Social and Behavioural Change (SBC) Expert Verified listing

This position is part of the "Integrated Climate Risk Management for Strengthened Resilience to Climate Change in Buner and Shangla Districts" project, funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) as the Accredited Entity, with Muslim Hands as the implementing partner.

Component 1 of the project focuses on the installation and operationalisation of Early Warning Systems (EWS), while Component 2 focuses on increasing climate resilience through local adaptation plans and diversified livelihoods.

The SBC, Risk Communication and Anticipatory Action Expert will sit under Component 2 and will be responsible for the complete technical SBC architecture — behavioural assessment, stakeholder analysis, audience segmentation, message development, creative briefs, material development, pretesting, media planning, implementation planning, Training of Trainers (ToT), behavioural indicators, monitoring framework, evaluation, learning, and replanning — for community-level social and behaviour change, risk communication, and anticipatory action across both Buner and Shangla Districts.

Cross-Component SBC Function:

The SBC Expert will serve as the technical bridge between Component 1 and Component 2, ensuring that early warning systems are translated into understandable, trusted, and actionable risk information, while livelihood and adaptation interventions reinforce anticipatory action, preparedness, and climate-resilient behaviours.

The SBC Expert will be responsible for the design, coordination, implementation, and quality assurance of all SBC, risk communication, and anticipatory action interventions under Component 2, with strong programmatic linkage to the EWS installed under Component 1, across both Buner and Shangla Districts. The role is central to ensuring that communities not only receive early warning information but also understand it, trust it, and act upon it, while adopting the climate-resilient livelihood and adaptation behaviours promoted under Component 2.

Behavioural Assessment and Formative Research:

The SBC Expert will lead behavioural assessments and formative research that move beyond conventional KAP surveys to identify why people may receive a warning but still fail to act. This includes examining whether communities understand the warning, know what action to take, trust the source, and have the resources to act; whether women and persons with disabilities are reached; whether warnings arrive early enough; whether traditional and community decision-makers are involved; and whether livelihood decisions differ from household evacuation decisions.

The research will also assess behavioural barriers and drivers, social norms, decision-making pathways, trust analysis, gender and power dynamics, access to information, ability to act on warnings, preferred communication channels, misinformation and disinformation risks, community perception of climate risk, and constraints to adopting climate-resilient livelihood practices.

Findings will inform audience segmentation by gender, age, disability, livelihood, literacy, and vulnerability status, and will be documented in an SBC strategy endorsed by the Project Manager and WFP.

SBC Strategy, Message Development, and Creative Briefs:

The SBC Expert will develop the project's SBC, risk communication, and anticipatory action strategy, including behavioural objectives, target audiences, key messages, communication channels, and implementation modalities aligned with the project logframe, GCF objectives, and WFP guidelines.

He will develop evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and gender-responsive messages and clear communication pathways covering early warning → early action → household/community preparedness → protection of livelihoods/assets → recovery.

He will prepare creative briefs, coordinate with creative agencies, and ensure all messages and materials are pre-tested with representative audience segments before finalisation.

Material Development, Pretesting, and Media Planning:

The SBC Expert will oversee the development of print, audio-visual, digital, community theatre, and interpersonal communication materials in Pashto and Urdu, ensuring accessibility for persons with disabilities and low-literacy audiences.

He will lead pretesting with women, youth, and marginalized groups, and will develop a cost-effective media plan identifying the most effective channels for each audience segment, including community radio, mobile messaging, mosque announcements, community meetings, schools, and local markets.

Implementation Planning and Coordination Between Components:

The SBC Expert will develop detailed implementation plans and serve as the primary focal point for coordination between Component 1 and Component 2, ensuring EWS installed under Component 1 are complemented by community-level SBC and risk communication interventions that drive understanding, trust, and timely action.

He will coordinate roll-out across target villages in both districts, working with Social Mobilizers, Village Climate Adaptation Forums (VCAFs), Village Development Committees, and community leaders, and will sequence SBC activities with EWS infrastructure, early warning committees, anticipatory action protocols, and Component 2 livelihood interventions.

Coordination with Line Departments:

The SBC Expert will maintain strong working relationships with relevant government line departments, including PDMA, DDMA, Agriculture, Livestock, Irrigation, Forest, On-Farm Water Management, Social Welfare, and Education, to ensure alignment with government priorities, systems, and warning protocols. He will engage line departments in the design, review, and dissemination of SBC materials and advocate for integrating SBC and risk communication into departmental community engagement and extension services for sustainability beyond the project.

Training of Trainers (ToT) and Capacity Building:

The SBC Expert will design and lead a structured ToT programme for project staff, Social Mobilizers, female community mobilizers, and community lead persons, developing curricula, facilitator guides, and toolkits on interpreting warning information, communicating risk, triggering anticipatory actions, and promoting climate-resilient behaviours. He will provide ongoing coaching and supervision, support the Training Coordinator in integrating SBC modules into the broader capacity-building programme, and build the capacity of community institutions and line department staff for sustainability.

Behavioural Indicators, Monitoring, and Evaluation

The SBC Expert will develop behavioural indicators to measure warning uptake, anticipatory action adoption, and climate-resilient behaviours, and will work with the MEAL & Reporting Officer to integrate these into the monitoring framework with gender, age, and disability-disaggregated data. He will design and oversee SBC monitoring, including warning reach, message recall, trust in warning sources, timeliness of response, and practice adoption, and will support baseline, midline, and endline evaluations.

He will maintain a behavioural dashboard to track progress and inform adaptive management. Learning, Documentation, and Replanning: The SBC Expert will document lessons learned, success stories, and best practices, facilitate learning review sessions, and lead periodic review and replanning of the SBC strategy based on monitoring data, evaluation findings, and community feedback. He will contribute SBC inputs to WFP and GCF reports, incorporating gender-disaggregated results and ESS compliance updates.

Leveraging Muslim Hands' Community Networks:

The SBC Expert will leverage Muslim Hands' existing community networks, field structures, multi-sectoral programming, and community engagement mechanisms to embed SBC within climate resilience, livelihoods, food security, WASH, DRR, and humanitarian preparedness interventions, ensuring messages reach the most vulnerable and marginalized groups across Buner and Shangla.

Key Deliverables

• Month 1–2: SBC inception plan, stakeholder mapping, behavioural/formative assessment, audience segmentation, communication channel assessment, behavioural baseline.
• Month 2–3: SBC strategy, behavioural objectives, message matrix, creative briefs, EWS communication protocol, SBC implementation plan.
• Month 3–5: SBC toolkit and materials, pretesting reports, ToT package, community facilitator tools, media plan.
• Month 4–8: Implementation, coaching, monitoring, behavioural dashboard, community feedback, adaptive management.
• Month 8–9: Endline assessment, learning report, documented case studies, sustainability/scale-up plan, handover package.

The candidate must hold a Master's degree in Social Sciences, Communication, Development Studies, Behavioural Sciences, Environmental Studies, Disaster Management, or a related field, with at least 7 years' relevant experience in SBC programming in development or humanitarian contexts, preferably in climate resilience, DRR, EWS, Risk Communication, or Anticipatory Action.

He must have proven expertise in the complete SBC architecture, including behavioural assessment, stakeholder analysis, audience segmentation, message development, creative briefs, material development, pretesting, media planning, implementation planning, ToT, behavioural indicators, monitoring frameworks, evaluation, learning, and replanning.

He must have demonstrated experience in developing SBC materials for early warning and anticipatory action for low-literacy and rural audiences, and in multi-stakeholder engagement with government line departments, community institutions, religious leaders, and media partners. Fluency in English and Urdu is required; proficiency in Pashto is essential. Experience working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly Buner and Shangla Districts, is an asset.

Key Competencies

The candidate must possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate behavioural research into practical SBC strategies for EWS, Risk Communication, and Anticipatory Action. He must have excellent communication, facilitation, and creative skills, strong coordination and project management abilities, and the capacity to manage multiple activities across two districts while meeting strict deadlines. He must demonstrate commitment to safeguarding, PSEA, gender equality, and inclusion, and have the ability to work independently and in a multicultural team environment.

Cultural sensitivity and understanding of local social dynamics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are essential, along with willingness and ability to travel frequently to remote villages across Buner and Shangla Districts, including overnight stays as required.

Muslim Hands maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination and unequal power dynamics and is fully committed to equity, inclusion, and safeguarding (PSEA). As part of our Safeguarding Policy, all applicants must present a valid CNIC and proof of qualifications/experience at the time of test/interview.

Muslim Hands has a ZERO-tolerance policy on prevention of Physical and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), Safeguarding, and child protection/GBV, which is part of MH code of conduct and Ethics. As part of the application process, all candidates must complete and submit a Self-Declaration of Criminal Convictions Form (attached with this Job Description).

We are an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from all qualified individuals, irrespective of gender, ethnicity or origin, disability, political beliefs, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status to apply to become a part of the organization.

If this role aligns with your skills and values, we encourage you to apply by submitting a detailed CV along with a covering letter. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We reserve the right to close the recruitment process early and make appointments before the closing date.