UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.
UNICEF is a place where careers are built, we offer our staff diverse opportunities for personal and professional development that will help them develop a fulfilling career while delivering on a rewarding mission. We pride ourselves on a culture that helps staff thrive, coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, Change…

Social and Behaviour Change in UNICEF is a cross-cutting programme strategy that addresses the cognitive, social and structural determinants of social change in both development and humanitarian contexts. SBC uses the latest in social and behavioral sciences to understand people, their beliefs, values, and the socio-cultural norms that shape their lives, with the aim of engaging them and increasing their influence in the design of solutions for sustainable behavior and social change. SBC is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate, with corporate results across sectors revolving around social and behavioral practices like immunization, breastfeeding, hygiene, and positive discipline.

Gender equality is essential to realizing the mandate of UNICEF to uphold the rights of all children. The UNICEF Gender Action Plan (GAP), 2022–2025, operationalizes the UNICEF Gender Policy, 2021–2030, by specifying how UNICEF will promote gender equality across its programmes and workplaces. It affirms that promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is the responsibility of everyone, regardless of organizational role. The GAP elaborates the steps required to accelerate progress on gender equality across the five Goal Areas of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2022–2025, as well as within institutional systems and processes, with clear indicators and monitoring mechanisms to track change.

UNICEF Morocco operates a mid-sized Country Office and in line with its 2023-2027 Country Programme in cooperation, UNICEF Morocco is seeking a Social Behavior Change Specialist, who will also provide technical and coordination leadership for the country office’s implementation of the organizational Gender Policy.

How can you make a difference? 

You report to the Deputy Representative for general guidance and supervision. You provide technical and operational support for developing a systematic, planned, and evidence-based strategy and process for SBC as an integral part of programme development, planning, and implementation. Through communication and engagement, as well as the empowerment and participation of stakeholders, communities, children, civil society partners, and government counterparts, you promote measurable behavioral and social change/mobilization. This subsequently contributes to the achievement of sustainable and concrete results in improving children’s rights, survival, and well-being in the country.

Summary of key functions/accountabilities:

1. Generate & Use Evidence: Generate and utilize research, data, and evidence to inform the design, measurement, and monitoring of SBC programs and outcomes in both development and emergency contexts and to build the evidence base for SBC.
2. Design, plan and implement: Design, plan and implement SBC  and gender-responsive activities that are backed by social and behavioural evidence and strong engagement and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts.
3. Advocate & Build Partnerships: Support operationalization of SBC by advocating for SBC, mobilizing resources, coordinating across stakeholders, sectors and teams, and partnership building.
4. Build Capacities Promote continuous learning, strengthening, and scaling up in SBC for both development and humanitarian contexts through capacity building for UNICEF staff and partners.

For more details, please check the JD :  SBC_Specialist_L3_MCO (003).pdf

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

The following minimum requirements:

• Education An advanced university degree in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Public Policy, Social Sciences, International Relations, Political Science, Gender or another relevant technical field.

• Work Experience: A minimum of five years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development programme planning, gender, social and behavior change, communication for development, public advocacy or another related area.

• Language Requirements:  Fluency in French and working knowledge in Arabic and/or English are required

The following desirables:

• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Experience working in a developing country is considered as an asset.
• Strong experience in managing large scale programmes is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

1. Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
2. Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
3. Works Collaboratively with others (2)
4. Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
5. Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
6. Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
7. Drive to achieve impactful results (2)
8. Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). 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 is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments may also be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be canceled.

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF’s active commitment to diversity and inclusion is critical to deliver the best results for children. For this position, eligible and suitable Male candidates from both industrial and programme countries are encouraged to apply.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

“UNICEF only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/”

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

“The VA is open to all (internal and external candidates)”

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.