Position Summary

The Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Advisor will provide strategic leadership and technical oversight for the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of evidence-based social and behavior change interventions that improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes in Malawi. The Advisor will lead efforts to increase demand for and uptake of quality SRHR services and products through behavior-centered approaches that address individual, interpersonal, community, and structural barriers.

The position will ensure integration of SBCC approaches across family planning, adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH), self-care, maternal health, HIV prevention, gender equality, and gender-based violence (GBV) programming. The Advisor will work closely with the Ministry of Health, district health offices, civil society organizations, youth networks, media partners, and development partners to develop and implement innovative communication strategies that contribute to sustainable behavior change and improved health outcomes.

Duties and Responsibilities:

A. Strategic Leadership and Program Design

• Lead the development and implementation of comprehensive SBCC strategies aligned with national SRHR priorities and donor requirements.
• Provide technical leadership in applying behavioral science, social norms approaches, human-centered design, and community engagement methodologies.
• Ensure SBCC interventions are grounded in formative research, audience insights, and behavioral determinants.
• Integrate SBCC across all technical components of SRHR programming.
• Contribute to annual work planning, budgeting, and program implementation activities.

B. Development of Communication Strategies and Materials

• Lead development of evidence-based communication strategies, campaigns, and implementation plans.
• Oversee development and pretesting of social and behavior change materials, including:
  • IEC/BCC materials
  • Job aids
  • Community dialogue guides
  • Provider behavior change materials
  • Social media content
  • Radio and television programming
  • Digital engagement tools
• Ensure all materials are culturally appropriate, gender-transformative, youth-friendly, disability-inclusive, and linguistically appropriate.

C. Adolescent and Youth Engagement

• Provide technical oversight to youth-centered communication interventions.
• Support meaningful engagement of young people in the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions.
• Promote positive youth development approaches and strengthen youth participation platforms.
• Support development of communication approaches that address barriers to contraceptive use, HIV prevention, and access to SRHR information among adolescents and young people.

D. Community Mobilization and Social Norms Change

• Design and oversee community mobilization initiatives that engage gatekeepers, parents, religious leaders, traditional leaders, and community structures.
• Promote community ownership and accountability for SRHR outcomes.
• Support implementation of interventions addressing harmful gender and social norms affecting SRHR behaviors.
• Strengthen community-facility linkages to improve service uptake and referral completion.

E. Digital and Mass Media Communication

• Lead design and implementation of multimedia campaigns across radio, television, social media, and mobile platforms.
• Promote innovative digital solutions to increase access to SRHR information and services.
• Collaborate with media organizations and influencers to amplify key SRHR messages.
• Monitor reach, engagement, and effectiveness of communication campaigns.

F. Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning

• Collaborate with MERL teams to develop SBCC indicators and monitoring frameworks.
• Lead collection and use of behavioral and social norms data to inform programming.
• Support formative research, baseline studies, audience segmentation, and behavioral assessments.
• Document lessons learned, best practices, success stories, and case studies.
• Contribute to donor reports, annual reports, publications, and dissemination events.

G. Capacity Strengthening

• Strengthen the capacity of Ministry of Health staff, district health teams, implementing partners, youth organizations, and community structures in SBCC approaches.
• Develop and deliver training curricula, mentorship, and supportive supervision.
• Promote institutionalization of evidence-based SBCC practices within government systems.

H. Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

• Represent the organization in national technical working groups and SRHR coordination platforms.
• Maintain effective collaboration with donors, government ministries, implementing partners, media organizations, and community stakeholders.
• Contribute technical expertise to national policy development, strategy reviews, and guideline development processes.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Master’s Degree in Public Health, Health Communication, Behavioral Sciences, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Journalism, Mass Communication, Psychology, Sociology, or a closely related field.

Experience

• Minimum 8–10 years of progressively responsible experience implementing SBCC programs in public health.
• Demonstrated experience in SRHR, family planning, AYSRH, HIV prevention, maternal health, or gender programming.
• Experience managing donor-funded programs.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing large-scale communication campaigns.
• Experience working with government institutions, civil society organizations, and community structures.
• Strong knowledge of:
  • Social and behavior change theories and frameworks
  • Human-centered design approaches
  • Social norms programming
  • Community engagement methodologies
  • Youth-centered programming
  • Gender-transformative programming
  • Family planning and contraceptive behavior change
  • AYSRH programming
  • Self-care interventions
  • Digital health communication
  • Monitoring, evaluation, and learning for SBCC

COMPETENCES

• Strategic thinking
• Leadership and team management
• Stakeholder engagement
• Partnership development
• Technical writing
• Facilitation and training
• Communication and presentation skills
• Problem solving and innovation
• Results orientation
• Cultural sensitivity and adaptability

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION

• Experience supporting implementation of Malawi’s National Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Policy and related strategies.
• Experience working with Ministry of Health structures at national and district levels.
• Familiarity with USAID SBC Guidance, WHO Behavioral Insights approaches, FP2030 commitments, and Gender Transformative Programming frameworks.
• Professional fluency in English and one or more local languages spoken in Malawi.

Kindly take note that these positions depend on the availability of donor funding.

• Lead the development and implementation of comprehensive SBCC strategies aligned with national SRHR priorities and donor requirements.
• Provide technical leadership in applying behavioral science, social norms approaches, human-centered design, and community engagement methodologies.
• Ensure SBCC interventions are grounded in formative research, audience insights, and behavioral determinants.
• Integrate SBCC across all technical components of SRHR programming.
• Contribute to annual work planning, budgeting, and program implementation activities.
• Lead development of evidence-based communication strategies, campaigns, and implementation plans.
• Oversee development and pretesting of social and behavior change materials, including: IEC/BCC materials, Job aids, Community dialogue guides, Provider behavior change materials, Social media content, Radio and television programming, Digital engagement tools.
• Ensure all materials are culturally appropriate, gender-transformative, youth-friendly, disability-inclusive, and linguistically appropriate.
• Provide technical oversight to youth-centered communication interventions.
• Support meaningful engagement of young people in the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions.
• Promote positive youth development approaches and strengthen youth participation platforms.
• Support development of communication approaches that address barriers to contraceptive use, HIV prevention, and access to SRHR information among adolescents and young people.
• Design and oversee community mobilization initiatives that engage gatekeepers, parents, religious leaders, traditional leaders, and community structures.
• Promote community ownership and accountability for SRHR outcomes.
• Support implementation of interventions addressing harmful gender and social norms affecting SRHR behaviors.
• Strengthen community-facility linkages to improve service uptake and referral completion.
• Lead design and implementation of multimedia campaigns across radio, television, social media, and mobile platforms.
• Promote innovative digital solutions to increase access to SRHR information and services.
• Collaborate with media organizations and influencers to amplify key SRHR messages.
• Monitor reach, engagement, and effectiveness of communication campaigns.
• Collaborate with MERL teams to develop SBCC indicators and monitoring frameworks.
• Lead collection and use of behavioral and social norms data to inform programming.
• Support formative research, baseline studies, audience segmentation, and behavioral assessments.
• Document lessons learned, best practices, success stories, and case studies.
• Contribute to donor reports, annual reports, publications, and dissemination events.
• Strengthen the capacity of Ministry of Health staff, district health teams, implementing partners, youth organizations, and community structures in SBCC approaches.
• Develop and deliver training curricula, mentorship, and supportive supervision.
• Promote institutionalization of evidence-based SBCC practices within government systems.
• Represent the organization in national technical working groups and SRHR coordination platforms.
• Maintain effective collaboration with donors, government ministries, implementing partners, media organizations, and community stakeholders.
• Contribute technical expertise to national policy development, strategy reviews, and guideline development processes.

• Strategic thinking
• Leadership and team management
• Stakeholder engagement
• Partnership development
• Technical writing
• Facilitation and training
• Communication and presentation skills
• Problem solving and innovation
• Results orientation
• Cultural sensitivity and adaptability

• Master’s Degree in Public Health, Health Communication, Behavioral Sciences, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Journalism, Mass Communication, Psychology, Sociology, or a closely related field.
• Minimum 8–10 years of progressively responsible experience implementing SBCC programs in public health.
• Demonstrated experience in SRHR, family planning, AYSRH, HIV prevention, maternal health, or gender programming.
• Experience managing donor-funded programs.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing large-scale communication campaigns.
• Experience working with government institutions, civil society organizations, and community structures.
• Strong knowledge of: Social and behavior change theories and frameworks, Human-centered design approaches, Social norms programming, Community engagement methodologies, Youth-centered programming, Gender-transformative programming, Family planning and contraceptive behavior change, AYSRH programming, Self-care interventions, Digital health communication, Monitoring, evaluation, and learning for SBCC.
• Experience supporting implementation of Malawi’s National Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Policy and related strategies.
• Experience working with Ministry of Health structures at national and district levels.
• Familiarity with USAID SBC Guidance, WHO Behavioral Insights approaches, FP2030 commitments, and Gender Transformative Programming frameworks.
• Professional fluency in English and one or more local languages spoken in Malawi.