Purpose of consultancy ย
The Division of Healthy Environments and Populations (DHP) of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO) is seeking a consultant to support the application of the Communication for Health (C4H) approach across technical areas and country contexts in the Region.
The consultant will work closely with technical officers from various Divisions, Units, and Country Offices to strengthen the strategic use of communication to advance public health outcomes. Responsibilities include planning and implementing storytelling-driven capacity-building activities, co-designing strategic communication interventions, mapping and engaging collaborators across sectors, producing multidisciplinary storytelling outputs, and developing practical communication guidance and tools.
This consultancy aims to build regional capacity in implementing innovative, low-cost, high-impact communication interventions aligned with the C4H Regional Action Framework and WHOโs vision of empowering populations to take control of their health.
Background ย
Recognizing the critical role of strategic, behavioral insights-driven communication in improving health and well-being, WHO developed the Communication for Health (C4H) approach to ensure that public health communication is evidence-informed, people-centered, and designed to shift knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. Building on the endorsement of the Regional Action Framework for Communication for Health by Member States at the 74th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, the Region is scaling up efforts to integrate C4H principles across programmes and technical areas.
C4H harnesses the power of storytelling, behavioural insights, and multi-source listening to engage communities, increase health literacy, and strengthen social and behavioural change. It emphasizes the importance of accessible, credible, audience-centered communication that motivates action and protects people against mis- and disinformation. Aligned with the WHOโs 14th General Programme of Work (GPW14) Outcome 2.3 (\"Populations empowered to control their health\") and Cross-Cutting Outcome 1 (\"Effective WHO health leadership through partnerships and communications\"), this work will contribute to the goal of leaving no one behind. It also supports the Western Pacific Regionโs \"Weaving Health\" priority to enhance effective communication for public health through strategic engagement with diverse audiences and collaborators.
In this context, WHO seeks to strengthen internal and country-level capacity to apply the C4H approach practically and creatively, enabling the design and delivery of communication interventions that are relatable, inclusive, cost-effective, and impactful across a range of public health priorities.
Deliverables
Under the supervision of the Coordinator (Health Promotion, including Risk Factors and C4H) and the guidance of the Director, DHP, the consultant will deliver the following outputs:
Output 1: Strengthen the practical application of Communication for Health (C4H) across technical areas in the Western Pacific Region
Deliverable 1.1: Plan and co-lead one knowledge exchange session on simplified C4H tools with WHO Regional Office Technical Divisions/Units and/or Country Offices to enhance capacity in applying the C4H approach and simplified tools across various, crosscutting public health programmes (Q3, 2025).
Deliverable 1.2: In collaboration with WHO Technical Divisions/Units and/or Country Offices, co-design at least one strategic and crosscutting communication interventions/campaigns using behavioural analysis tools such as EAST, COM-B, among others to map drivers and design interventions against them and applying the Regional Action Framework for C4H, with a M& E plan to monitor progress and assess outcome and impact. (Q4, 2025).
Output 2: Enhance strategic communications collaboration and ecosystem diversification
Deliverable 2.1: Map and engage at least two communication collaborators who are part of the target audiencesโincluding policymakers, civil society organizations, academic institutions, youths, and media partnersโto support the co-creation of narratives and diversify local communication ecosystems in support of at least one specific health objective (e.g., alcohol control) (Q4, 2025).
Deliverable 2.2: Develop a set of key messages as a result of the mapping and engagement of communication collaborators, each tied to a behavioural insight and clear call-to-action.ย
Output 3: Develop behavioural-insights driven materials support specific interventions or corporate communications
Deliverable 3.1: Support the development of at least two behaviourally-optimized communications assets that are pre-tested (2 video scripts, 5 social media card templates), outputs such as multimedia content, feature stories, social media products, digital campaigns, and other multiformat materials to advance WHO Regional and Country Office public health priorities and reinforce corporate communication efforts (Q4, 2025).
ย Output 4: Develop practical guidance to institutionalize strategic communication practices
Deliverable 4.1: Design and develop one C4H-aligned practical communication campaign guide, and facilitate its initial adoption and use by at least two WHO Technical Divisions/Units or Country Offices, including an executive-summary strategy (audience segments, behavioural objectives, communications activities, key messages, messengers, channels), embedded templates (briefing note, message-brief template, risk matrix) (Q3 and Q4, 2025).
Qualifications, experience, skills and languages
Educational Qualifications
Essential: ย University degree in communications, social sciences, public health or another relevant field.
Experience
Essential: At least five years of relevant experience in communication such as planning, content writing, production of evidence-based content for C4H and general communication activities at international level. At least four years of experience in behavioural-insights driven communications strategies, such as behavioural diagnosis, audience segmentation, message testing, storytelling content development, and evaluation of behavioral change. Experience in monitoring and evaluation of communication impact and behavioural change
Desirable:
Experience working on public health communications.
Experience in development and/or implementation of strategic communication strategy or framework.
Experience working in low-and middle-income settings.
Experience working for WHO or other UN agencies.
Skills/Knowledge:ย
Essential:
Excellent communication skills
Ability to translate behavioural-diagnosis findings into clear โif-thenโ message assets
Experience writing behaviourally-informed copy (e.g. using gain-framed vs. loss-framed appeals based on target segment)
Able to work in a multi-national and multi-cultural environment
Collaborative and positive attitude
Ability to deliver on deadline
Ability to draft appropriate content with minimal guidance
Ability to work in teams in a flexible way
Planning, management, monitoring sills
Ability to produce results, while respecting WHOโs professional, ethical and legal framework
Languages and level requiredย
Expert knowledge of English
Locationย
Off site: Home-based
The consultant will telework. The consultant will participate in DHP meetings, important meetings with WPRO staff and/or partners as assigned through video conferencing or other technologies.
Travelย
The consultant may be expected to undertake duty travel as part of this assignment.
Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):
Remuneration: Band level A, USD5,500 (monthly) ย ย ย
Expected duration of contract: Five months, July to December 2025
Additional Information:
โข ย ย This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
โข ย ย Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
โข ย ย A written test may be used as a form of screening.
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