Adolescent/Youth SRHR Specialist, P-4, Lilongwe, Malawi

Background Information:

UNFPA Malawi Country Office is in need of substantive technical expertise and programme leadership at international level in Adolescent/Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health/Rights. The technical expertise is required to provide quality technical support to the Government of Malawi in this domain and to secure managerial excellence in UNFPA’s adolescent/youth related activities, including for ‘Action for Teen Mothers and Adolescent Girls in Central Region’ programme funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The Adolescent/Youth SRHR Specialist leads and motivates the KOICA project team in the development of innovative, relevant approaches for engagement on issues related to the project.

As teenage pregnancy remains a major challenge in Malawi, exacerbated by the current COVID-19 pandemic, UNFPA Malawi Country Office requires a strengthened voice in the technical discussions around Adolescent SRHR, including community-based prevention efforts, and more specific programmatic expertise in promoting access to youth-friendly SRH services and information through innovative and transformational approaches. An added international staff is necessary to streamline the office’s approach towards adolescents and youth in the context of SRHR, strengthen data/evidence based approaches, ensure quality and effective interventions, and leverage more strategic advocacy.

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:

End preventable maternal deaths
End unmet need for family planning
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.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education:

Master’s degree in any of the following disciplines: public health, medical science, social science, sociology, gender, international relations, international development, economics, communications, management or another related field.

Knowledge and Experience:

7 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in international development including programme design, management and coordination; of which at least 5 years in the field of adolescent/youth sexual and reproductive health and rights, or adolescent girls and young women-cantered programming in international organizations is required;
Demonstrated experience in international development, particularly in the areas related to the mandate of UNFPA is required;
Demonstrated experience and expertise in providing technical assistance and leadership in the programming areas of adolescent and youth’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, including GBV and harmful practices, is desirable;
Demonstrated technical leadership in gender transformative approach and behavioural change communication approaches towards adolescent and youth is desirable;
Previous experience in management of multi-sector, holistic and UN inter-agency girls-centred programming is an asset;
Previous experience in knowledge management, partnership building and resource mobilization is an asset;
Proven ability to lead teams to achieve demonstrable and high-quality results is required;
Field experience is essential; experience from a developing, humanitarian context is an asset.

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