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 strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.
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.
Organizational Setting:
The UNFPA Sub-regional Office for the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean supports 22 countries and territories and has offices in six countries, i.e. Jamaica, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago. UNFPA and UN Women, with funds from Global Affairs Canada, will jointly work in four Eastern Caribbean countries with the aim to improve economic and social equality for women and girls, including for marginalized or vulnerable women and girls. UNFPA will particularly contribute to enhanced quality and accessibility of sexual and reproductive health and rights frameworks and services for women and adolescent girls, especially for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
Under the direct supervision of the UNFPA Deputy Director of the Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean (SROC), currently based in Barbados the SRH/RHCS Specialist is responsible for leading Reproductive Health /Reproductive Health Commodity Security (RH/RHCS interventions in the four Eastern Caribbean countries as well as for providing RHCS technical support to the other countries covered by the SROC.
This position is time-bound and linked to the ‘Build back Equal” funding source. The SRH/RHCS Specialist works in close collaboration with the SRH Advisor in Guyana and the Liaison Officer in Barbados. The SRH/RHCS Specialist works in an integrated manner with other UN Organizations, particularly UN Women, technical staff in host government and civil society organizations to ensure successful implementation of the programme. During a humanitarian crisis, RH/RHCS Specialist works in partnerships with cluster coordinators.
Job purpose:
The Technical Specialist provides strategic technical and programmatic leadership for the SROC in SRH/RHCS to ensure that capacity building, advocacy and policy dialogue work reflects UNFPA’s policy and programme policies as well as current thinking and academic advance in substantive areas affecting the ICPD Programme of Action. S/he/they maintains primary responsibility for coordination of the provision of technical assistance and programmatic support to primarily Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines with a specific focus on family planning and RHCS, but also on adolescent health, comprehensive sexuality education, integrated SRH/GBV services and humanitarian preparedness and response.
Main Tasks & Responsibilities
Provide technical and related programme leadership, management advice and strategic support and guidance at sub-regional and national levels, in RH/RHCS, including for emergency preparedness and humanitarian assistance, in collaboration with technical and programme staff in SROC.
Provision of technical assistance to Ministries of Health to effectively forecast, procure, distribute and track the delivery of sexual and reproductive health commodities.
Provide, coordinate and manage trainings on rights-based voluntary family planning with a focus on adolescents and marginalized populations with focus on LARCS (Implants and IUDs) to health care providers, including:
Provide technical assistance to the Ministries of Health and CSOs on establishing rights-based, gender-focused and SRH services responsive to the needs of adolescents and youth
Provide technical assistance on legislative and policy reform where the law bars or hinders access to sexual and reproductive health and rights to relevant government entities.
Provide technical assistance to Ministries of Health on the operationalization of SRHR coordination mechanisms.
Contribute to the regional advocacy efforts with partners for the reliable and consistent improvement of RH commodities policy environment and systems strengthening.
Contribute to the development, implementation and monitoring of the national and regional strategies on RHCS.
Maintain and foster substantive and intellectual regional partnerships in RHCS for advancing state-of-the-art knowledge.
Represent UNFPA on programme issues upon request and elaborate UNFPA’s substantive sub-regional and global perspectives in SRH.
Support preparation of technical briefs, reports, or situation analysis in the area of SRHR and RHCS.
Provide technical oversight for the development of relevant advocacy, resource mobilization and policy documents to address programmatic issues for SRHR.
Carry out any other duties as may be requested by the office of the SROC Director.
ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:
Education:
- Advanced university degree in medicine, pharmacy, logistics, supply chain management, health systems/economics, or other fields directly related to the substantive area identified in the title of the post or a first level, substituted with additional two years of relevant qualifying experience, i.e. bachelor +7 years
Knowledge and Experience:
- At least 5 years of work experience in increasing responsibilities at the national level in SRH ideally, in logistics systems, public sector pharmaceutical supplies management of which at least 3 years of direct international experience relating to health and logistics systems and management of family planning programmes;
- Extensive knowledge of supply management: forecasting, warehousing, distribution, transportation, logistics information systems and eLMIS;
- Significant public procurement and supply management experience related to the Health Sector (pharmaceuticals and non-pharmaceutical medical supplies), and other funding mechanisms emphasizing donor coordination/harmonization and in challenging situation;
- Health sector-specific experience, including: experience with Public Health systems in developing countries, health commodity supply market, logistics and inventory management related to pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, based on sound supply chain management principles;
- Good understanding of health system strengthening based on the six health system building blocks.
- Demonstrable knowledge of RHCS issues in humanitarian settings, and of humanitarian emergency operations and roles/responsibilities of humanitarian actors;
- Experience in program management;
- Basic understanding of health economics/health financing highly desirable;
- Knowledge and understanding on quality of care, specifically client rights issues;
- Understanding of Human Rights dimensions of SRHR and gender;
- Field experience is essential
- Experience in the region is an asset
Language:
Strong verbal and written communication skills in English. Dutch language skills would be considered an asset
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
