Social Behavioral Change Lead
Management Sciences for Health
Remote
- Lead development of the campaign SBC/demand-creation strategy and workplan, aligned with the national malaria SBC strategy and the overall campaign plan of action.
- Define SBC objectives, priority audiences, key behaviours (net acceptance, hang-up, correct and consistent use, care and repair), and channel mix for each campaign phase (pre-distribution, distribution, post-distribution).
- Integrate SBC planning with microplanning, logistics, and training timelines to ensure messaging reaches communities ahead of the distribution, during distribution and post distribution for hanging and use of the ITNs received.
- Develop or adapt culturally appropriate messages and materials in coordination with the National Malaria Programme and technical SBC partners, ensuring consistency with national guidance.
- Oversee all pre-campaign sensitization and social mobilization activities, including community leader and stakeholder engagement, town announcements, religious and traditional structures, and school-based sensitization.
- Coordinate interpersonal communication, mass media, and digital/community channels (radio spots, jingles, town criers, community dialogues, house-to-house mobilisation) to build awareness and demand ahead of distribution.
- Manage recruitment, training, and deployment of community mobilisers, town announcers, and volunteers, ensuring they are equipped with accurate key messages and job aids.
- Coordinate with logistics and distribution teams to ensure hang-up demonstrations, on-site messaging, and net-care guidance are delivered at distribution points.
- Lead post-distribution SBC activities, including household follow-up messaging, reinforcement of correct use and care behaviours, and support to net-utilization checks.
- Establish and manage a rumour-tracking and community feedback mechanism, coordinating timely, evidence-based responses to misinformation or concerns about the campaign or the nets.
- Support the state in the planning and development of the post-campaign SBC activities, including, reinforcement of correct use and care behaviours, and support to net-utilization checks.
- Develop SBC monitoring indicators and tools, track reach, coverage, and quality of SBC activities against the campaign workplan.
- Conduct or commission spot checks and supervisory visits to verify quality of community mobilization and messaging delivery.
- Compile regular SBC progress reports and provide input to MSH campaign leadership, AMF, and the National Malaria Programme on risks, bottlenecks, and course corrections.
- Contribute SBC-related findings and lessons learned to the end-of-campaign report and to post-distribution and net-durability monitoring processes.
- Serve as MSH's primary SBC focal point within the campaign coordination structure, liaising with AMF, the National Malaria Programme, other implementing partners, and stakeholders (health workers, CSOs, religious and traditional leaders).
- Represent SBC workstream progress and needs in campaign coordination meetings and technical working group forums, including National Malaria Programme review meetings.
- Manage the SBC component of the MSH campaign budget, ensuring activities are delivered on time, within approved resources, and in line with AMF grant/funding requirements
- Bachelor's degree in public health, communication, social sciences, development studies, or a related field (Master's degree an advantage).
- At least 7+ years' experience designing and managing SBC, social mobilisation, health communication, or demand-creation programmes, ideally within malaria, ITN campaigns, or broader public health interventions.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating community-level mobilisation structures (community mobilisers, volunteers, traditional/religious leaders, schools) at scale.
- Strong understanding of SBC theory and practice (e.g., behaviour-change frameworks, audience segmentation, message and materials development).
- Experience working with, or within, national malaria programmes, ministries of health, or donor-funded campaigns (e.g., AMF, Global Fund, PMI) is highly desirable.
- Strong coordination, people-management, and stakeholder-engagement skills, with the ability to manage multiple partners and field teams simultaneously.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; fluency in the local working language(s) of the campaign area and in English (or the relevant working language of AMF/the National Malaria Programme).
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently to campaign states/districts and distribution sites, including to remote or hard-to-reach areas.
- Strong analytical and reporting skills, including comfort using monitoring data to inform real-time adjustments to SBC activities.
- Good verbal communication skills, tact and diplomacy are required to establish and develop sustainable working relationships at the highest level and a high level of trust with public/private organizations. Verbal communication skills are also used to negotiate activity plans and resolve activity implementation issues with counterparts, partners and team members. Excellent written communication skills are required to prepare regular and ad hoc reports, activity documentation and briefing papers.
- Excellent computer skills (MS Word, Excel and Power Point) are required for effectively operating in this position.
- Good computer skills are required to implement, analyze, and monitor, and manage activity goals, inputs, outcomes, and achievements.
Know Your Rights - Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (English)
Know Your Rights - Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (Spanish)