Specialist in Communication for Social and Behavioral (Nutrition Activity - World Bank) - DRC

The Organization:

Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA) World Health, a member of Corus International, has been present in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2000. Corus International is the parent of a family of world-class organizations working to deliver the holistic, lasting solutions needed to end extreme poverty once and for all. We are a global leader in international development, with 150 years of combined experience across our brands. Our nonprofit and for-profit subsidiaries include IMA World Health and its fundraising brand Corus World Health, Lutheran World Relief, CGA Technologies, Ground Up Investing, Farmers Market Brands, and Cadasta. In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Corus operates under IMA World Health. Our more than 400 employees around the globe are experts in their fields and dedicated to helping the world's most vulnerable people break the cycle of poverty and lead healthy lives.

At Corus we believe that good only grows stronger and we reflect that belief in our workplace culture. We value every employee's specialized area of expertise and nurture professional growth. We promote an engaging and supportive work environment, where employees feel enabled and driven to innovate, learn and collaborate. And because our subsidiaries often function as partners, our employees have the opportunity to work across our enterprise family.

Job Brief:

Position Summary: This position will be an employee of IMA World Health DRC. Actual hiring is contingent upon signed award and donor's approval. Congolese nationals are highly encouraged to apply.

The Specialist in Communication for Social and Behavioral Change (CSSC) is responsible for managing the social and behavioral change technical delivery and activities for a large-scale nutrition project designed to reduce chronic malnutrition among children under two and improve nutrition outcomes for pregnant and lactating women. Working through the existing health system, the project will strengthen household practices during the first 1,000 days, community-based nutrition and referral mechanisms, the management and quality of services in health zones and provincial structures, and national nutrition strategies and health-system initiatives. The 2-year project will focus on:

• improving access, utilization, and quality of community essential nutrition practices and health services;
• integrating nutrition into Maternal Neonatal and Child Health services; and
• empowering households by reinforcing community structures and implementing income-generating activities.

The competencies required to be successful in this position also include extensive theoretical and practical understanding of nutrition and communication in social behavioral change approach, and ability to manage technical direction across the project locations, with minimal management support. The position requires managing, contributing to, and supporting the technical implementation of focused activities and by providing technical inputs into SBC, nutrition, project workplans, budgets, technical guidelines, training curricula, implementation tools, reporting, and monitoring and evaluation in compliance with the requirements and regulations of the award. Duties include organizing and coordinating with the project team, Country Director, consultants, and headquarters or regional Technical Business Unit (TBU) staff.

Technical Delivery Services, Quality and Impact (60%)

• →Lead the design, implementation, and monitoring of the project's Social and Behavior Change (SBC) capacity-strengthening strategy in close collaboration with the senior management team, ensuring alignment with project objectives, local priorities, and sustainable capacity development goals.
• →Design and implement baseline assessments and surveys to generate evidence-based insights that inform the development and execution of SBC capacity-strengthening strategies across project's targeted health zones.
• →Lead the identification, assessment, and development of zonal partners, establishing tailored capacity-strengthening plans to enhance the effectiveness, quality, and sustainability of SBC interventions.
• →Support health zones in identifying, assessing, and prioritizing SBC capacity-strengthening needs, and facilitate the design, implementation, and monitoring of comprehensive capacity development workplans.
• →Conduct organizational and technical capacity assessments to identify strengths, performance gaps, and opportunities for improvement, and use findings to develop targeted capacity-strengthening and training plans.
• →Collaborate closely with health zone stakeholders to adapt and customize SBC training curricula, tools, and learning materials to address priority technical areas and support effective local capacity development outcomes.
• →Participate in forums that enhance sector knowledge to incorporate into technical activities on the project.
• →Identify and make use of grant opportunities that offer a return on investment (ROI) for the grantee and the donor.
• →Work in partnership with project team, IMA DRC team, PBU Great Lakes and Southern Africa (GLSA), headquarters/regional TBU staff.
• →Track progress of SBC program targets and deliverables, identifying issues/challenges that need to be addressed, and ensuring that technical reporting requirements are met in line with Project Management Manual as well as complementary tools, policies, and procedures.
• →Provide input into budgeting and forecasting exercises related to technical activities spending within the fiscal year.

Coordination and Collaboration: (25%)

• →Facilitate technical knowledge management learning exchanges and events for best SBC local capacity development practices in DRC and success stories.
• →Based on knowledge of the PBU and project portfolio, provide inputs into interdepartmental efforts such as quarterly portfolio reviews, program implementation and learning exchanges (PILE) and program reviews.

• →Manage documentation of IMA's technical capacities based on communication and SBC project achievements in coordination with project team and in collaboration with TBU team.

• →Contribute to the wider work of TBU through active participation in the achievement of the project deliverables, team meetings, TBU community of practice and the development and sharing of technical knowledge and resources.

Data Management, Documentation, and Reporting: (15%)

• →Contribute to defining and monitoring CCSC indicators used to measure the adoption of recommended nutritional practices.
• →Contribute to the quality data reported into the project reporting system, in collaboration with the M&E team.
• →Prepare high quality, timely technical content, including monthly and/or semi-annual performance reports, and other project documents under the guidance of the Project Manager, with support from PBU, headquarters, and TBU, as applicable.
• →Apply knowledge of donor rules and regulations to monitor for technical and M&E compliance for various actions during project start up, implementation, and close out.
• →Ensure data integrity and completeness by maintaining project documentation in electronic databases, as applicable.

• This position will not have any direct reports.

• Bachelor's in communication for health development, nutrition, public health, Social Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, medicine equivalent field or equivalent combination of education and experience; Master's desired.
• Must have at least 5 years of professional experience in the design, implementation, and evaluation of CCSC interventions, including 3 years in health or nutrition programs.
• Demonstrated proficient experience in approaches to interpersonal communication, social mobilization, community participation, and behavior change support.
• Have experience in promoting essential family practices, including ANJE, AME, complementary feeding, maternal nutrition, hygiene, and malnutrition prevention.
• Experience working with colleagues in a multicultural, multi-linguistic environment.
• Demonstrated experience managing terms and conditions as well as other international donors (e.g. World Bank, U.S. Department of State, FCDO).
• Proven track record of developing and maintaining strong working relationships with host country counterparts and NGO/FBO/CBO actors.
• Experience working with US-based and international partners and or local (NGO/FBO/CBOs, universities and other technical institutions).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Possess skills in developing communication plans and designing and adapting CCSC messages, tools, and materials.
• Be proficient in analyzing the social, cultural, and behavioral determinants that influence household nutritional practices.
• Have experience in supervising RECOs, GSAs, CACs, and CODESAs, as well as in organizing community dialogues, educational talks, cooking demonstrations, and home visits.
• Have experience using community radio stations, local media, and digital tools to promote nutrition-friendly behaviors.
• Be proficient in defining and monitoring CCSC indicators used to measure the adoption of recommended nutritional practices.
• Possess skills in training, coaching, mentoring, formative supervision, and quality assurance of SBC nutritional services.
• Mastery of the integrated approach to SBC nutritional interventions based on the household-community-ESS continuum.
• Strong working knowledge of international donor funding mechanisms (including grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements), preferred.
• Strong knowledge of international development, including nutrition and health, and best practices.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to communicate effectively and credibly, both verbally and in writing in French and English.
• Proficiency in Office 365 applications including Word, Excel, SharePoint, and PowerPoint. Experience with Salesforce a plus.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical delivery, coordination of/collaborate on program implementation across multiple teams (between departments, between headquarters and country offices, etc.).
• Experience working in humanitarian, refugee, or emergency settings preferred.

Physical and Mental Requirements

• Ability to and reside travel in project sites located in remote health zones (HZs) - Ilebo, Luebo, Bulape, Mweka, Ndjoko Mpunda, Mutena, and Kakenge - in DRC.
• The physical requirements that may be needed to execute responsibilities may include bending, standing, and walking, etc.
• The mental requirements that are essential to satisfactorily executing the responsibilities outlined in this job description include, but not limited to: learning new tasks, comprehending, and retaining information, completing tasks independently, effectively communicating verbally and in writing, demonstrating proficiency in using computer software to perform assigned tasks.