrition and so improve the future potential of millions of people. Nutrition programs are integral to health and food security and ensure that mothers and young children have access to nutritious diets and quality health services.

In 2014, USAID released its first ever Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy 2014-2025 to strengthen and scale up USAID’s efforts in reducing malnutrition globally, with a focus on the critical 1,000-day period from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday. The Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy provides the foundation for the Agency’s work in nutrition across development and humanitarian programs, and across health, water and sanitation, agriculture, and other nutrition-related programs. Strategic communications, including outreach as well as programmatic social and behavior change programming (SBC), and knowledge management are essential components to the strategy’s success. A series of accompanying technical implementation briefs have been developed, and more are in process. These briefs help guide country programs to use evidence-based approaches to improve nutrition outcomes for the most vulnerable populations.

As part of the roll-out of the Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy, and as a broader effort by the Nutrition Division, a strategic communications and knowledge management strategy will be developed to improve dissemination of new evidence and tools as well as to facilitate exchange of experiences and knowledge sharing between country programs.

INTRODUCTION:

The Nutrition SBC Advisor (Advisor) will work as part of the Nutrition Team, and will provide technical advice in the design, monitoring and evaluation of nutrition SBC activities in centrally-managed nutrition projects. The Advisor will provide technical assistance to the Nutrition Team and to USAID Missions on topics related to these areas of expertise, and will collaborate with other SBC technical staff in GH, the Bureau for Food Security (BFS), and in the Office of Food for Peace.

The Advisor will work closely with and receive technical guidance from the Nutrition Deputy Chief as his/her onsite manager.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Nutrition Social and Behavior Change Advisor will be responsible for:

1.Social and Behavior Change (70%):

• Providing technical advice for nutrition-related SBC for centrally-managed nutrition projects in GH, and activities managed in BFS and Food for Peace (FFP).
• Participating on design teams for new projects and providing technical advice in the implementation and evaluation of SBC activities.
• Collaborating in the monitoring of SBC activity performance as requested, including field-based visits to country-level projects.
• Supporting USAID Missions to develop and evaluate initiatives to build in-country capacity addressing nutrition SBC issues, including the ability to carry out longer-term integrated SBC strategies and activities.
• Facilitating the sharing of nutrition SBC materials and best practices across US Government (USG) programs in different countries, as well as through knowledge management “hub” and communications activities.
• Participating in developing recommendations for new areas of nutrition SBC research and programming, and promoting innovation in behavioral interventions and communication.
• Providing USAID country health teams and implementing partners with subject matter expertise and technical support to ensure best practices in social and behavioral interventions and communication campaigns.

2.Nutrition Communications (20%):

• Providing technical advice and support to Missions, facilitating cross-country learning related to nutrition social and behavior change communication programming.
• Collaborating with strategic communications experts in GH, BFS, FFP, and the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), to develop and coordinate nutrition-related communications for audiences within the Agency, USAID Field Missions, and external groups.
• Leading the preparation of technical communication pieces related to nutrition as it relates to public health, gender, poverty, private sector engagement, food security and nutrition policy, and presenting findings to relevant audiences.
• Working with the Strategic Communications Teams in GH and BFS to leverage fact sheets, briefers, talking points, and other materials to expand communication and advocacy materials and to improve the presence of nutrition information on the USAID website.
  

International and domestic travel approximately 25%.

TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (10%)

• Keeping abreast of literature and latest developments in the fields of communication platforms, channels and other tools; knowledge management systems; behavioral research with particular attention to determinants of individual behavior change and broader transformation of social norms; effectiveness of diverse behavioral approaches, including individual, small group, community and mass media interventions; and the state-of-the-art in design and evaluation of SBC activities.
• Deepening knowledge of latest developments related to USG nutrition policy and frameworks, especially as they relate to interagency collaboration.
• Participating in interagency and intra-agency working groups as appropriate to the scope of work.
• Participating in professional continuing education and skills training within the purview of GHFP-II.

REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s degree or higher in communications, nutrition communications, public health communications, social psychology, or other relevant behavioral/social science field.
• Minimum five (5) years’ experience in nutrition and/or public health programming, policy or research, with at least two (2) years’ experience in an international or resource-challenged setting.
• Substantial experience in social and behavior change programming required.
• Experience managing a comprehensive strategic behavior change program, including communications to advance an organization’s mission and goals required.
• Experience developing various web/print/social media or organizing events desired.
• Knowledge of nutrition and food security issues in developing countries preferred.
• Formal training in and demonstrated understanding of theories and frameworks relating to individual behavior change and broader social responses, the evidence base for social and behavioral/communications interventions and best practices, and familiarity with the current SBC literature is preferred.
• Hands-on experience designing, planning, implementing and evaluating behavioral interventions and/or communication campaigns is highly desirable.
• Experience with development international programming, and evaluation functions and procedures.
• Excellent analytical, written and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team, including cross-cultural teams.
• Ability to travel internationally, estimated to be about 25%.
• US citizenship or US permanent residency required.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:

Salary based on commensurate experience and earnings history. The Public Health Institute offers a comprehensive benefits package including professional development programs.

TO APPLY:

All applicants are required to apply for this position through GHFP-II’s online recruitment system at https://www.ghfp.net/recruitment/, which allows you to store your CV, profile and bio data form in our database. A separate cover letter describing your qualifications and experience, interest and familiarity with issues relating to this position, and how this position relates to your career goals is required for each application. All online applications must be submitted by December 16, 2016 by 5:00 pm Eastern time.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Employer.

TO APPLY:

All applicants are required to apply for this position through GHFP-II’s online recruitment system at https://www.ghfp.net/recruitment/, which allows you to store your CV, profile and bio data form in our database. A separate cover letter describing your qualifications and experience, interest and familiarity with issues relating to this position, and how this position relates to your career goals is required for each application. All online applications must be submitted by December 16, 2016 by 5:00 pm Eastern time.