Social Behavior Change Communications Expert At SoCha LLC

Social Behavior Change Communications Expert

Consultant to Manage the SBCC Campaign, Qualitative Behavioral Research and Campaign Monitoring & Evaluation

Company Profile: SoCha (a word created by combining the terms Social and Change) is an independent Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (ME&L) firm that provides bespoke solutions to social challenges. We are a veteran-owned small business, registered in the United States and headquartered in Mauritius, which is an IT hub for Southern Hemisphere international organizations. SoCha is structured to be nimble and flexible, where we can rapidly respond to evaluative and analytical requests globally and have a well-established network across Africa and Asia. Since our inception in 2010, we have grown from a consortium of globally recognized experts who specialize in evaluating the effectiveness of development assistance, to a full-fledged ME&L services firm that specializes in advancing innovative methodologies and changing the way donors find solutions to social problems.

Background:

SoCha is USAID/Kenya East Africa’s Implementing Partner for the Mission Support for the Journey to Self-Reliance Pivot (MSP) Activity. The MSP Activity supports USAID/Kenya and East Africa (KEA) staff and stakeholders to be more efficient, effective, transparent and skilled in achieving development outcomes through the use of evidence, performance management techniques, and Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) practices that enable KEA’s journey to self-reliance.

Scope of Work:

The MSP program, implemented by SoCha LLC, seeks the service of an experienced Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) expert to provide overall leadership and management of the tasks below and to help actualize the USAID, Nairobi Metropolitan Services, and Ministry of Health strategic approach to COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement (RCCE).

Roles and Responsibilities:

The consultant will execute the tasks as listed below:

Provide strategic oversight for USAID/KEA investments in COVID-19 risk prevention, behavioral research, communications, community engagement, campaign monitoring, and vaccine promotion.
Provide leadership and technical assistance to USAID/KEA stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, Nairobi Metropolitan Services, and other USAID implementing partners to design and implement high impact and appropriate SBCC interventions through community engagement and mass media.
Co-manage an external firm, along with MSP’s Communications Specialist, to deliver an SBCC campaign that drives COVID-19 risk behavior change based on findings from baseline study and other relevant research, e.g., priority messaging/messengers and modes of communication known to be effective with our target audience.
Collaborate with the firm and partners as they implement the SBCC campaign in select sub counties, regular monitoring to course correct, and periodic reporting in line with the national COVID-19 communications and community engagement strategy.
Coordinate with the SBCC firm and an M&E and research partner to ensure that the baseline qualitative behavioral study, related M&E framework, performance monitoring plan, and other research tools meet SBCC campaign needs.
Support MOH/donor coordination for USAID and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their capacity as lead partners for M&E.
Gain a landscape understanding of what activities are happening with other partners, specifically USAID, WHO, and UNICEF.
Ensure reporting and awareness of USAID activities across MOH and all relevant RCCE forums.
Develop relationships, participate in and advise on coordination with MOH across health promotion, M&E, vaccine and community engagement departments managing related COVID-19 work.
Support the MOH and USAID in its knowledge management of COVID-19 communications by submitting relevant content from the SBCC to be relayed to the official social pages and websites.

The consultant will manage and coordinate with the independent firm(s) implementing the SBCC campaign and qualitative behavioral research work.:

Required skills:

Master’s degree in communication or related field with experience in designing and implementing SBCC campaigns, especially within the health sector;
Proven experience in stakeholder and community engagement and working with the Ministry of Health with ability to leverage on established relationships/contacts to enhance coordination and collaboration between USAID and MoH; and
Experience in SBCC and demand generation, strategy, campaign and brand development; digital and social media; use of entertainment education and innovative ways of engaging targeted communities.

Deliverables:

The following are the expected deliverables:

SBCC Campaign Development and Execution
Plan and facilitate kickoff meetings and provide records for all meetings and overall work plan to support both SBCC campaign and qualitative research.
Provide leadership in the design of an SBCC campaign based on Captain Tumaini and identify influencers and community leaders.
Provide supervision on development of the SBCC implementation plan to include all components necessary for execution.
Collaborate with the communications firm to develop a Digital & Content Calendar to ensure comprehensive digital content pushing.
Collaboration, Learning and Adapting
Coordinate with USAID, USAID’s Development Outreach and Communications Project (implemented by MSI) and other USAID implementing partners to identify areas of collaboration with USAID IPs at county level.
Coordinate with MSP, a Council of Governors Team of Experts (hosted at MSP), and the USAID/KEA Health, Population, and Nutrition (HPN) office to identify areas of synergy, utilizing communication efforts to improve outcomes of vaccination drives.
Identify and report on CLA best practices implemented during the execution of the campaign.
Reporting and Knowledge Sharing
Weekly updates to USAID/KEA DOC and MSP.
Records of collaboration meetings with USAID partners, including MOH and NMS.
Brief presentation, monthly, illustrating progress and successes, highlighting key indicators to-be-determined in collaboration with DOC and SPA.
Coordinate weekly meetings between contractors to ensure clarity and collaboration.
Weekly attendance and contribution to MSP staff meetings, sharing lessons and progress with the MSP team.
Folder packaging of all SBCC and related research reports and deliverables.
Final lessons-learned presentations to be shared with SPA and DOC at the end of the engagement.
Work with MSP to develop a case study based on the execution of the SBCC.

Location:

The SBCC expert will be based in MSP’s offices in Gigiri, Nairobi. The majority of the work will be executed in Nairobi with virtual collaboration with actors across all 47 counties.

LOE or Contract Length:

The SBCC expert is expected to work for a period of approximately 60 working days, tentatively between December 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. **