- What qualities do you look for in the people you hang out with?
Should be well
read, well-travelled, have a point of view/opinionated, empathetic, have varied
interests (music, sports, politics, media and tech, food etc.) and a sense of
humour. I really enjoy hanging out with people who have experiences to share!
- What do you do?
Currently
work as an Immunisation-SBCC consultant with UNICEF South Asia. My work focuses
on demand generation and behaviour change for uptake of routine immunisation in
South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan
and the Maldives). Head office is in Kathmandu, Nepal but I mostly work from
home (Delhi-Bangkok).
- Why do you do what you do?
Always been interested
in public health, media and communications. My interest in community health
came from my father (a doctor) and my mother (a teacher). I was pretty clear
fairly early on that I wanted to work in the development sector. I am also very
interested in behaviour science and choice - why do people do what they
do, why do they make the choices they make. All this has led me here!
- Is this where you thought you would end up?
I didn’t
always have a clear career path. I was clear that I wanted to work in the
development sector, but this a SBCC job role/profile was not very clear to me.
There’s been a lot of exploring, academic and work experience that has led me
here.
- What values are you committed to?
Empathy, Mindfulness,
Diversity and Curiosity.
- How many hours do you work in a typical week?
50-60 hours.
Some weeks are slower, so maybe 40 in those. But a lot of work also carries
over to the weekends.
- What skills are required in your position on a day-to-day basis?
SBCC
expertise in conceptualisation and planning, research, development of messages
and Information Education Communication (IEC) materials. Over the last 5 years,
sound knowledge of social change and community engagement strategies has also
been needed.
- Are there any negatives to your job?
Working as a
consultant doesn’t give you much visibility. Also, my job requires me to work
across time zones (New York – Geneva – Delhi), so it can be quite taxing!
- What is the background of most senior-level executives in your SBCC circles?
A mixture of
experts in public health, sociology, anthropology, media and communication
experts.
- What do you wish you knew at our stage? (IE: Entry-level SBCC enthusiasts)
Results of
SBCC can be VERY long term, and donors are not huge fans of the long term.
Everyone wants quick wins/results. Fundraising for SBCC can be difficult. A lot
of entry level SBCC enthusiasts are very keen on “changing things”, which is
great and the idealism is important but all of us often get stuck in thinking
about how to go about that change (personal, household and family, community,
country).
- What is the best piece of professional advice you've ever received -- and used or implemented?
A stellar
and effective career is judged in the long term. With that in mind, it’s
important to take risks but also not be too harsh on oneself. I’ll use the
analogy of sport. All the brilliant runners, footballers, cricketers, tennis
players etc. earned the tag of being “champions” because of their performances
over the long term. They won a lot surely, but they also failed in many
competitions. It’s ok to not succeed but the drive to be a better person and
professional should always be there.
- If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
I wouldn’t
do anything differently. It’s been an amazing ride so far!
- What should keep entry-level SBCC enthusiasts up at night?
Innovative
strategies and solutions. A lot of development work involves the same planning
templates, reports and documentation processes. But the cookie-cutter approach
doesn’t work. Entry level SBCC enthusiasts should be thinking about creative
solutions to solve problems, and how those solutions can be scaled up. To their
benefit, many organisations are offering “seed money” to pilot test ideas and
solutions so there is a good platform available already. .
- What professional organizations are you associated with, and in what ways?
None at the
moment.
- What used to be your biggest weakness?
I would
sometimes take failure or limited success very personally, because I invest
myself fully in what I do. But I have made a conscious effort to change, not
allow disappointment(s) to bring me down. Also having a family and having faced
some disappointments makes you wiser. You start seeing the bigger picture.
- What mistakes have you made?
Looking
back, there have been quite a few. But in terms of priority, I would say that
for some of the work I have done or led on, my planning could have been better.
One thing to be aware of is that plans change very quickly, and for a number of
reasons so you always need to bear that in mind and have a clear understanding
of risks involved and assumptions.
- What one thing do you still struggle with?
I do
struggle sometimes to explain lay persons what I do exactly! People often think
of all communication practitioners to be doing external relations and PR sort
of work. Or corporate communications as it is known. But my role and profile is
very different and perhaps very unique to public health. It’s very hard to
explain it to people in a sentence or two.
- What traits impress you the most in a working professional, irrespective of their area of expertise?
Willingness
to listen, share information and work in a collaborative manner.
- What are the top 7 technical skills that entry-level SBCC enthusiasts should strive to horn?
I can point
to a few:
·
Be very
clear on SBCC concepts – what is social change? What does it look like?
·
SBCC
planning – how do you plan a multi-year SBCC strategy? What are the milestones?
·
SBCC
Monitoring & Evaluation (in my opinion this is the hardest)
·
SBCC
research methodologies
·
Fundraising
for SBCC – a very important skill, and one which is in short supply in my
opinion!
- Considering all the people you have met in your line of work, what personal attributes are essential for success?
I would say
it’s important to have the desire to keep learning from others, keep reading and
finding out more, to listen to beneficiaries at whom SBCC strategies are
targeted. To be hard working and driven about achieving results and working
collaboratively with people from different backgrounds are also essential
personal attributes. I know a lot of technical experts who have very poor
interpersonal communication skills. It’s a recipe for disaster!
- What's the best advice you can give to help plan a career rather than simply work to keep a job?
As I was leaving a job in
207 and going off to study further, a colleague in his goodbye note to me
mentioned a quote from Voltaire. It said - No problem can stand the assault
of sustained thinking. This has stuck with me since then, as it applies
very well to planning a career but also to life.
That being said, I don’t
come from the school of thought where planning a career is the most serious
endeavour in your life and the “be all end all” in life. It’s important to
plan, but then also be ready for some unexpected twists and turns.
- What has been your most rewarding accomplishment?
That I got
chosen for my current job role was a nice pat on the back for my work over the
last 7+ years. It’s a very high profile and demanding role, but one where I
feel well placed. Also getting selected for UNICEF’s New and Emerging Talent
Initiative in 2007 was very rewarding. It told me that I had what it takes and
my skills and attributes were being acknowledged.
- What factors do you consider most often when planning for the future?
There are a
few things:
·
Job role –
is it in line with what I have been doing?
·
How
challenging is the job?
·
How is the
team and also the management in the office?
·
Family
situation – if we need to relocate, will the place be suitable for the family?
- What developments in the horizon could affect future career opportunities in this field?
Securing
funding for SBCC is very challenging, now particularly so as funding globally
is drying up or being diverted to emergencies. This will be a big challenge.
Also within the development field, people often confuse the roles and expertise
of SBCC practitioners and External Relations practitioners. There do exist
certain similarities in the skill set needed but the roles and profiles are
quite different.
- Can you recommend a "must-read" book that will help us broaden our skills as working professionals or inspire us to reach my highest potential?
Development
Communication Sourcebook by Paulo Mefapolous
Michael
Gladwell’s books are also useful reads as they are about behavioural science
and the concept of choice.
- Which other SBCC maven would you recommend for this interview?
Patricia Portela Souza
SBCC Expert
UNICEF Regional Office for
Eastern and Southern Africa
Nairobi, Kenya
- What's the most valuable question we should ask the next SBCC maven who is interviewed on this blog?
Question
13!!
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