Company Profile

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. CRS Ghana was established in 1958, a year after Ghana gained independence. In Ghana, CRS works with local partners to tackle poverty on several fronts including improving health and nutrition; increasing access to safe water and improved sanitation; promoting agriculture to enhance food security; and increasing financial assets through Savings and Internal Lending Communities. 

Job Description

1. Conduct extensive literature review, identify and prioritize high-risk hygiene practices in the project location.  The research should document and rank the major hygiene related behaviors and practices in households and in key community institutions. 
2. Use participatory methods (data collected under circumstances closer to the conditions under which the behaviour is normally produced) to identify the most promising levers for effecting behaviour change and settings: e.g. religious motivation, self-respect, desire for cleanliness, peer pressure, etc.
3. Identify the most appropriate channels (e.g. house to house visits, mass media, community events, etc.) and agents of communication (e.g. natural leaders, community groups, mass media, health outreach workers, local government agencies, etc.) to change hygiene behaviours.
4. Develop key messages to address the most significant high-risk behaviours using the most effective motivators for change identified during the formative research.
5. Identify training and other support needs, materials and tools to support project implementation activities. 
6. Design of an implementation strategy for hygiene and sanitation promotion. The detailed design will specify the approaches, methodologies, and activities needed to achieve the required changes in hygiene and sanitation promotion among the target groups identified in the formative research. The plan should fit into the project timeframe.

• Identify the range of high risk practices: Which common household or individual practices are most likely to cause health problems? Which high risk practices are most widespread? Which risk practices can be altered? This will help in deciding which practices to target by health promotion activities. 
• Use data collection methods such as situated observation (role play, behaviour trials, co-creation, motive mapping, etc.)  that are near, situationally and psychologically to the behaviours the program is trying to change.
• Identify alternative “target” practices: Identification of alternative hygienic practices to replace the risk practices, (e.g. prompt disposal of child faeces in the toilet rather than disposing in their surroundings; handwashing with soap after use of the toilet, before preparing food, and after cleaning infants’ bottoms, etc.)
• Define the target groups: Identify the groups that should be contacted and influenced to bring about behaviour change across the community: Primary target groups are those who carry out risk practices (e.g. mothers, children). Secondary target group are the immediate society of the primary group who influence them (e.g. fathers, school children). The third target group are the opinion leaders such as the religious, political, traditional leaders and elders, who are very important as they can have a major influence on the success of the project. It is therefore important to determine who and how many employ the high-risk practices, and how can they be influenced to change their behaviours? 
• Identify communication channels:  What channels are currently used for communication in the target area? Which channels are most trusted or credible in disseminating hygiene messages?  Do these channels differ among different target groups?  Which ones work best for which groups? How much would each communication channel cost?
• Development of promotional approaches: The key question is “how can target population be motivated to adopt safer hygiene behaviours?” One useful way is to consider the “users’” perceptions of what they view as the advantages of the target practices. This can be achieved by identifying target group members who already use safe hygiene practices, determining what made them adopt the safe practices, and understanding the perceived benefits that they get from them. Health is just one, and often not the most important, motivation for hygiene, so it is necessary to probe the other benefits which community members feel that they get from their adoption of target practices.

1. Executive Summary 
2. Introduction 
3. Study Description 
4. Methodology 
5. Summary of key findings including key indicators 
6. Conclusions and Recommendations for future directions 
7. Annexes: 
   • Data set
   • The Study Team Members
   • List of Interviewers
   • Methodology
   • Questionnaire, Guides/ tools
   • Evaluation plan
   • Terms of Reference

Required Skills or Experience

• Advanced degree in Social Sciences, Rural Development, Water Engineering, Public Health, Hydrology, etc.
• Certified training in behavior change methodology
• Knowledge on gender and gender mainstreaming, and experience in the use of participatory methodologies as well as developing gender sensitive strategies is a requirement.
• Previous experience in researches of similar nature is required.
• Familiarity with WASH programming in development contexts
• Familiarity with the context in Northern Ghana is an advantage.
• Knowledge in advertising, selling and delivering products to people is an advantage.
• Excellent written and spoken communications skills in English is desired.