TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT

Duration: 364 days

The position:

 The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Right/Gender-Based Violence Programme Specialist is a person who inspires and delivers high impact and sustained results; a principled and ethical staff, who exemplifies human rights norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction; a staff who is transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commits to deliver excellence in programme results.

In all activities, the SRHR/GBV Programme Specialist fosters collaboration within the country Spotlight Initiative Team, particularly within the programme/technical team providing technical support in the core area of GBV prevention including Comprehensive Sexuality Education and integrated SRHR information and services. The SRHR/GBV Programme Specialist will work as part of the Spotlight Programme technical Team while under the direct supervision of the UNFPA Deputy Representative and overall leadership of the Country office Representative.

Please kindly note that this post advertisement is also a roster. Even if you do not get selected for this particular post, we may contact you directly if there is a suitable opportunity in the future and a more specific JD will then be shared.

How can you make a difference:

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations impacting negatively to the desired fulfilment of women’s and girls’ empowerment and development, and therefore a threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. While there have been efforts to address and eliminate Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practices (HP) in Papua New Guinea, progress remains slow and uneven, with fragmented approaches. It is clear that the elimination of all forms of SGBV and HP is intrinsically connected to transformation of gender and socio-cultural norms including those related to women’s sexuality and reproduction; and to improving access to comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health information and services especially for women and girls.

In response to this, the European Union and the United Nations initiated the Spotlight Initiative, a global partnership between the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) focused on efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in support of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. The initiative comes with the highest level of commitment globally as it will be governed by the UN Deputy Secretary General and the Vice President of the EU Commission. The Initiative provides a model under UN Reform for partnerships among key players encompassing participating countries, development partners, civil society, and the UN to deliver on the SDGs in a comprehensive manner leveraging comparative advantages and expertise of various Agencies.

In Papua New Guinea, UNFPA will be one of the UN Agencies (alongside UNDP, UNICEF and UNWOMEN) overseeing the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative guided by the ICPD Programme of Action and the 2018 – 2021 Strategic Planning which focuses on three transformative outcomes: end gender-based violence and other harmful practices; ending preventable maternal deaths; and ending unmet need for family planning.

Job Purpose:

The SRHR/GBV Programme Specialist contributes to the co-ordination and management of quality, timely and integrated technical and programme support to the Spotlight Initiative, ensuring that the interventions are implemented in the context of the delivering as one and based on the national development processes and frameworks related to the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Strategy. She/he is in charge of ensuring sound and adequate technical integration of UNFPA’s comparative advantage in the areas of GBV prevention and integrated SRHR service provision in PNG.

The primary activities of the SRHR/GBV Programme Specialist will be centred around:

Programme Management Support

Capacity Development

Knowledge Management   

As the UNFPA Spotlight Initiative focal point to be assigned to the country programme, the SRHR/GBV Programme Specialist ensures that programme assistance and capacity development needs are met and technical assistance in the areas of UNFPA’s comparative advantage is delivered effectively through the provided EU-UN modalities.

Requirements:

Qualifications and Experience

Education:

Advanced university Degree in Medicine, Public Health, or closely related fields directly related to the substantive area outlined in the job description of the post.

Knowledge and experience: 

• 5 years of increasing responsibility and professional experience in programme management and development relevant to sexual and reproductive health, and GBV, including at least two years at international level 

• Substantive knowledge and practical experience in  sexual and reproductive health, and gender, including integration of SRHR/GBV

• Strong results-based programme management experience with particular focus on strategic planning and capacity building

• Experience in programme and/or technical assistance with the UN System or with European Union (EU) or similar development partners will be an added advantage

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills including for dissemination of information and advocacy activities.

• Field experience is required

Languages:

Fluency in spoken and written English is required.