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Job Title:   Technical Specialist: COVID 19 and Emergencies.

Organisation: Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP)

Duty Station:  Kampala, Uganda

Reports to: Technical Advisor National Coordination

About Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs:

Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP) is a leader in strategic communication and research that facilitates access to information and exchange of knowledge to improve health.  CCP has more than 60 projects that employ staff in more than 40 countries around the world.  CCP has unparalleled experience as a global center for Social and Behavioral Change excellence.  Through its projects, CCP harnesses the power of social and behavior change communication to encourage the adoption of healthy behaviors in the projects implemented worldwide.

Project Background: 

The Social and Behavioral Change Activity (SBCA) is a five-year program implemented through a cooperative agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/Uganda) and Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP). The vision of USAID’s Social and Behavioral Change Activity is a Uganda where individuals and communities are not just healthy, but resilient, supported by strong adaptable systems and institutions to lead productive lives. The SBC Activity supports the Government of Uganda (GoU) and US government (USG) implementing partners to design and implement Social and behavioral Change (SBC) communication initiatives that   contribute towards reduction in Maternal and Child mortality, Malaria prevalence, Total Fertility rate, new HIV infections, TB prevalence and improved Nutrition out comes, communication and resilience and improved SBC systems and expertise.  The activity also provides support towards mitigating the effects of COVID 19 through effective social behavior change communication.

Job Summary:  The Technical Specialist Covid-19 and Emergencies will be responsible for coordinating Social and Behavioral Change (SBC) technical support to the Ministry of Health (MOH) Health Promotion and Education Division (HPE&C), USG implementing partners (IPs) and other relevant sectors involved in responding to Covid-19 and related emergencies. The position holder will provide technical assistance towards establishment of risk communication systems that contribute towards effective response to COVID 19 and other arising public health emergencies.

This position reports to the USAID SBCA Technical Advisor, National Level Coordination and works closely with the USAID SBCA Design and Roll out and the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning teams.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the SBCA Technical Advisor National Level Coordination, the Technical Specialist COVID 19 and emergencies will perform the following key duties;

• Coordinate technical assistance to MOH, USG IPs and other relevant sectors in the implementation of COVID-19 and other upcoming risk communication emergency response interventions.
• Support the national risk communication committee to develop coherent COVID-19 social and behavior change communication (SBCC) plans and content which is well aligned with risk and general communication principles.
• Provide technical assistance to MOH and other relevant stakeholders to ensure national and sub national level risk communication coordination platforms are active and possess and follow desired standards of operating procedures.
• Represent USAID SBCA in relevant national level risk communication coordination committees and provide regular updates on project supported activities.
• Appraise self with arising issues and deliberations in other MOH emergency pillars and support MOH HPEC to ensure relevant information is integrated into COVID-19 risk communication interventions.
• Support national level capacity enhancement for core risk communication teams to enable them respond to the COVID-19 and other future emergencies. Provide strategic direction for cascade of such capacity enhancement efforts at subnational levels through regional Implementing partners and District Health Teams.
• Support the MOH and or other relevant sectors to develop rumor monitoring systems and proactively address rumors, misinformation including fears and concerns arising during an emergency.
• Support MOH to continuously document lessons learnt during implementation of COVID-19 emergency risk communication interventions and use evidence-based learning to guide and improve ongoing implementation and for replication during any future emergencies.
• Regularly appraise self with key COVID-19 Emergency and Risk communication related issues and guidelines at national and international levels and integrate these into day-to-day programming.
• Continuously identify health hazards that have the potential to culminate into emergencies and work proactively with relevant stakeholders to develop SBC communication response plans.
• Regularly update the national multi-hazard risk communication plan to include emerging issues from research, community engagement activities and Implementing Partners.
• Contribute towards USAID SBCA Covid-19 response/ arising emergencies weekly, monthly and quarterly reporting and annual work planning processes.
• Assist with other activities as guided by the supervisor.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• A Master’s degree in either communication, social sciences, or public health with over 5 years’ experience progressively working with in the area of SBC / SBCC / Health communication / Strategic Communication.
• Previous work experience with USAID funded projects.
• Demonstrated experience in risk communication during emergencies.
• Uganda national.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical assistance and collaborating with Government, partners, donors, and NGOs.
• Excellent leadership, organizational, interpersonal and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, handle competing tasks and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision in a highly collaborative, team-based environment.
• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

How to Apply:

All candidates are encouraged to submit e-mail applications to jobs@jhccpug.org with copies of current CV, cover letter and three professional referees. Please indicate which position you are applying for in the subject line of the email. This position is being re-advertised and if you applied before there is no need to re-apply.

Deadline: 21^st January 2022

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