The Position:
The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Specialist manages UNFPA’s work on sexual and reproductive health and rights, for accelerating achievement of the ICPD Programme of Action and Agenda 2030. You will lead technical and policy advice in sexual and reproductive health, promote rights-based approaches, position UNFPA’s work strategically within the health sector, and ensure linkages with other UNFPA programmes in the areas of adolescents and youth and gender equality and population dynamics.
Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Representative, you will report directly to the Programme and Technical Support Coordinator.
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 new strategic plan (2018-2021), 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 a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.
UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; 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:
In response to the national priority of addressing the high unmet need for family planning, and as a contribution to reducing maternal mortality and advancing gender equality, UNFPA has been actively engaging with the Government of India to enhance the capacities of the health system at the national level and in selected states to provide high quality reproductive health and family planning services, with a focus on young women and adolescent girls.
UNFPA has been a partner of the Government of India and People since 1974 and is now on its 9th five-year Country Programme. The Country Programme leverages large-scale government programmes to strengthen the maternal and reproductive health in districts. These include Aspirational district programme, Ayushman Bharat, LaQshya initiative for improving the quality of intrapartum care, Midwifery Initiative, and Mission Parivaar Vikas (for strengthening family planning services in 146 districts with high fertility). UNFPA is providing support to improving the access and quality of maternal and newborn care services, expansion of contraceptive choices, and strengthening the quality and reproductive rights within SRH services. Additionally, UNFPA is providing technical support for RMNCHA services in Health and Wellness Centers in selected districts in its focus states.
Working within a large and complex Country Office (CO), you will lead the efforts to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights through policy advice and advocacy, technical assistance, strengthening partnerships to leverage financial and technical resources for accelerated achievement of UNFPA’s transformative results and the ICPD Programme of Action.
You will coordinate the work on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and will engage with UNFPA State offices and other programme units.
You would be responsible for:
A.: Policy Dialogue and Technical Support
- Ensure UNFPA’s strategic positioning within the health sector with government, development partners and other stakeholders;
- Provide technical leadership on sexual and reproductive health and rights, including in the areas of maternal health, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and family planning, within the context of broader health sector efforts.
- Represent UNFPA and promote sexual and reproductive health and rights and the ICPD Programme of Action linkages to Agenda 2030 in high-level meetings, conference and fora.
- Keep abreast of policy and legal developments that affect sexual and reproductive health and rights, and prepare analysis for senior management on potential impacts to UNFPA’s ability to achieve the UNFPA transformative results.
- Identify policy gaps in achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights in India, and translate knowledge gained from programming into concrete policy recommendations.
- Support the Country Office in conducting policy dialogue with Government, UN and other development partners to incorporate sexual and reproductive health into national plans, strategies and polices, and within UN system initiatives and development frameworks.
- Provide technical guidance to strategic positioning of sexual and reproductive health and rights efforts at the state level, including in relation to state policies and interventions.
- Ensure that state-of-the-art thinking and research is integrated within UNFPA’s sexual and reproductive health and rights programme implementation
- Develop and participate in technical networks on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
B.: Advocacy and Resource Mobilization
- Identify opportunities to position sexual and reproductive health and rights within broader development frameworks, including national conferences, fora, policy roundtables, and lead UNFPA’s participation.
- Advocate for increases in national/state budgetary allocations and expenditures for sexual and reproductive health and rights to leverage financing for the ICPD agenda and to ensure sustainability of interventions.
- Contribute technical inputs to communications materials for advocating for sexual and reproductive health and rights as essential for sustainable development.
- Provide inputs to content for visibility of UNFPA’s work and achievements on sexual and reproductive health and rights, including for development of briefs, reports and social media.
- Identify potential funding opportunities, including from public and private sectors.
- Develop proposals for funding that are innovative and demonstrate potential for high impact.
- Maintain partnerships with donors, keeping them regularly updated on implementation, in coordination with the Advocacy and Resource Mobilization Specialist.
C. Programme Management and Coordination:
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- Contribute to formulation of the sexual and reproductive health component of the country programme, ensuring that selected interventions position UNFPA as a thought leader in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
- Manage the sexual and reproductive health programme component work plans development, implementation and monitoring.
- Work with implementing partners, experts, government counterparts and other UN agencies in the design and timely/efficient delivery of programme interventions, with a strong focus on ensuring approaches are grounded in reproductive rights and gender equality.
- Coordinate and participate in UN-wide and development partner discussions and programmes on health (FP2020 network, UNSDF results group on health, the joint UN programme on HIV/AIDS, etc..)
- Ensure results-based reporting on the sexual and reproductive health component of the programme.
- Lead life-saving sexual and reproductive health humanitarian response interventions, with a focus on provision of minimum service package for SRH in humanitarian settings ensuring adequate attention given to the needs of women and girls during emergencies.
- Knowledge Management
- Lead the documentation of lessons learned and best practices related to UNFPA’s work in sexual and reproductive health and rights.
- Identify and participate in communities of practice related to the health sector and sexual and reproductive health and rights and share new approaches with CO staff, national partners and consultants.
Carry out any other duties as may be required by UNFPA leadership.
Qualifications and Experience
Education:
Advanced degree in Public Health, Medicine, Sociology, Demography, Gender, Economics, International Relations, International Development, Public Administration, Management or related disciplines;
Knowledge and Experience:
- Five years of increasingly responsible professional experience at the advisory/managerial level in managing sexual and reproductive health programmes;
- Demonstrable technical expertise in sexual and reproductive health;
- Strong understanding of reproductive rights and gender equality dimensions in policy and programme formulation, implementation and monitoring;
- Proven experience in coordinating/managing a multi-disciplinary team of staff, experts and consultants;
- Familiarity in communicating in a clear and articulated manner, technical and/or complex issues to different types of audiences;
- Demonstrated ability to network within the health sector;
- Demonstrated experience in coordination and liaison with government counterparts, nongovernment organizations, UN agencies, private sector, development partners and CBOs.
- Possess excellent interpersonal, negotiating, intercultural communication skills and political acumen;
- Experience in humanitarian response is an asset.
Languages:
Fluency in English is mandatory. Working knowledge of Hindi is desirable; Knowledge of other UN languages is an asset.
Required Competencies
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Values:
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Functional Competencies:
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Core Competencies:
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Managerial Competencies:
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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.
