International Consultant: GBV and PSEA Analyst

UNFPA Malawi Country Office is committed to deliver results outlined in the 8^th Country Programme that starts from 2019 and lasts till 2023, with clear outcomes in the areas of: a) sexual and reproductive health/rights, b) adolescents and youth, c) gender equality and women’s empowerment, and d) population dynamics. UNFPA Malawi is also a part of the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and operates under United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSCDF) 2019-2023, fully embracing the UN development system reforms and stepping up its system wide support for the Government of Malawi.

In 2021, the UN joint programme on health system strengthening (Umoyo Wathu) is launched with the funding from the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). In this programme, UNFPA  leads on the health facility based technical support in areas related to sexual reproductive health services. This programme includes key interventions to protect women and girls from sexual violence such as clinical care and referral to other supportive services available for survivors of sexual violence and putting in place confidential and safe spaces within health facilities. 

UNFPA Country Office also manages other on-going programmes such as the Spotlight Initiative, a UN joint programme funded by European Union, tackling gender-based violence (GBV) in six districts, 2gether4SRHR programme funded by Sweden, and the SRHR project funded by Iceland with a geographic focus on the Mangochi district – all of which are geared towards promoting integrated service delivery across SRHR, HIV/AIDS and GBV. Moreover, UNFPA plays a key role in humanitarian response and preparedness in terms of GBV, leading GBV Sub-cluster under the Protection Cluster as well as ensuring close linkages with the SRH components of Health Cluster response.

Furthermore, mainstreaming Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) in these and other programmes is a priority. It is important for UNFPA to ensure its compliance to the organisation’s PSEA obligations in terms of prevention, response/reporting, and assistance for the victims, but also to support its partners fulfil its responsibilities with regards to PSEA. In addition, at the UNCT level, UNFPA is leading the PSEA Core Group consisting with UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, UN Women and RCO, which is tasked to develop and lead the annual inter-agency PSEA action plans.

Therefore, UNFPA needs to strengthen its own capacity to effectively promote linkages between SRHR, GBV and PSEA in these flagship programmes while it also champions the PSEA agenda as the lead agency in this domain.  It is against this backdrop, that an extra expertise, in the form of a consultancy, supplementing the existing Country Office capacity is required.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the direct supervision by the Gender Officer and overall supervision of the Assistant Representative and Resident Representative.  The Deputy Representative will provide the direct supervisory role, especially on the PSEA aspects.  The consultant will work closely with both the Gender Team and the SRH Team of UNFPA Country Office in Malawi. More specifically, the consultant will fulfil the following responsibilities.

• Support  implementation of the GBV/PSEA component of the UN joint programme on health system strengthening (Umoyo Wathu) 
• Support strengthening linkages between Gender/PSEA and SRHR activities across UNFPA programmes, including the Spotlight Initiative, 2gether4SRHR, and the SRH project in Mangochi funded by Iceland.   
• Support PSEA mainstreaming across UNFPA's programmatic activities, especially the Spotlight Initiative.
• Support UNFPA’s strategic engagement and advocacy with the Ministry of Health through the Reproductive Health Directorate, Ombudsman, police and other key line ministries      on PSEA. 
• Support UNFPA's lead role in PSEA both at the UNCT and the Humanitarian Country Team level.  
• Support humanitarian response and preparedness in the areas of GBV and PSEA.  
• Perform any other duties assigned by Resident Representative and Deputy Representative in the areas of GBV and PSEA.
• Develop an implementation plan for mainstreaming  gender responsive programming, including the training of service providers on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA).

Qualifications and Experience:

Education:

• A university degree in a relevant discipline including gender studies, public health, development studies, international relations, or social science fields is required.
• A master’s degree in one of these fields is preferred; however, a minimum two years of work experience in the relevant field can be counted in place of a master’s degree

Experience:

• At least 2 years of experience in the fields of programme management, development cooperation, gender issues or public health is required.
• Prior experience in developing countries is required.
• Prior experience of work in Malawi in the relevant fields of UNFPA mandate, including sexual & reproductive health and rights, youth and gender is desirable.
• Prior experience in GBV and/or PSEA is an asset.
• Prior experience in humanitarian action is an asset.
• Prior experience in inter-agency coordination is an asset.
• A thorough understanding of the UN system in general, and especially UNFPA mandate, policies and operations is required.
• Excellent analytical, planning, and negotiation skills.
• Excellent communication skills – both in terms of writing and oral.

Duration and Working Schedule:

• The consultancy is for the period of 4 months starting from 1^st September 2021 – 31^st December 2021, UNFPA Malawi country office.

Deliverables and Monitoring:

• By the end of each month, a monthly report summarising the activities carried out in the month will be submitted.

• An inception meeting or teleconference will be conducted to discuss how the consultant understands the scope of work and the deliverables. Thereafter, progress will be monitored through regular meetings with the Gender Officer.   The consultant will document the proposed scope of work.

Expected Travel:

• The consultant may be required to travel within Malawi as required by the country office to perform functions related to the deliverables. Travel and DSA will be provided.

How to Apply:

Candidates who have the required/relevant qualifications and experience should submit their applications including a detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV), motivational letter, P11 with a copy of qualifications to the following address: recruitment.malawi@unfpa.org.  Please specify in the email subject ‘Consultant-GBV and PSEA Analyst’.  Applications should be received on or before 27^th March 2021.