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TERMS OF REFERENCE

Pakistan, with a population exceeding 240 million, faces persistent challenges in poverty, social exclusion, gender inequality, and vulnerability to disasters and emergencies. Over 38% of Pakistanis live in multidimensional poverty, with deep disparities at provincial and district levels, exacerbated by social exclusion, discrimination, and violence against marginalized groups, especially women, children, and minorities. The COVID-19 pandemic, recurring natural disasters, and ongoing humanitarian crises have further exposed the fragility of community systems and the urgent need for robust, inclusive, and resilient community engagement mechanisms

Social norms, information gaps, and low trust in public services further hinder service uptake. Technical solutions alone are insufficient; robust community engagement (CE) is essential to expand service reach, strengthen frontline systems, and address behavioral, social, and structural barriers. However, current CE efforts are fragmented and inconsistently linked with service delivery.

Community engagement emerged as one of the most effective components across the SBC portfolio[1]. It relies on trusted local actors, culturally grounded approaches, participatory delivery, and regular interpersonal contact. These strategies helped shift knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours across sectors including health, WASH, education, nutrition, child protection, and polio.

The SBC formative evaluation highlights that interpersonal, community‑embedded delivery was the central driver of behaviour change. By leveraging community trust, local insights, and repeated face‑to‑face engagement, programmes were able to overcome social barriers, build ownership, and make desired behaviours more practical and acceptable for households.

In recent assessments, UNICEF has also identified the following institutional and sectoral gaps:

Insufficient advocacy to ensure that SBC/community engagement is at the heart of program implementation and is adequately resourced.
Significant fragmentation, siloing, and non-alignment of government-led and donor-supported efforts across sectors applying SBC principles.
A lack of agreed upon and consistent understanding and application of high-quality technical standards for implementation of community engagement at country level.
Limited human and financial resources to expand current community engagement initiatives, and engagement in new/emerging program focus areas such as violence against children, child marriage, gender equality, inclusion and non-discrimination.

UNICEF’s Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) and Community Engagement (CE) framework highlight that sustainable development and humanitarian outcomes require institutionalized, participatory, and inclusive CE platforms. These systems must be strengthened both horizontally (across community networks) and vertically (with local governance institutions) and must be guided by the Minimum Quality Standards and Indicators for Community Engagement. Pakistan’s programmatic context includes sectoral priorities in Health, Nutrition, Education, WASH, and Child Protection, with cross-sectoral initiatives in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Social Protection, and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP).

Why Community Engagement Matters

Strengthening Systems: CE extends state capacity, especially in underserved regions. Each Lady Health Worker (LHW) covers about 1,000 individuals, nearly double the recommended ratio in remote districts. Community structures such as Village Health Committees and Local Support Organizations mobilize communities, facilitate referrals, track service defaulters, and provide feedback. Villages with active CE platforms report a 22% increase in primary health care utilization, a 17% rise in birth registrations, and a 15% improvement in accountability between communities and service providers.
Improving Service Uptake and Quality: CE platforms address barriers such as restrictive norms, mistrust, and gender-based limitations. Initiatives have led to increased caregiver knowledge, higher attendance at health sessions, improved immunization rates, better detection of malnutrition, and greater satisfaction with maternal health services.
Shifting Social and Gender Norms: Sustained CE is more effective than mass media in changing attitudes and behaviors. Outcomes include a 14% increase in father participation in child feeding and clinic visits, a 23% rise in immunization acceptance in previously resistant communities, and consistent improvements in women’s decision-making and health-seeking behaviors. CE also builds trust in public systems, particularly in rural areas.

UNICEF remains the lead agency providing continuous and dedicated investments on understanding people, their beliefs, values, and the social norms that shape their lives by partnering with national governments, civil society organizations, faith engagement networks and development agencies.

Community Engagement and its Conceptual and Operational Approaches in Pakistan

In the Pakistan context, community engagement expands the influence and agency of local actors such as religious leaders, traditional authorities, community‑based organizations, women’s groups, youth networks, and informal governance structures, all of whom are critical in shaping norms and facilitating the behavioural processes leading to acceptance, recognition, and sustained adoption of positive practices. Through deliberate engagement, these actors become integral partners in strengthening local systems, improving programme relevance, and ensuring that interventions are culturally appropriate, socially acceptable, and operationally effective.

In Pakistan, CE plays a pivotal role in enhancing demand generation, service uptake, and positive social and behaviour change, directly influencing progress across key programme outcomes, including:
Neonatal and child survival.
Improved nutritional status of girls and boys.
Children’s enrolment, retention, and learning outcomes.
Protection of children from violence, exploitation, neglect, and harmful norms.
Equitable access to safely managed WASH services; and
Strengthened climate resilience and community preparedness.
Behaviourally informed CE interventions when tailored to Pakistan’s diverse linguistic, social, and cultural contexts can shift attitudes, beliefs, and practices related to health, nutrition, education, protection, and hygiene. Community platforms function as crucial intermediaries between communities and service providers, facilitating trust‑building, transparency, problem‑solving, shared accountability, and joint decision-making. Given Pakistan’s heterogeneity, CE approaches must be context‑specific, acknowledging differences in local norms, power structures, and historical experiences with service delivery.

UNICEF’s role is to advocate for, institutionalize, and support the mainstreaming of CE across national systems and sectoral policies, ensuring long‑term sustainability and scalability. By strengthening national capacities and embedding CE within government structures, UNICEF contributes to improved accountability, enhanced system performance, and increased local ownership of development and humanitarian outcomes.

If you would like to know more about this consultancy, please review the complete Terms of Reference here: TMC0002130 TOR.pdf

Minimum requirements

Education: Master’s in Social and Behavioral Science, including sociology, cultural anthropology, political economy, development studies, including community development, psychology and/or related social sciences is required. Community development, international development or related disciplines
Work Experience: 10 years’ experience in designing, developing and rolling out community engagement strategies and frameworks with and for people. Experience with UN agencies and knowledge of UNICEF mission and mandate will be an added advantage
Skills Proven track record in navigating political and community sensitivities, creating inclusive engagement spaces and extensive working experience with diverse communities.

Knowledge of community engagement platforms including digital platforms, social online and offline listening.

Excellent public speaking, writing, communication, and facilitation, conflict resolution and de-escalation

Familiarity with UNICEF’s mandate and Global SBC Framework;

Prior experience working with Government and UN agencies in Pakistan or similar contexts is an asset

Language Requirements Fluency (written and oral) in English and Urdu.
Desirables provincial local language an asset

For every Child, you demonstrate...

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UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities. UNICEF is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially.

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via the online recruitment portal, TMS (Talent Management System):

An up-to-date TMS profile and curriculum vitae (CV)
Cover letter
A separate financial proposal TMC0002130 Financial Proposal.docx
A detailed technical proposal (5 Page technical proposal on conceptual and operational landscape of community engagement in Pakistan)

Remarks:

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.

Readvertisement-National Community Engagement Consultant: Strengthening Community Engagement System in Islamabad, Pakistan .2.5 Months. Site/Office based (Those who already applied need not re-apply)