Behavior Change Communication (BCC) & IEC Materials Consultant at Save The Children

Introduction to Save the Children and project background
School Health and Nutrition programs have been proven to provide a critical means to improve both the educational performance and the wellbeing of children. The goal of this project is to improve the educational and health status of school-age children by building on existing SHN policies and working with partners in the school and health system through five key objectives:

1. Objective 1: Increase availability of services for school-based health, hygiene and nutrition
2. Objective 2: Improve the quality of the school environment.
3. Objective 3: Improve knowledge, attitudes and interest toward using health services and health protective behaviors.
4. Objective 4: Improve the local and community support environment.
5. Objective 5: Improve the national policy and support environment.

• The project aims to assess the impact of SHN on: (1) the school environment, particularly water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure; (2) integration of school health policies; and (3) student’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) of health and hygiene focused on 4 key topics (WASH, Menstrual Hygiene Management, Oral Hygiene & Malaria).
• A school health policy exists in the Federal Ministry of Education (FMoH) to address the basic health and nutrition needs of school-age children; however, to the knowledge of Save the Children, implementation of school health and nutrition in its entirety is severely lacking in Lagos Island public schools.
• Though there are NGOs, government initiatives, and corporate donors focused on individual school health and nutrition components, such as malaria, water and sanitation, parasitic infections, school-feeding, or sexual and reproductive health, many of those initiatives are not occurring in public schools in Lagos or do not incorporate a holistic and sustainable approach to school health and nutrition.
• Thus, elements of the comprehensive School Health and Nutrition (SHN) program are new to Lagos State, including strengthening the relationship between Save the Children and the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education.
• Save the Children is working at the school, community (SBMC and Parent forums), and local government level to develop their capacity to initiate and grow comprehensive implementation of SHN activities in Lagos Island.

Objectives of the Consultancy

• Develop culturally relevant content for information, education and communication materials focused on School Health, Hygiene and Nutrition.
• The expectation is that these materials will be used in the current School Health & Nutrition project in Lagos Island LGA, and also for future projects in other areas of Lagos State.
• The consultant will lead the development of high quality messages, materials and instructional aids relating to our range of BCC activities.

Scope

• Review the KAP baseline report and pull out relevant findings concerning specific behaviours across the project’s key focus areas;
• Conduct a review of available materials related to School Health & Hygiene. This review should include communications materials on childhood illness developed by the government, development partners, and agencies in Lagos.
• Design a workshop with the project team for the development of messages and appropriate delivery platforms for use in classrooms as instructional aids and teacher resource supplement, and on the school premises as BCC messages, in conjunction with key stakeholders from Intervention Schools and LGA, SUBEB, State Ministry of Health and the Primary Health Care Board.

After reviewing project documents, available materials, and the results of the design workshop the consultant will work closely with the project team to develop the following deliverables. Deliverables include but are not limited to:

• Instructional Aids to facilitate child friendly class lessons and School Health Club sessions (e.g. flashcards to facilitate interactive Q&A sessions).
• Posters with targeted BCC messages on specific behaviors (e.g. hand washing) to be displayed at schools, and other appropriate community display areas.
• Design for other materials, such as t-shirts, bags, and banners,
• Develop teaching resource package for facilitating child friendly health lessons focusing on pre-determined local health priorities.
• Develop a technical brief for the methodology of the development and pre-testing of BCC/IEC materials. The technical brief must be discussed and approved by Save the Children.
• Provide virtual Support to the SC Lagos Team in the conduct of a Pre-test for all materials. Revise based on feedback.
• Discuss printing specifications or other technical details for each material developed with Save the Children, and print agreed on quantity of the various materials developed.

Roles and Responsibilities of Save the Children

• In consultation with Save the Children, the consultant is expected to complete all activities listed in the Scope of Work section above.
• The School Health & Nutrition Advisor will be the main contact person for the consultant. It is expected that the consultant will work closely with the SHN Advisor and keep her informed throughout each step of the process.
• The Education Project Manager and the SHN TA in United States will also provide technical input and support.
• Key stakeholders and partners will be consulted when appropriate.

Save the Children will facilitate and provide arrangements and support services/ facilities for the work of the consultant in Lagos. These include:

• Provision of background and reference documents;
• Provision of working space within Save the Children Office in Lagos;
• Conduct Pre-test for all the materials through Focus Group discussions
• Facilitation of contacts and meetings with relevant stakeholders.

Skills and Competencies Required

• Masters Degree in Public Health, Sociology, Communications, Social Science, or other related area.
• Expert knowledge and practical experience in behavior change communication in developing countries, preferably in Nigeria
• At least 10 years of practical experience in communications and printing using graphic design
• Experience designing educational, training of trainers, and behavior change materials for audiences with low levels of literacy
• Experience conducting focus groups to pre-test and adapt materials
• Experience of coordinating diverse teams and communicating with individuals/groups at all levels
• Experience working in peri-urban communities, preferably in Lagos
• Strong analytical, presentation and writing skills in English
• Yoruba language skills would be helpful
• Demonstrates strong commitment to Save the Children’s Mission, Vision and Values, including Safeguarding of children.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity.
• Key deliverables and outputs of this consultancy
• The Consultant will deliver the following outputs:
• Workshop report detailing recommendations for material messages and;
• Technical brief of methodology for developing and pre-testing materials.
• High-resolution files of all materials developed on CD & DVD (2 copies of each).
• A report detailing the results of pre-tests and recommendations for the suggested use of each BCC/IEC material developed.
• Teaching Resource Package/Manual
• Printed materials in pre-determined quantity (Instructional Aids, Posters, T-shirts, Bags, Caps, flash cards).