Mission and objectives

UNICEF 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 efforts 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 programs 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 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.

Context

For over 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection, and development. The UNICEF South Asia Regional Office (ROSA) provides oversight and technical assistance to 8 countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). The region is complex and heterogeneous, comprising low-income and middle-high-income countries experiencing rapid urbanization, significant environmental challenges due to climate change, and recurrent humanitarian crises. Despite significant progress in fulfilling their rights to survival, development, and protection, children and adolescents continue to face multiple deprivations and undergo inadequate social and gender norms, negatively impacting their basic rights and full development. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these deprivations combined with an increased resurgence of traditional harmful practices, values, and beliefs. The ROSA Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) section provides guidance and technical support to countries both in development and emergency contexts, where knowledge, attitudes, practices, and social norms play a key role in the adoption by families and communities of life-saving and protective behaviors. This UNV assignment is part of the ROSA SBC section to support Knowledge Management. This position will support ROSA SBC’s focus to ensure greater understanding, participation, and meaningful engagement with our country offices (and the external partners) and will ensure timely updates of our Knowledge Management Hub, as well as the dissemination and sharing of the various knowledge products in the region to support capacity building, support the SBC team with relevant data needs, and support increasing SBC visibility.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the SBC Regional Advisor or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will:

 Manage the SAR-SBC hub: ensuring timely updates of information, resources, products, and technology, to ensure value-added knowledge sharing across the region, externally, and globally; ensure that insights from evidence and programming are available to the stakeholders for informing programmatic decisions.
 Develop content while seeking inputs from teams and support/work with the team members where needed (with content development, reviews, navigating the KM hub, and best practices to follow) to ensure a collaborative process.
 Develop knowledge management strategies, products, and methodologies for SBC’s visibility in South Asia.
 Assist and provide advice to the SBC ROSA team in the preparation of concept notes, knowledge products, and strategies for dissemination monitoring and evaluation.
 Support with building capacity across the region on Knowledge Management: plan regular training/catch-up sessions/information bulletins for knowledge management focal points on tips for storing, sharing, promoting, and managing information.
 Liaise with the working groups/focal points across the region/globe on learning, data management, and communications to enhance the visibility of SBC work on external platforms and encourage learning and co-creation on internal platforms.
 Work with regional/country communications focal points to enhance the visibility of SBC knowledge products.
 Proofread all knowledge products to ensure they align with UNICEF’s style book, branding guidelines, and policies.
 Keep the SBC section at ROSA updated on the latest developments in the KM component and the SAR-SBC hub.
 Develop best practices and case studies for ensuring quality continuity of the KM hub.
 Support with the digitization of offline resources.
 Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking an active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
 Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
 Provide annual and end-of-assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities.
 Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
 Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
 Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

As an active UNICEF ROSA team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly, and high-quality support rendered to UNICEF ROSA and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:

 Efficient quality coordination and reporting mechanisms are developed and rolled out to provide the “Scaling-up Internet of Good Things for Social and Behaviour Change in Eastern and Southern Africa and South Asia” cross-regional initiative to the optimum operational modalities to achieve its targets.
o Tools/mechanisms are developed in coordination with participating countries to allow optimum monitoring of countries’ plans.
o Target: 1) Monthly catch-up with participating countries; 2) Monthly progress report
o Tools/mechanisms are developed in coordination with HQ and the two participating regional offices to allow optimum coordination.
o Target: 1) Minutes of the monthly catch-up organized with HQ and ESA regional office; 2) Follow-up action points monitored with concerned stakeholders
o Knowledge products are generated and disseminated.
o Target: 1) At least 2 webinars organized to share good practices; 2) A compilation of good practices and lessons learned is developed; 3) Contribution to the monthly meeting on U-Report and IoGT updates
o Timely and Quality Reporting.
o Target: 100% of the reporting requirements are met

 Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated, and documented in all activities throughout the assignment.

A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in, and capacities developed