STOP: Communications Specialist Position
General Overview
The STOP program is recruiting qualified applicants to participate in STOP assignments working as Communications Specialists. These participants will be deployed through the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), both STOP/CDC partners, to countries requiring technical assistance in communication and social mobilization for supplementary immunization activities, surveillance, and routine immunization services.
STOP Communications Specialists will help “close the gap” between health services and unimmunized children by supporting efforts to generate community demand for immunization services and increase the quality of communication activities where caregivers meet vaccinators.
STOP Communications Specialists will be assigned to work with in-country counterparts on activities that may include the following:
- Providing technical expertise in conducting community engagement and social mobilization activities to support polio eradication, measles/rubella elimination, and other VPD control efforts
- Using communication methodologies to help increase the demand for and acceptance of childhood immunization
- Building capacity of Ministry of Health staff in health communications for surveillance and immunization
- Supporting the national government and local partners in advocacy for vaccination, as well as the development, implementation, management, and monitoring and evaluation of communications plans for the national Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) program
- Supporting crisis communication for outbreak response and other emergencies
Position Requirements
The STOP Program is seeking experienced public health professionals with extensive experience working in health communication, Communication for Development (C4D), and social mobilization. To qualify, candidates must have:
- At least 5 years of relevant experience or a relevant advanced degree plus 3 years working in the field of public health communications, specifically in:
- Developing and executing strategic communication and behavioral interventions for maternal and child health at district, regional, or national levels; experience in communication for polio eradication, measles elimination, routine immunization, and outbreak response strongly preferred
- Developing, implementing, and monitoring/evaluating communications plans and interventions
- Engaging community leaders, stakeholders, and advocates for social support of behavior change for health
- Training others in health communication approaches, supportive supervision, and mentoring
- Strong oral and written communication skills with fluency in English or French
- Fluency in a second language desired, particularly Arabic, Portuguese, or Spanish
- Previous experience with media content development, such as photography or videography, or development of information, education and communication (IEC) materials is desired
- Previous experience working or studying internationally is desired
STOP Communications participants need to be extremely motivated and flexible individuals who can work well independently and on teams, under challenging conditions, and with people of different cultures.
