Specialist, Social and Behaviour Change – Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Lesotho II
About MCA
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. government corporation focused on assisting countries dedicated to good governance, economic freedom, and investing in people. In May 2022, MCC signed a five-year agreement (“compact”) with the government of Lesotho (GoL) aimed at poverty reduction through inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country.
The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA- Lesotho), is an entity established by the Government to act as the accountable entity to implement the Compact, with the authority to bind the Government with regard to all Program activities.
Lesotho Compact
The Lesotho Health and Horticulture Compact aims to benefit 2.5 million people by growing, strengthening, and organizing the private sector in Lesotho and improving the government’s coordination to deliver critical services necessary to support private sector development.
It will achieve this goal through investments in Health System Strengthening, strengthening of the business environment and Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture, providing sustainable income for smallholders and increasing climate resilience by replacing rain-fed subsistence farming with irrigated commercial horticulture in select locations.
The GoL is committed to passing several key reforms that will help make this compact successful, including reforms that address gender equality, working conditions and worker safety, as well as land and water rights. All of the compact’s projects focus on overcoming barriers to the economic inclusion of women, youth, and the rural poor.
MARKET-DRIVEN IRRIGATED HORTICULTURE (MDIH) PROJECT
The MDIH Project objective is to increase rural incomes related to commercial agriculture, including for women, youth, and the rural poor, and establish a sustainable and inclusive model of irrigation, water resource, and land management. The project provides extensive technical assistance and investments in institutional reforms and capacity building of both the GOL and beneficiaries of the project’s investment in irrigation infrastructure to develop a successful and sustainable horticulture industry. The budget for this project is $118 million.
Objective of this position
The Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Specialist will have principal responsibility for providing technical support and strategic guidance to staff and partners designing and implementing SBC interventions and supportive components throughout the MDIH Project. The SBC Specialist will be responsible for project planning and management of all SBC work, including SBC-related contract management; assuring the technical quality of SBC-related design and implementation, working with other MCA-Lesotho II staff, pertinent government agencies responsible for implementation, and other partners to address implementation challenges and opportunities; and coordinating with external stakeholders. The SBC Specialist will also assist in monitoring and evaluating programmatic effectiveness and provide technical support. The SBC Specialist will report to the Irrigated Horticulture Support Services (IHSS) Activity Manager, under the Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture (MDIH) Director.
Primary responsibilities
- Manage all SBC-related components of the project, including timelines, budgets, reporting, and other related project management tasks.
- Lead the development of SBC strategy across the project.
- Provide strategic leadership to design, plan, and implement SBC work.
- Oversee programmatic and technical quality of SBC-related components of project interventions, ensuring SBC efforts are evidence-based, community-driven, and in line with the objectives of the project.
- Manage the contracts associated with the SBC components of the project.
- Oversee the monitoring of SBC progress to ensure consistency and coherency across interventions as well as compliance with GOL, MCA-Lesotho II, and MCC policy and guidelines.
- Contribute to the design and implementation of M&E activities, including the development and tracking of SBC-related monitoring indicators as well as any evaluation activities.
- Partner closely with other MCA-Lesotho II staff and pertinent government counterparts.
- In coordination with the IHSS Manager, MDIH Director, the GSI Director and IHSS GSI Specialist, develop and manage relationships with partnering stakeholders to advance the compact objectives related to SBC.
- Work closely with the GSI Director and IHSS GSI Specialist to oversee joint and closely related work under IHSS contracts, related to land and horticulture sub-activities.
- Build SBC capacity within the MCA and with pertinent government counterparts and other key stakeholders, as needed.
- Produce required reports to senior management, government counterparts, and MCC, highlighting key implementation issues and opportunities.
- Prepare communications materials that highlight the project’s SBC work, successes, and lessons learned.
- Work with Stakeholder Engagement Manager and Communications Director on relevant plans and tasks.
Required Competencies
Minimum Requirements:
- Degree in a relevant social science discipline, such as International Communication, Social and Behavior Change, Social Marketing, Public Health, Health Communication, Health Promotion, Psychology, or other relevant Social Sciences.
- A minimum six (6) years of progressively increasing technical responsibility designing and/or implementing SBC programs.
- Ability to provide technical direction to projects, ensure high quality SBC outputs and impact, set realistic priorities, and guide successful implementation of SBC activities.
- Experience designing and implementing community-based approaches.
- Experience designing and implementing SBC capacity building tools and approaches.
- Experience interpreting data to design and measure evidence-based SBC strategies and approaches.
- Demonstrated understanding of how gender norms influence behavior and project outcomes.
- Strong project and contract management skills.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate in a collaborative and respectful manner cross-culturally, using verbal (in-person and virtual) and written form.
- Strong organizational skills
- Proficiency in English (writing and speaking) is required. Proficiency in Sesotho (writing and speaking) is preferred.
- Ability to work independently with initiative to manage high volume workflow.
- Ability to travel throughout Lesotho.
Preferred qualifications
- An advanced degree (master’s or Ph.D.) in a relevant social science discipline, such as International Communication, Social and Behavior Change Communication, Social Marketing, Public Health, Health Communication, Health Promotion, Psychology, or relevant Social Sciences.
- Experience designing and/or implementing projects related to community-led governance, social cohesion, and/or collective action.
- Experience tackling gender norms through SBC methods.
- Experience in emerging SBC methods and approaches, such as human-centred design, behavioural economics, and/or digital media.
- Experience in Lesotho or Southern Africa is highly desirable
- Familiarity with Lesotho context, structures, and stakeholders
- Experience and/or expertise in agriculture and gender-based approaches.
How to apply
Applications must be submitted on-line, on or before the application deadline 29 September 2023.
Applications should be accompanied by the following documents:
- Curriculum vitae containing detailed work experience;
- Cover letter confirming interest and availability;
- Soft copies of higher education and professional certificates (if available);
Only applications that come in before or on the application deadline will be considered.
- We thank all applicants. However, note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Submit your application online via: https://lesotho-jobs.tenderwell.app