Duty Station: Multiple (Vanuatu/ Solomon Island/ Samoa)

The Position:

The SRH Specialist post is located in one of the UNFPA Field Offices of the Pacific (Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Samoa), and reports directly to the Sub-Regional Director who provides overall leadership, and receives input from the Programme Management team based in Suva, on the overall programme strategy. S/he is part of an inter-disciplinary team, which provides integrated programme, technical and operational support in delivering the Transformational Agenda programme, supported by DFAT. 

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:

The SRH Specialist will work closely with partners to facilitate the coordination, management, monitoring and reporting of quality, timely and integrated technical and programme support to the country, ensuring that the agreed strategic interventions of the Transformative Agenda are implemented in the context of the UN Pacific Strategy and the UNFPA Pacific regional programme (SRPD) at the regional level and the UNFPA Country Programme at the national level, and in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ICPD Programme of Action and UNFPA global Strategic Plan. More specifically, the interventions will contribute to measurably reduce unmet need for Family Planning through ensuring universal access to SRH information and services in the context of the national public health system supported where appropriate by civil society partners and the private sector. 

The successful candidate for this position will support the planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, review and evaluation of country level program, technical and operational support for the Transformative Agenda, and will engage systematically with the Programme Management Team based in Suva and the DFAT post in the host country.  

The position is expected to focus on engaging the Government line ministries (particularly the Ministry of Health), academic and research institutions, relevant NGOs and CBOs, DFAT local post and international development agencies to ensure SRH, Youth, VAWG, GBVie, and selected Population and Development priorities related to universal access to SRH and the overarching SDGs are integrated within national policy frameworks, while also creating visibility for the Transformative Agenda. The position is expected to have a strong capacity building component for local counterparts in the health ministry to ensure sustainable mechanisms and capacities are in place at the end of the Transformative Agenda supported period, 2018-2022.

Requirements:

Education:  

• Advanced degree in Public Health, Medicine, Sociology, Demography, Gender, Economics, International Relations, International Development, Public Administration, Management or related disciplines;

Knowledge and Experience: 

• Minimum of seven (7) years of increasingly responsible professional experience at the advisory/managerial level in the area of relevant programme management and coordination, with at least three years at an International level;

• Substantive knowledge and practical experience in population and development, sexual and reproductive health, and gender

• 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; 

• Possess excellent interpersonal, negotiating, intercultural communication skills and political acumen;

• Proven experience in managing complex programs and large scale projects would be an asset;

• Experience in programme and/or technical assistance with the UN System

• Previous experience with the United Nations and/or an International Institution or Organization is preferred;

• Computer Literacy: Proficiency in the use of standard MS Office packages and the Internet.

Languages: 

Proficiency in both spoken and written English. Working knowledge of Pacific languages is an asset.