UNV SBC Specialist – Innovations and SBC

Mission and objectivesUNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. In all of its work, UNICEF takes a life-cycle based approach, recognizing the particular importance of early childhood development and adolescence. UNICEF programmes focus on the most disadvantaged children, including those living in fragile contexts, those with disabilities, those who are affected by rapid urbanization and those affected by environmental degradation. UNICEF was created with a distinct purpose in mind: to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. We advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future. We promote girls’ education – ensuring that they complete primary education as a minimum – because it benefits all children, both girls and boys. Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens, and better parents to their own children. We act so that all children are immunized against common childhood diseases, and are well nourished: no child should suffer or die from a preventable illness. We work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people because it is right to keep them from harm and enable them to protect others. We help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS to live their lives with dignity. We are UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.

ContextSocial and Behaviour Change (SBC) stands out in the Nepal Country Programme Action Plan 2023-27 with a critical role as a Change Strategy to catalyse the Cross-Sectorial integration to contribute to a Structural and integrated Social Change by supporting the Nepal Country Program (CPD/CPAP 2023-2027) goals on Nutrition, Health, Education, Child Protection, WASH and Social Protection and SDGs 2,3,4,5,6,10,11 & 16. SBC+ comprises Social and Behaviour Change, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP). The vision of UNICEF Nepal Country Office is to contribute to accelerating Social Change by building an SBC+ Sectoral system supported by three Strategic Pillars: 1. Data for Action (SBC+ Evidence Generation); 2. Capacity Building; 3. SBC+ system-supported Coordination. SBC+ aims as facilitate the programme integration, building the effective bridge between knowledge, behaviours, and impacts (including cost of inaction) to effectively contribute to the structural and social transformation agenda in Nepal, impacting public policies and institutional services, community-led structures, and individual behaviours. As Nepal transitions into a Developing Country, UNICEF will reinforce its role as a technical expert in SBC+ for the government. SBC+ will focus on sectoral and institutional support to strengthen systems by empowering communities, boosting participation, scaling community-based communication and foster supportive environments for social norms shift and positive behaviours, while advocating for SBC's budgeted plans, thereby contributing to sectoral outcomes, emergency responses, and resilience. Thus, Demand of SBC+ innovative capacities are ascent towards supporting humanitarian needs, increasing emergencies and accelerating the progress of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda

Task DescriptionWithin the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Chief SBC Nepal Country Office or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV SBC Associate – Innovations and SBC+ will: o Support SBC team to identify and implement innovative approaches, such as social innovation, digital SBC, Artificial Intelligence, etc. to engage with communities and contribute to SBC+ interventions and strategies with emphasis in Youth Engagement and Climate Action. o Work with the sectoral focal points to apply innovations to capture community needs and translate them into supporting visually appealing and user-friendly SBC+ tools and resources (including augmented reality and artificial intelligence multi-language outputs). o Document and disseminate good practices on climate change, youth empowerment, emergency preparation and response and resilience building, and produce engaging and transformative content across various platforms, including UNICEF's internal channels (and external facing (such as website and social media), newsletters, and more to ensure visibility of SBC’s work in the country and the regional and global levels, and maintaining consistency across different platforms. o Support SBC team in creating visually appealing and effective creative SBC+ and communication assets linked to the SDGS and the Development and Climate Agendas, such as publications, project brochures, infographics, factsheets, human-interest stories, short videos, podcasts in character and others for multiple audiences. o Support as need to reach programming, information sharing and communication goals. o Provide regular updates on the creative assets performance and make necessary adjustments to improve its effectiveness. o Assist in creating multi-language guidelines, templates, and training materials based on SBC+ vision and approaches in Nepal and beyond, in collaboration with the UNICEF Regional SBC team for South Asia. o Collaborate with SBC team in the ideation, conceptualization, design, and improvement of Risk Communication, Community Engagement, Accountability and Communication deliverables tailored for various UNICEF and SBC internal and external platforms and audiences, ensuring maximum visibility, functionality, and impact.

Competencies and values• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management

Living conditions and remarksThe UNV will be based in Kathmandu, Nepal and will be provided with a desk and workspace. Upon initiating the assignment, the UNV is expected to work five days a week (Monday to Friday) at UNICEF Premises located in UN House, Pulchowk. The applicable Volunteer Living Allowance is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included (health insurance for up to 3 dependents), as well as final repatriation (if applicable) and resettlement allowance for satisfactory service. Nepal is nestled in South Asia between India and the Tibetan region of China. Its stunning views of the Himalayan range attract people from around the world, particularly to locally called “Sagarmantha” or Mount Everest. Nepal can be divided into four distinct regions. From north to south they are: (a) the Himalayan range with an altitude of over 5,000 m including Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali), 8,848 m; (b) the hills at an altitude of 500 to 5,000 mt. with long terraced slopes leading to fertile valleys such as Kathmandu and Pokhara; (c) the Inner Terrai with its low river valleys; and (d) the fertile Outer Terai between 180 and 350m. The Himalayan range accounts for a third of the total land area whereas the Hills and the Terai occupy roughly 45 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively. Nepal moved from a monarchy to a parliamentary democracy in 1951. The country was strife with civil war in the 1990s and early 2000s and ultimately replaced the world’s last Hindu monarchy with a secular government in 2008. The 2018 new constitution shifted powers from the centralized parliament in Kathmandu to its seven provinces as the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The Nepalese people, also referred Nepali, are a diverse mix of over 125 ethnic groups with almost as many languages between them. They are deeply spiritual, and the practices of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and other indigenous and folk religions have left their mark on their customs and festivals. Nepal has four distinct seasons that vary according to its region. Spring is warm with rain showers and temperatures around 22°C, lasting from March to May. Summer is the monsoon season and lasts from June to August/September, with temperatures in the low 30’s°C in the day and about 20°C at night. Rain is rare and scattered outside of this season. Autumn is the season that attracts most tourists interested in trekking. September to November is cool with clear skies with average daily temperatures of 25°C and cool nights as low as 10°C. The winter months of December to February get cold and may have sub-zero °C temperatures, although maximum temperatures can rise to 20°C. The climate in Kathmandu is agreeable and people eat outside most of the year. Nepal, including Kathmandu is generally safe, including for families and solo female travellers. Crime is low; however petty theft is a risk like anywhere. The Nepalese are known for being friendly and helpful towards foreign travellers. While it is generally fine to walk at night, be aware of your surroundings and exercise caution when doing so, especially in urban areas.