Technical Advisor, Social and Behavior Change (SBC) - The Manoff Group, Inc. - Arlington, VA, United States

For over 50 years, The Manoff Group, Inc. (TMG), a woman-owned small business, has been an international leader in designing and assisting the implementation of social and behavior change programs that effectively promote healthy behaviors and allow populations to enjoy an improved quality of life. TMG’s innovative Behavior-centered Programming approach offers a practical methodology for realizing measurable and sustained behavior change at the individual, community and organizational levels. Our methodology is based on human-centered design principles and employs techniques from disciplines such as anthropology, behavioral economics, psychology, marketing and communications to strategically build programs that enable people to practice life–enhancing behaviors. All project work is carried out in the spirit of collaborative learning and co-creation.

DESCRIPTION

USAID Advancing Nutrition is the Agency’s flagship nutrition project, led by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), under which The Manoff Group, Inc. (TMG) is one of a diverse group of experienced partners. Launched in September 2018, USAID Advancing Nutrition implements and provides technical support to nutrition interventions across sectors and disciplines for USAID and its partners. The project’s multi-sectoral approach draws together global nutrition experience to design, implement and evaluate programs that address the root causes of malnutrition. Committed to using a systems approach, USAID Advancing Nutrition strives to sustain positive outcomes by building local capacity, supporting behavior change and strengthening the enabling environment to save lives, improve health, build resilience, increase economic productivity and advance development. 

SUMMARY

The SBC Technical Advisor will support the design and implementation of evidence-based social and behavior change (SBC) across multi-sectoral activities to improve nutrition. Particular focus will be on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food security approaches in development and/or humanitarian contexts aimed at reducing malnutrition.

The Technical Advisor will have a strong foundation in SBC and working knowledge of food systems and/or private sector marketing approaches. The ideal candidate will also have an interest in working across complementary technical sectors, such as food security, capacity strengthening, early childhood development, and gender transformative programing. S/he will be an independent worker, motivated to take initiative and capable of quickly coming up to speed in new technical areas. The Technical Advisor will collaborate with USAID, project staff, host country counterparts, implementing partners and other global stakeholders to ensure expert implementation of project activities.  The Technical Advisor will also provide leadership and quality assurance to their portfolio of activities, which will contribute to USAID Advancing Nutrition’s work plan goals and objectives. The Technical Advisor reports to the SBC Director and is based in Arlington, VA.

The SBC Technical Adviser position is advertised through multiple USAID Advancing Nutrition consortium partners and is fully seconded to the project. Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply through the single (1) organization they are most interested in working for. Submitting applications through more than one (1) consortium partner is prohibited and could result in disqualification.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Technical Advisor will:

• Identify promising innovative SBC and marketing strategies, develop program guidance, and provide technical assistance to priority countries in support of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programming.  
• Design and oversee evidence-based SBC strategies and high-quality technical assistance to core and country programs in support of effective programming across SBC, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and/or market-based activities.
• Design or contribute to research and analysis to develop SBC strategies, including psychographic and consumer research and market assessments.
• Actively contribute to the project’s technical direction by developing strategies and partnerships to increase program coverage, visibility, and resource availability.
• Participate in global nutrition networks to represent USAID Advancing Nutrition’s work and advocate for increased commitments to global nutrition.
• Facilitate global and regional linkages to ensure development of quality, evidence-based technical tools and guides used to increase capacity of and support to USAID’s multisectoral nutrition priorities.
• Collaborate with the project’s monitoring and evaluation staff to carry out operations research related to program delivery and contribute to other research efforts as needed.
• Provide up-to-date, evidence based technical and policy briefs, and develop or manage the creation of evidence-based program standards with key stakeholders.
• Participate in program design and development of implementation activities (strategic planning, program presentation, advocacy and policy meetings), as appropriate.
• Contribute to the development of team (both global and country) work plans and budgets, ensuring consistency with project direction and strategy.
• Supervise consultants, and mentor Technical Specialists and/or Program Officers to facilitate professional growth and development.
• Other duties as assigned.

COMPETENCIES

• Identify promising innovative SBC and marketing strategies, develop program guidance, and provide technical assistance to priority countries in support of nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programming.  
• Design and oversee evidence-based SBC strategies and high-quality technical assistance to core and country programs in support of effective programming across SBC, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and/or market-based activities.
• Design or contribute to research and analysis to develop SBC strategies, including psychographic and consumer research and market assessments.
• Actively contribute to the project’s technical direction by developing strategies and partnerships to increase program coverage, visibility, and resource availability.
• Participate in global nutrition networks to represent USAID Advancing Nutrition’s work and advocate for increased commitments to global nutrition.
• Facilitate global and regional linkages to ensure development of quality, evidence-based technical tools and guides used to increase capacity of and support to USAID’s multisectoral nutrition priorities.
• Collaborate with the project’s monitoring and evaluation staff to carry out operations research related to program delivery and contribute to other research efforts as needed.
• Provide up-to-date, evidence based technical and policy briefs, and develop or manage the creation of evidence-based program standards with key stakeholders.
• Participate in program design and development of implementation activities (strategic planning, program presentation, advocacy and policy meetings), as appropriate.
• Contribute to the development of team (both global and country) work plans and budgets, ensuring consistency with project direction and strategy.
• Supervise consultants, and mentor Technical Specialists and/or Program Officers to facilitate professional growth and development.
• Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Master’s degree or advanced degree in nutrition, food security, public health, policy or related field.
• Required Experience: 7-10 years of experience in international public health programming with an emphasis on SBC and food systems (including marketing for nutrition, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, or a related field).
• Preferred Experience: Gender analysis and gender transformative programing, food security, or early childhood development

• Travel: Ability to undertake field travel (approximately 10%)
• Languages: Excellent written and oral communication skills in English. Fluency in French or Portuguese desirable.