Fast Track Procedures – SRHR Specialist, NOC Full-Time

The Position

The Programme Specialist for Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) provides advice for the development and implementation of strategic, innovative and effective strategies to ensure demand and access to universal sexual reproductive health care, services, and rights, particularly in humanitarian situations. The incumbent leads and provide guidance for the implementation of all UNFPA’s SRH interventions in the target provinces and provides technical support for institutional development to UNFPA implementing partners and Government counterparts.

Under the overall guidance of the UNFPA Resident Representative, direct supervision of the Head of Office, she/he supports UNFPA’s development, resilience and emergency sexual, reproductive, maternal, and newborn health coordination and programming in the target provinces, with provincial government and United Nations.

How you can make a difference

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan, focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices.

In the face of challenges resulting from the humanitarian environment, in the north of Mozambique, including gaps in fulfilment of women’s reproductive rights, the need for significant improvement of SRHR services to serve a larger population, the difficulty in achieving unmeet needs, maternal mortality, and HIV targets and with a less favorable economic development, UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need principled and ethical staff, who embody human rights norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose

The SRHR Specialist plays a pivotal role in coordinating and managing comprehensive SRHR interventions, to substantively drive the effective achievement of UNFPA programme activities in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights, reducing unmet needs, preventable maternal deaths and accelerating progress on the ICPD agenda and associated SDGs in crises affected areas of Mozambique. In a complex operating environment, he/she will establish and maintain collaborative relationships with counterparts in government, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donor agencies and civil society to address emerging population issues and to facilitate SRH programme delivery, including in humanitarian situations. He/she will be expected to analyze relevant political, social and economic trends in the province and to provide inputs to SRHR interventions design, project formulation, evaluation, joint programming endeavors and national development framework, as well as monitoring results achieved during programme implementation and guiding the appropriate application of systems and procedures.

Duties and Responsibilities

You are responsible, within the target provinces for:

Technical Development, Monitoring and Oversight:

• Ensure the integrated implementation of the SDG, UNFPA Strategic Plan with UNSDCF, CPD and national policies and strategies, through sound advice and technical support in the area of SRHR, including on humanitarian settings;
• Provide technical and programme management advice, support and guidance to staff in field office on SRHR, including articulation with programmatic areas such as gender, demographic dividend, health and financing policies, data generation and use, and for development of related technical competencies, in articulation with teams in Maputo office. Supervise SRH staff as required;
• Ensure full implementation and follow-up of life-saving Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Reproductive Health in the emergency responses;
• Lead the development and implementation of an integrated strategy to develop SRHR capacity, both internally and externally for all field office partners grounded in, and responsive to provincial priorities, with particular attention to the humanitarian context;
• Lead the Reproductive health Commodity Safety and Security (RHCS) at provincial level: Plan for and monitor SRH commodities and supplies including stock management and forecasting for purposes of prepositioning and minimising stock-outs;
• Identify and provide evidence-based advice, in SRHR, on UNFPA’s comparative role and contribution in the changing development agenda and participate in policy dialogue, ensuring the provision of sound, evidence-based contributions to annual reports, programme and project reports;
• Assess, collect data and information, analyze and interpret the social and economic environment relevant to the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and ensure that issues are appropriately addressed at the provincial level;
• Identify and analyze trends, threats and risks in SRHR that may affect the accomplishment of the ICPD agenda and UNFPA’s work in the region. Keep abreast with new policy developments and strategies, analyzing policy papers, strategy documents, national plans and development frameworks on SRHR.

Programme and Project Management in the field office:

• In collaboration with Government counterparts, CSO and other stakeholders, contribute to the design and formulation of SRHR programme and projects.  Introduce the results from programme reviews and evaluations, best practices, as well as innovative strategies, approaches and policies into the formulation of interventions, particularly for humanitarian settings;
• Ensure SRH field team effectiveness and efficiency, through timely planning, monitoring and execution of programme interventions, and projects. Achieved through good communication, task accomplishment, provision of guidance, direction, and advice. Effective programme and project implementation, guiding and orienting executing agencies, related partners and personnel and introducing effective modalities and practices of implementation. Focus on maximising SRHR FP, RHCS programme impact, paying particular attention to the global commitment to Leave No One Behind. This requires joined up approaches, better data including disaggregation of data, and a stronger focus not just on measuring results but on using results data to inform management decisions about prioritization;
• Advise and report on achievement of sexual and reproductive health interventions and results, and proactively measures substantive progress and the effective utilization of financial and human project resources, using timely and appropriate monitoring and measuring mechanisms and tools, reflected in value for money.
• Advise and report on inter-linkages between UNFPA programme components (RH, population and development, gender);
• Participate actively in relevant health cluster, Joint UN Teams, ensures alignment of RH programmes with relevant joint programming initiatives, support and contribute to all relevant joint programmes/activities among the UN agencies in the target province.

Policy Dialogue:

• Represent UNFPA on substantive SRHR issues in the target province and at national level as requested, and elaborate UNFPA’s provincial perspectives in SRH;
• Identify requirements for new or updated policies, positioning, frameworks, guidance, standards, instruments and tools. Address policy issues and provides substantive inputs to facilitate policy dialogue and the central positioning of sexual and reproductive health within policies, national and international plans and strategies, UN system initiatives, and development frameworks in national and development partners’ coordination mechanisms in line with the new aid environment;
• Participate in the UNFPA technical network in SRHR and ensure that relevant issues are incorporated in national development plans and frameworks;
• Collaborate on substantive issues with UN agencies, academia, research and training institutions, professional societies. Ensure high quality, collaborative work across the UN system, and donor community, that drives faster progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, especially by overcoming silos around SRHR development work, and a genuinely integrated UN platform at the country level.

Quality Control of Technical Support and Capacity Development at field office level:

• Advise the CO and partners on the implementation and proper application of UNFPA policies, strategies, guidelines and tools on substantive matters in the region, ensuring consistency and coherence in addressing priorities for UNFPA transformative results;
• Promote analysis and synthesis of substantive trends, emerging needs and research findings in the country in order to produce new, cutting-edge technical knowledge;
• Create substantive knowledge of SRH issues in the country by evaluating programmes, lessons learned, best practices, and replicable strategies and approaches. Assess technical assistance needs in these areas and advise on the suitability of programmes and related interventions to meet these needs;
• Play a key role in building up, coordinating and monitoring the provincial knowledge platform in Sexual and Reproductive Health and rights, contribute to provincial capacity development efforts. Contribute to the adaptation of training materials, manuals and tools in these areas and ensure their availability and promote their use for capacity development;
• Support the development of institutional capacities for delivering high-quality technical support in select areas of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights particularly for humanitarian;
• Initiate, develop, strengthen, and monitor substantive and intellectual partnerships in SRHR, including for South-South technical cooperation in the region.

Advocacy and Resource Mobilization for the provincial portfolio:

• Contribute to advocacy and resource mobilization efforts for the Family Planning, Maternal health, and HIV areas by analyzing gaps and needs, and provide inputs to institutional responses and advocacy strategies, taking into account social and economic context;
• Identify opportunities to advocate and advance UNFPA’s policy by participating in public information events.
• Collaborate with and build effective partnerships with other UN agencies, national government and CSOs in the SRH area;
• Contribute to the resource mobilization efforts by analyzing information on potential donors, preparing substantive briefs and proposals in line with donor priorities, creating feedback mechanisms and providing information on progress of donor funded initiatives;
• Identify opportunities for cost-sharing, leveraging and collaboration with civil society, government and other partners as well as through joint UN programmes;
• Advise on building strong technical and programme multi-sectoral partnerships for advocacy for ICPD agenda and the attainment of SDG targets and indicators at the national level through national institutions, networks, alliances and coalitions.

People Management & Leadership:

• Supervise staff and associates, direct expert consultants and facilitate working groups and task teams;
• Proactively ensure that SRH programmes and projects remain aligned with the broader aims of the Country Programme and incorporate elements of gender and population and development issues;
• Exchange relevant information and maintain an open line of communication with colleagues and his/her supervisor to ensure that synergies across programming activities are obtained;
• Coach and supervise national professional and support staff, responsible for staff performance and advise on development needs.

Other:

• When appropriate, undertake other managerial and/or programme implementation duties assigned by the Assistant Representative, Deputy Representative and/or Representative.

Qualifications and Experience

Education: 

• Advanced degree in Public Health, Medical Sciences, Medicine, health systems/economics, or other related discipline;
• Prior training and experience in sexual reproductive health and rights, and emergency gender and their application in development settings is desirable.

Knowledge and experience:

• 5 years of responsible professional experience in the substantive area, preferably in programme/project management in the public, CSO and/or international institutions;
• Field experience is required, preferably in Mozambique;
• Conversant with national frameworks and policies on reproductive health and other population issues and their linkages with the changing global environment and how this affects the context of Mozambique;
• Strong track record of technical leadership on SRH/ SRHiE, ability to produce demonstrable results and proven experience in Emergencies;
• Experience working with health systems in government institutions, CSO and/or donor institutions and leadership of relevant thematic groups;
• Good knowledge of the programme development mechanism of the and United Nations country programmes and familiarity with UNFPA programmes and policies;
• Experience in Health/ SRHiE mechanisms and coordination leadership in Mozambique is an asset.

Language Requirements: 

• Excellent oral and written communication in English and Portuguese;
• Working knowledge of another official UN language, preferably Spanish or French, would be desirable.

Computer Skills: 

• Proficiency in the latest office software applications;
• IT Ability to familiarize with ERP (Quantum), PeopleSoft, SAP, or other web-based integrated system;
• Managing Relationships: Working in teams, communicating information and ideas, conflict and self-management;
• Working with people: Developing people/performance management;
• Personal Leadership and Effectiveness: Strategic and analytical thinking, results orientation/commitment to excellence, appropriate and transparent decision making;
• Good financial management skills.

Core Competencies:

• Integrity/Commitment to mandate, knowledge sharing/continuous learning, valuing diversity.

Values: 

• Exemplifying integrity;
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system;
• Embracing cultural diversity;
• Promoting innovation and positive change.

Functional competencies:

• Advocacy/Advancing a policy-oriented agenda;
• Results-based programme development and management;
• Innovation and marketing of new approaches;
• Leveraging the resources of national governments and partners/Building strategic alliances and partners;
• Resource mobilization;
• Training and facilitation skills;
• Ability to conduct operational/interventional research.

Compensation and Benefits 

• This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance, pension and other benefits as applicable.

Disclaimer

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm

In accordance with the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, persons applying to posts in the international Professional category, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.