UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress. UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a "first call for children" and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families. UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children – victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation, and those with disabilities. UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In coordination with United Nations partners and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF makes its unique facilities for rapid response available to its partners to relieve the suffering of children and those who provide their care. UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority. UNICEF aims, through its country programmes, to promote the equal rights of women and girls and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities. UNICEF works with all its partners towards the attainment of the sustainable human development goals adopted by the world community and the realization of the vision of peace and social progress enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

UNICEF, established in 1946, is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, support their basic needs, and expand opportunities for children to reach their full potential. UNICEF works with governments, UN agencies, and humanitarian partners to deliver development and emergency programmes, with a strong focus on the most vulnerable populations.
Social and Behaviour Change in UNICEF is a cross-cutting programme strategy that analyses and addresses the cognitive, social and structural determinants of individual practices and societal changes in both development and humanitarian contexts. SBC uses the latest in social and behavioral sciences to understand people, their beliefs, their values, the socio-cultural norms and the economic and institutional contexts that shape their lives, with the aim of engaging them and increasing their influence in the design of solutions for change. SBC brings social and behavioral evidence generation together with participation in community-led and human-centered processes.
In addition to the regular SBC programming, UNICEF Sri Lanka SBC team plays a key role in advancing Accountability to Affected People (AAP) by promoting people-centred approaches across humanitarian responses. As a co-lead of the AAP Working Group, UNICEF supports coordination, strengthens complaints and feedback mechanisms, builds partner capacity, and ensures community voices inform decision-making throughout emergency response and recovery.

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Officer – Social & Behaviour Change, the UN Volunteer will:
• Support the design and dissemination of timely, relevant, and actionable information for affected people, and strengthen meaningful community participation in humanitarian decision-making
• Support to coordinate the AAP Working Group, support partner capacity building, and monitor the progress of the HPP partners against the common indicators
• Support the strengthening of complaints and feedback mechanisms in collaboration with government counterparts and facilitate coordination processes
• Support emergency reporting and manage AAP-related data, including systematic analysis and use of findings to inform response planning and course correction
• Generate and use SBC evidence, data, and assessments for response, recovery, and resilience.
• Participate in programme monitoring exercises and make recommendations on required revisions of the programmes
• Provide technical and administrative support for the development, implementation and monitoring of evidence-based SBC strategies and activities
• Identify, document and disseminate best practices and innovative approaches
• Engage and sustain collaborations with the influencers for the implementation of SBC in humanitarian and development actions
• Provide flexible support for any additional SBC/AAP-related needs that arise during the assignment