Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Internship position with Global Health Fellows Program II

in Fellowships, Practicums/Internships
August 5th, 2015

Global Health Fellows Program II

Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Intern

Maternal and Child Health Division, Office of Health, Infectious Diseases, and Nutrition, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development

Anticipated timeframe: September 2015 – March 2016: Compensated 6 month internship

Location: Washington, DC/Arlington, VA

INT-P4-058

The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP-II) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute in partnership with Global Health Corps, GlobeMed, Management Systems International and PYXERA Global. GHFP-II is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

GHFP-II’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID health programs by addressing the Agency’s immediate and emerging human capacity needs. The program seeks to accomplish this goal first through the recruitment, placement and support of diverse health professionals at the junior, mid and senior levels. These program participants include fellows, interns, corporate volunteers and Foreign Service National professionals. The program then provides substantial performance management and career development support to participants, including annual working planning assistance, and ensures that professional development opportunities are available.

Looking to the future, GHFP-II also seeks to establish a pool of highly-qualified global health professionals that will ensure the Agency’s ongoing technical leadership and effectiveness. This objective is supported by an extensive outreach program that brings global health opportunities and specialized career advice to a diverse range of interested individuals, with a particular focus on those underrepresented in the field of global health.

BACKGROUND:

Beginning with the 2013 Evidence Summit on Population Level Behavior Change for Child Health and Development, USAID has embarked on an ambitious program to mainstream social and behavior change in its core and field programs.  The summit, which examined the evidence for effective behavior change interventions, was followed by a series of consultations among experts within different health areas. The process was guided by the need to:

  • Identify behaviors with the highest potential for impact on mortality reduction.
  • Establish indicators/outcomes for these behaviors that can be monitored and evaluated.
  • Implement behavior change for these behaviors with evidence-based tools and interventions.

This work includes analysis of existing programs, development of instruments to support improvements, and technical work to focus activities on the highest impact interventions.

Ten Accelerator Behaviors have been identified in a Behavior Change Framework to help mainstream behavior change activities in the global health agenda for Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Death (EPCMD).  These are the behavior changes that can have the highest impact on mortality reduction.

The overarching objective of implementing the Accelerator Behaviors is to accelerate in-country, sustainable population-level behavior change at the individual, family, community and institutional level to scale up demand for and use of key reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health interventions and practices.

Accelerator behaviors are priority behaviors for programming because they have the highest potential to hasten the decline of child and maternal deaths. They are selected among other behaviors that contribute to ending preventable deaths because they have low uptake (e.g., low oral rehydration solution use), yet impact a major cause of child and/or maternal mortality across the continuum of care/lifecycle (e.g., iron tablet consumption during pregnancy, postnatal care-seeking).

For more information about USAID efforts to end preventable child and maternal deaths, please read the 2014 report, acting on the Call.

INTRODUCTION:

The Intern will work closely with the Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Advisor as his/her onsite manager. The Intern will provide research and analytical assistance to the Health, Infectious Disease and Nutrition (HIDN) Office and USAID Missions on SBC questions and field implementation, and will collaborate with other SBC technical staff to provide technical assistance on questions and issues concerning social and behavior change.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 

  • Gaining experience in the field of social and behavior change in relation to EPCMD and Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH).
  • Gaining a greater understanding of the global landscape and USAID’s work in social and behavior change for health.
  • Deepening skills in collaboration and coordination within a complex organizational and implementation structure.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES: 

  • Monitoring data on social and behavior change programs in the 24 priority EPCMD countries.
  • Analyzing the data from Demographic Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and other population level surveys on changes in uptake and use of key behaviors and practices.
  • Supporting the USAID collaboration with the White House Social and Behavior Change Team in the 24 priority EPCMD countries.
  • Supporting the work of World Health Organization (WHO)-led activities to establish a “Roadmap” to:  develop a WHO Guidance Document for Building, Reporting, Assessing, and Applying social and behavioral sciences in MNCRH-Integrated Global Public Health Interventions. This may include supporting activities around the development of a prioritized global research agenda for key social and behavior change interventions for RMNCH and clear guidance on developing country-level prioritized research agendas.
  • Other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned based on organizational and programming need and/or the Intern’s own interests.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Currently enrolled master’s or other post-bachelor’s degree candidate in a program related to public health, knowledge management, international studies or communication; or, completion of such within the past 12 months.
  • Experience in research methodologies, evidence search, compiling, editing and reporting on social development issues (preferably with an emphasis on behavior change and communication for development).
  • Strong scientific/research editing and publishing skills.
  • Strong oral and written communications skills.
  • Knowledge of Spanish and/or French preferred.
  • Strong attention to detail with the ability to find creative solutions to problems and work independently.
  • US citizenship or US permanent residency required.

COMPENSATION:

$1,680 bi-weekly (exempt, salaried position).

TO APPLY:

Detailed information, including an online application and instructions, is available on our website at www.ghfp.net. All applications must be submitted by August 17, 2015 at 5:00 pm eastern time.