CAREER GUIDANCE FROM DR. YOSHITH PERERA, SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNICATION PRACTITIONER BASED IN CANADA

Follow Dr. Yoshith Perera on twitter: @YoshiDRP

1.     What qualities do you look for in the people you hang out with?

I try to engage with various communities and interact with a variety of different people. It is important to surround yourself with diverse perspectives. As long as everybody is smiling and laughing and having a good time, I'd probably be having a great time. 

2.     What do you do?

I am currently a public health case writer with Western University, Ontario, Canada. I also work part time with Plan Canada in retail fundraising. I am passionate about the protection and promotion of health. This complements my background in clinical medicine. I endeavor to become more involved in the global health portfolio and engage with more diverse perspectives moving forward in my career. 
 

3.     Why do you do what you do?

When I decided to study medicine, it was because I wanted to make a difference in the world. Even with such direction, sometimes its not enough. So I pursued my MPH degree and it really opened my eyes to how I can make a difference in the world. I do what I do, because I truly care about the world and the fragile environment in which we interact with. I believe in equity, social justice and a more sustainable way of life. This is what I want to see in the world...
 

4.     Is this where you thought you would end up?

Absolutely not! I think I'm just beginning my journey... 

5.     What values are you committed to?

Transparency, Collaboration and Partnerships, Creativity, Cultural competency, Accountability, Enthusiasm, Empathy, Humility, Humor, and Growth.

6.     How many hours do you work in a typical week?

It really depends, at times I feel like I'm working every day. If it's not for work, its for a class I'm taking over the weekend or I'm writing a speech for the weekly Toastmasters meeting. While I continue to find something more full time, I currently work about 20 hours a week.  
 

7.     What skills are required in your position on a day-to-day basis?

Skills in research, analysis and writing are helpful. Communication skills are critical, but I believe this skill is important for all public and global health practitioners.  
 

8.     Are there any negatives to your job?

I think there aren't any negatives to my job in my perspective. There are however challenges and I believe challenges should be met with strategy. As a change agent, I find that any challenge can be potentially resolved through a respectful frank conversation. 
 

9.     What is the background of most senior-level executives in your SBCC circles?

They have doctoral degrees and/or MBA with regard to education. This is often complemented with many years of experience in academia and/or field work.
 

10.   What do you wish you knew at our stage? (IE: Entry-level SBCC enthusiasts)

I believe I am at an entry-level myself. The world we live in is very much in a rate of flux. I do wish that early on I knew the importance of heavy strategic planning. Our plans will continue to change, hence the incorporation of strategy allows for a more resilient endeavor. I do wish I had mastered the French language by now.
 

11.   What is the best piece of professional advice you've ever received -- and used or implemented?

Only you can be your best advocate! You will come across so many "negative responses", to your inquiries and actions. Never be afraid to raise your questions and introduce your insights. You are responsible for yourself. 
 

12.   If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Honestly, I feel like I haven't arrived at my destination. So it would be premature for me to change my past. That being said, my perspectives and my insights are a result of my past experiences. 
 

13.  What should keep entry-level SBCC enthusiasts up at night?

Whether they have remained ethical and rational on their communication platforms. We often forget that we need to listen more before we respond. We may wish to change the world and the communities in it for the better. But it is important to ask them if they really want it too? I believe we shouldn't hold paternalistic views on change. 
 

14.   What professional organizations are you associated with, and in what ways?

• With the Canadian Public Health Association; I am a part of their young professionals working group.
• With the Canadian College of Health Leaders; Member
• MentorNet; I am currently a "student young professional" under their program. 
• Toastmasters International; Local club member; allows me to harness my communication skills

15.   What used to be your biggest weakness?

I appreciate the creative work ethic, which means I'm easily distracted by the world's simple moments. To be frank, I believe I am forgetful. Making notes was my solution to a well-structured week. 
 

16.   What mistakes have you made?

Many, probably. What probably defines you best is how you approached to said error. Reflecting on your question, I think they are more of an opportunity than a mistake. It's clearly the perspective you take. 
 

17.    What one thing do you still struggle with?

I do second guess my choices. I revisit my goals and objectives moving forward. Not because I feel that they are wrong, but because I want to make them a reality. I am persistent. 
 

18.   What traits impress you the most in a working professional, irrespective of their area of expertise?

Their humility and conduct in a professional environment. I appreciate the professional that can see every person for the resource that they are. It takes a leader to see such passion and possibility. 
 

19.     What are the top 7 technical skills that entry-level SBCC enthusiasts should strive to horn?

• Data retrieval; interviewing, research  
• Quantitative and Qualitative analysis  
• Documentation and Reporting 
• Methodological Implementation 
• Planning & Evaluation 
• Networking
• Team competency; management 

20.    Considering all the people you have met in your line of work, what personal attributes are essential for success?

Good listening skills and a positive demeanor.

21.    What's the best advice you can give to help plan a career rather than simply work to keep a job? 

Have SMART goals; specific, measurable, attainable, reliable and timely. They apply to your career as well. Consider your personal best and strive to beat it; you will see personal growth.
 

22. What has been your most rewarding accomplishment?

I was honored to receive the Dr. M. Abdur Rab Public Health Excellence Award from the Interfaculty Master of Public Health Program at Western University. Now it's my responsibility to stay worthy of said accomplishment.  

23.  What factors do you consider most often when planning for the future?

The difference I want to make in the world. The degree to which I may be adaptable in a given situation. For me personally, I believe that I am in a place in my career that would allow me to travel and make a positive global impact. 
 

24.  What developments in the horizon could affect future career opportunities in this field?

Should I get the opportunity to pursue a residency in public health and preventive medicine, it would allow me to work in emergency crisis environments. I believe it would be an opportunity to give back.
 

25.  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? 

I think we must all be cognizant of the world we are living in and our footprints on it. I would suggest reading: “A Short History of Progress” by Ronald Wright

26.  Which other SBCC maven would you recommend for this interview?

I would recommend one of my mentors during my internship at the Pan American Health Organization:
 

Name: Arantxa Cayon

Position: Communications and Knowledge Management specialist at the Department of Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health, PAHO

27.  What's the most valuable question we should ask the next SBCC maven who is interviewed on this blog?

As a communicator, if you could write a book on a social issue; what would it be and why?

CAREER GUIDANCE FROM GAURAV GARG, SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNICATION PRACTITIONER BASED IN SOUTH ASIA

1. 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!

2. 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).

3. 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!

4. 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.

5. What values are you committed to?

Empathy, Mindfulness, Diversity and Curiosity.  

6. 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.  

7. 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.

8. 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!

9. 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.

10. 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).

11. 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.

12. 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!

13. 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. .

14. What professional organizations are you associated with, and in what ways?

None at the moment.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.  

18. 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.

19. 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!

20. 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!

21. 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.  

22. 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. 

23. 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?

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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

ppsouza@unicef.org

27. What's the most valuable question we should ask the next SBCC maven who is interviewed on this blog?

Question 13!!