SBC Health (Immunization) Consultant for six months, Port Sudan, Sudan (open to Sudan nationals)

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Hope

Sudan, surrounded by the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya and South Sudan, positioned next to East, West, South and North Africa, is surrounded by complex conflicts in an unpredictable, volatile and rapidly evolving region. Sudan is by size the third biggest country in Africa, with a diverse population of around 42 million people. Sudan’s children make up half of the total population, and the past two decades have seen their lives significantly improve: fewer girls and boys are dying before their fifth birthday, primary school attendance is increasing, immunization coverage is high and the country remains polio free. Still, millions of children continue to suffer from protracted conflict in Darfur, the Kordofans, and Blue Nile, from seasonal natural disasters, malnutrition and disease outbreaks, and from under-investment in basic social services. More than three million of Sudan’s school aged children are not in the classroom. UNICEF has been in Sudan since 1952 and continues with a presence in 12 of Sudan’s 18 states.

How can you make a difference? 

The objective of the consultancy is to provide necessary SBC technical support to the State and District level health promotion structures in areas of plan, implementing and monitoring and evaluating communication and social mobilization activities on vaccination campaigns and health emergencies in Sudan mainly polio outbreak response.

Scope of Work:

The war in Sudan is an extraordinary situation of unprecedented scale and severity with a global public health concern. In such emergency all health interventions along with vaccine demand efforts are drastically affected. This includes decline in routine immunization increase number of defaulters and zero dose children as well as immunization-based responses to outbreaks of high priority diseases like polio, Measles and Rubella.

The  SBC Health (Immunization) Consultant (hereafter: the consultant) will provide SBC technical support on immunization to the relevant SCO Health colleagues, the Field Office SBC Officers, to plan, implement and monitor SBC activities for immunization in Sudan.

Specific objectives include:

• Technical support to FMOH and SMOH, including:
• Coordination with LTA holders and other vendors for creative community strategy design and development of SBC interventions for Immunization campaigns and outbreak response activities
• Capacity building, developing of guidelines for training, micro plans and representing UNICEF in the meetings and after-action reviews for Immunization campaigns
• Planning and implementation of Immunization activities and outbreak response campaigns
• Support production of the materials and draft the dissemination plan for Immunization and Polio vaccination.
• Coordinate and support regular social listening and use of VASI tools for Immunization activities

Tasks/Milestone:

1. Technical support to FMOH and SMOH for capacity building, developing of guidelines for training, micro plans

2. Technical support to FMOH for the planning and implementation of Immunization activities and outbreak response campaigns

3. Coordinate the production of the materials and draft the dissemination plan for Immunization and Polio vaccination

4. Coordinate and support regular social listening and use of VASI tools for Immunization activities

5. Final consultancy report

Expected Deliverables/Outputs:

• SBC training manual for HP focusing on HP role in Immunization.
• Monthly State wise immunization reports
• Updated SBC immunization guidelines
• 2 Weekly coordination meetings with States
• SBC outbreak response plan
• SBC Budget for immunization outbreak response campaigns
• Coordination with partners and development of PDs
• Updated key messages on routine immunization and disease outbreaks in local languages
• Mass media plan and mass media monitoring plan
• Social media plan and report
• Mass Media report
• Regular IoGT and U-Report surveys
• 8 reports on U-Report surveys conducted from July-Dec
• Final detailed report on best practices, lesson learnt and challenges on Immunization
• Final consultancy report

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

• Bachelor’s degree in social/behavioral/communication science other fields with relevant certified trainings in behavioral and social communication.
• Minimum three years of professional experience in SBC or related technical area programme planning and management at the national or international levels, preferably in a developing country.
• Experience working in emergency settings is required.
• Relevant experience in SBCC and Community Engagement for immunization and social cohesion in any UN system organization is considered an asset.
• Ability to work independently and to meet deadlines.
• Fluent English and Arabic required. Sudanese Arabic capability is considered an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively work and communicate in a multicultural environment.
• Computer literacy and strong familiarity with MS Office package required. Strong competency for MS Excel is considered an asset.
• completed training on bsafe.

For every Child, you demonstrate… 

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA). 

To view our competency framework, please visit here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. All applications must be accompanied with financial offer in terms of fees and any other cost.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.