Nutrition and Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Lead Full-Time

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is hiring a Nutrition and Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Lead.

About CRS

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) supporting relief and development work in over 100 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs. CRS reestablished programming in Mozambique in 2017 and has been implementing both development and emergency programs, strengthening livelihoods, and supporting disaster and conflict-affected communities from response through recovery. A significant part of the CRS Mozambique portfolio is to respond to the insurgency in Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique. With funding from USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Latter-Day Saints Charities, the country program is partnering with Caritas Pemba to support conflict-affected families and IDPs in Cabo Delgado through the provision of emergency shelters, shelter repair kits, emergency latrine structures, borehole construction/rehabilitation, and WASH NFI kit distributions, emergency food rations and agriculture inputs.

About the program

USAID BHA is seeking applications for funding for resilience food security activities in Mozambique from 2021-2026. Drawing on current experience in Mozambique, as well as considerable experience managing and implementing BHA awards globally, CRS is preparing to respond to an anticipated FY22 BHA Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) Request for Applications (RFA) for Mozambique. The main goal of this expected five-year program is to Improve Nutrition Outcomes for Children under 2 Years of Age in Zambezia Livelihood Zone (LHZ) 5, Northern Highland with Mixed Cropping. Globally, CRS is the largest implementer of BHA development programming.

Job Summary

The Nutrition and Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Lead will oversee SBC activities’ design, planning, and implementation. S/he will be responsible for supporting SBC interventions across the activity by playing a lead role in guiding formative research; developing an SBC strategy and implementation plan; supporting the development of tools; and monitoring the progress of activities to ensure a consistent and coherent execution of interventions. Engaging communities is an important part of social and behavioral change as it ensures local knowledge and context is combined with international best practices for solutions that last. The Nutrition and SBC Lead will be responsible for the development and implementation of an integrated SBC strategy across project sectors and throughout the entire implementation period.  S/he will ensure that the SBC framework is developed on the basis of participants’ and stakeholders’ knowledge, attitudes and practices and that SBC approaches promote community participation and problem-solving and increase community capacities.

Job Responsibilities

• Oversee the design, planning and implementation of SBC activities to improve women’s nutrition even in the face of shocks as well as infant and young child feeding;
• Support SBC interventions across the activity by playing a lead role in guiding formative research; developing an SBC strategy and implementation plan; supporting the development of tools; and monitoring the progress of activities to ensure a consistent and coherent execution of interventions;
• Collaborate with RFSA team members to develop SBC strategies to improve nutrition outcomes and integrated with all project activities, drawing on proven approaches and results of studies, baseline data and formative research;
• Facilitate the process of engaging communities in a manner that builds on local knowledge and promotes community problem solving;
• Provide guidance on the selection of a behavior change framework to guide programming, with a specific focus on nutrition and maternal and child health programming;
• Lead the implementation of SBC interventions that engage people in a process of learning to solve problems or develop new skills;
• Ensure that SBC related-indicators focused on improving nutrition outcomes are covered in the RFSA M&E system;
• Contribute to the design of contextually appropriate and effective participant and stakeholder complaints and feedback mechanisms and provide support for their implementation;
• Lead SBC learning activities and document learning, working closely with the RFSA Strategic Learning Advisor;
• Produce multi-media communication resources for the project’s SBC strategy, including communication materials appropriate for participants with limited literacy;
• Represent CRS with key stakeholders in strategic activities such as coordination platforms, policy meetings and thematic committees / technical groups;
• Ensure the implementation of the RFSA Branding Strategy and Marking Plan in compliance with USAID regulations;
• Required/Desired Foreign Language: Strong preference for English and Portuguese;
• Travel Required: Ability to travel for up to 50% of time domestically, with possibility of occasional international travel.

Key Working Relationships

Supervisory: Nil

Internal

• Chief of Party, Nutrition Technical Lead, Monitoring and Evaluation Lead, Strategic Learning Advisor, Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion Lead, Other Technical Leads, All Departments of the Country Program, CRS HQ-based SBC Advisors and relevant Regional Technical Advisors.

External     

• Partner organizations, international and local NGOs, Research institutions.

Requirements

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• A master’s degree (or higher) in a social sciences discipline plus seven years of progressively increasing technical responsibility leading to a senior level of expertise in SBC; or a bachelor’s agree plus nine years of applicable experience;
• Demonstrated time and experience working on maternal and child health or nutrition programming;
• Familiarity with design of SBC approaches related to agriculture and livelihoods, WASH, gender, youth, and social cohesion;
• Demonstrated understanding of a range of SBC approaches that address change in social norms and structures as well as individual behaviors, and that go beyond messaging to catalyzing community action;
• Experience supervising and mentoring team members, preferably with an international NGO;
• Experience working with large donors, USAID/BHA (formerly Food for Peace) and/or USAID/FTF preferred;
• Demonstrated capacity to design formative research and lead the collection, analysis and use of data and information from a broad range of sources in order to ensure the development of effective SBC approaches, messages and tools throughout the project’s implementation;
• Demonstrated experience in leading participatory analytical processes and learning required;
• Demonstrated capacity in developing SBC strategies in contexts of low literacy and to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences using various adult learning methodologies;
• Prior experience working with MEAL development and integration in programming to capture SBC information to monitor change and outcomes;
• Experience with facilitation, capacity strengthening and partnership building through formal and informal training, with the capacity to empower staff through opportunities for professional growth and development;
• Familiarity with the local cultural practices, social networks, gender and age dynamics relevant to Zambezia Province a plus;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel and Outlook.

Personal Skills

• Cultural sensitivity, patience, flexibility and ability to work well in a multi-sectoral and multicultural team and to work closely, understand and support local partners;
• Strong management and interpersonal skills;
• Strong mentoring and facilitation skills;
• Flexibility to work both in a team and independently;
• Demonstrated personal accountability and driven to serve others;
• Ability to network and communicate with a wide range of stakeholders;
• Ability to work in a challenging and stressful environment with unexpected challenges;
• Detail-oriented and excellent time management skills with the ability to meet deadlines and deliver required results in a timely and quality manner;
• Analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking capacity and skills;
• Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff):

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

Strategic Mindset
Integrity
Accountability & Stewardship
Builds Relationships
Develops Talent
Continuous Improvement & Innovation
Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Note:  All positions requiring residence or frequent travel outside their home country must undergo and clear a pre-employment medical examination.

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Primary Location: SARO-Mozambique

Job: Technical Programming

Organization: Catholic Relief Services

Schedule: Regular

Shift: Standard

Job Type: Full-time

Day Job
Travel: Yes, 50 % of the Time

How to Apply

Email: crsmozhr@crs.org