The Position:
The Technical Adviser Maternal Health provides overall technical and managerial leadership for maternal and newborn health and ensures programmatic and technical coordination of UNFPA’s Maternal and Newborn Health Thematic Fund (MHTF). S/he provides technical and operational support to regional and country offices to ensure quality of the work-plans, alignment of targets and indicators and the realization of agreed results of each business unit receiving support from the MHTF. In addition, S/he ensures global visibility of the work of the MHTF in major SRMNAH frameworks; actively advocates globally and in-house for maternal and newborn health; supports fund raising to ensure sustainability; ensures coordinated and integrated delivery of the maternal and newborn health agenda in alignment with the MHTF Business Plan; monitors programme implementation and accountability; maintains strong management and coherence of the team and ensures a strong relationship with global SRMNAH partners.
You will report directly to the Chief, Sexual and Reproductive Health Branch in the Technical Division of UNFPA.
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.
As such universal access to quality sexual reproductive maternal newborn and adolescent health (SRMNAH) services is at the core of UNFPA’s mandate. Since 2008, UNFPA’s Maternal and Newborn Health Thematic Fund (MHTF) has been supporting over 40 countries with the highest burden of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity by strengthening health systems and improving quality of care. This it seeks to achieve by focusing in particular on the midwifery health workforce; strengthening access to equitably distributed and fully functional emergency obstetric and newborn care services; addressing morbidities like obstetric fistula, cervical cancer and prolapse and ensuring accountability and quality through maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response. The MHTF Phase 3 (2018-22) is fully aligned with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the UN Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women’s Children’s and Adolescents’ Health. The MHTF is catalytic in approach, and aligns itself with country-led processes to address health systems bottlenecks. It promotes innovative evidence-based interventions aimed at advancing the maternal health agenda with proven results at the country level.
This position will thus provide you with an opportunity to play a leadership role in steering and leading the MHTF and UNFPA’s other SRMNAH initiatives globally in an accountable manner to ensure that the benefits of our programmes reach those most in need and making a transformative difference in the lives of millions of women and girls.
Job Purpose:
UNFPA is seeking candidates with proven experience and demonstrated strong leadership skills to lead, administer, monitor and coordinate the global MHTF supported initiatives on maternal and newborn health in an accountable manner. You will ensure relevant, current and evidence based technical support to UNFPA head quarter, regional and country offices to deliver high impact and sustainable results; represent UNFPA in global SRMNAH partnerships and initiatives; monitor progress and provide oversight; advocate for maternal and newborn health and bring visibility to the work achieved with support from the MHTF in addressing the three transformative results of UNFPA; Ending Preventable Maternal Deaths; Ending Unmet need for family Planning and Ending Gender based Violence and Harmful Practices.
Education:
Post-graduate University Degree or equivalent (preferably Ph.D.) in public health, medicine and/or social sciences.
Knowledge and Experience:
● 10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in the area of public health, of which seven years should be at the international level.
● Is an acknowledged expert and recognized authority in the area of maternal health and overall SRH/RR
● Strong track record of technical leadership, and proven ability to demonstrate results.
● Exceptional management, coordination and relationship management skills.
● Extensive network within the academic and development community
● Strong communicator
● Field experience is a must
Languages:
Fluency in English; knowledge of French is a strong asset.