We are pleased to announce the following vacancy:

VACANCY NO.: Job ID 2478

CLOSING DATE: 3 April 2014 (5.00 p.m. New York time)

POST TITLE: Technical Specialist, Maternal Health/Family Planning

CATEGORY: ICS-11 (equivalent to P-4)

DUTY STATION: Kampala, Uganda

POST TYPE: Non-Rotational

DURATION: One year (renewable)[i]

ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT: East and Southern Africa Regional Office

ORGANIZATIONAL LOCATION:

The Technical Specialist- MH/FP post is located in the UNFPA Uganda office in Kampala. Under the overall supervision of the UNFPA Representative the International Technical specialist will coordinate and oversee the SRHR component of the Country Programme, including providing technical support to the implementation of the consolidated annual work plan for strengthening integration of Family Planning, Maternal Health, HIV Prevention and Gender Based Violence services in the 7th GOU/UNFPA Country program. The position is available immediately for an initial period of one (1) year.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

In collaboration with the national counterpart (Government and Civil Society), UN agencies and other partners, the International Technical specialist-MH/FP contributes substantially to reducing family planning unmet needs, increasing coverage of EmONC, strengthening the institutional framework for the management of human resources in maternal health and family planning, improving the availability and accessibility of quality reproductive health services, with active community involvement. He/she oversees the implementation of the consolidated Annual Work Plan (AWP)for strengthening integration of Family Planning, Maternal Health, HIV Prevention and Gender Based Violence services, particularly in the core districts covered by the program. He/she ensures the quality of interventions and outcomes : (i) best practices and lessons learned in the management of the work plan , (ii) leadership, governance, coordination , monitoring and evaluation at all levels of the program cycle for the promotion of Family Planning, Maternal Health, HIV and Gender for accelerating maternal mortality reduction and Uganda’s sustainable development.

The Technical specialist will accomplish the following tasks:

A.Effective advocacy, policy dialogue, coordination and management of multi-stakeholder programs in support of the national response in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, with focus on maternal health and family planning.

· Develop a synthesis of all programs and projects funded by Uganda UNFPA Country Office in the field of maternal health, family planning, HIV, GBV and protection of sexual and reproductive health of young girls showing synergies, complementarities, and any duplication. This summary document will have a clear strategic vision. It will take into account the extended United Nation Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), the extended Country Program Action Plan (2014-2015) and the Reproductive Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Sharpened plan for Uganda and show interactions, complementarities; potential duplication with the action plans of sister agencies such as UNICEF and WHO as well as other related national and international NGO programs. It will propose a joint action plan with other agencies in the field of interventions to reduce maternal mortality, especially pillars: FP, Commodity Security, Sexual Health of Adolescents and Young people, EmONC, Goal oriented Antenatal care, deliveries attended by qualified staff, preventing HIV transmission from mother to child and prevention and response to Gender Based violence

· Exploit studies, research and available data in Uganda on maternal health, family planning and the girl child, and maintain statistics relating thereto, with a view to updating indicators of maternal health;

· Contribute to the creation and sharing of knowledge by synthesizing and documenting the results, lessons learned, successes and best practices, strategies and innovative approaches to promoting integrated maternal health, family planning and HIV programs

· Report regularly on progress in maternal health/family planning/HIV/GBV and share information with the various actors in the context of improving intervention strategies in this regard;

· Contribute to the Annual Work Plan evaluation and development of the Annual Work Plans for integrated reproductive health services strengthening

B. Technical support to development and implementation of national SRH, FP and RHCS related strategies

· Contribute to the substantive elaboration and adaptation of UNFPA Strategic Plan, its family planning strategy and to its implementation in the country

· Provide the GOU/UNFPA Country program with Technical Assistance and advice on the strategic direction for strengthening the delivery, access to and quality of integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health Services, formulate recommendations on potential critical maternal and sexual and reproductive health issues and provide advice in respect to health sector progress including Millennium Development Goals progress.

· Provide technical assistance to national partners to scale-up quality health services to ensure universal access to reproductive health, including family planning, skilled birth attendance, emergency obstetric and newborn care,

· Participate in the implementation and monitoring of Annual Work Plan activities by conducting field visits, participating in review meetings and missions evaluation and preparing quarterly and annual reports on the progress;

· Strengthen national capacities in Reproductive Health for: i) conducting needs assessments in the field of EmNOC and FP; ii) achieving cost estimates of developed plans and rapidly mobilize the resources required for their implementation; iii) conducting the political dialogue for growth and the equitable distribution of qualified heath providers, particularly midwives for skilled attendance at birth iv) contributing to equitable access to reproductive health services, including for the poor; v) proposing initiatives to address the deep causes of maternal mortality, including gender inequalities vi) improving monitoring and evaluation; vii) contributing to strengthening mutual accountability mechanisms to ending preventable maternal and newborn death including but not limited to Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) and National Health Accounts analyses

· Contribute to the implementation of Uganda’s initiatives on reduction of maternal and newborn mortality including Uganda’s FP scale up plan, Uganda’s Catalytic action plan on Life saving commodities etc

C. Resource mobilization in support of SRH (especially MH and FP) priorities based on evidence informed interventions and maximizing value for money

· Contribute to the mobilization of financial resources for: i) the promotion of family planning, ii) the promotion of maternal health; iii ) strengthening Reproductive Health Commodity Security, iv ) the protection of the girl child, preparing adequate documentation and participating in meetings of donors;

D. Strengthened partnerships, especially within the UN family to mainstream UNFPA strategic plan priorities in the country and among donor interventions.

· Strengthen partnership with other UN agencies, and civil society organizations for the planning, implementation and monitoring of high impact interventions to reduce maternal mortality; specifically FP, access to and use of essential life-saving commodities as well as investing in maternal and newborn care

· Participate in the UNFPA and FP2020 technical networks on Family Planning maintaining communication and feedback loops on all substantive work;

· E. Perform any other duties as assigned by the UNFPA Representative/ supervisor in the area of his/her competences.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

i) Values: Integrity, commitment, embracing cultural diversity, embracing change.

ii) Core Competencies: Achieving results, accountability, developing professional expertise, analytical thinking, working in teams, communicating for impact.

iii) Required Skillset:

· Development and programme management focused on results

· Innovation and dissemination of new approaches

· Resources mobilization from national governments and partners/Building strategic alliances with partners

· Advocacy / Presentation of an oriented agenda

· Resources mobilization

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:Advanced university degree or equivalent in Medicine, public health, population studies, Health Statistics or related fields

Knowledge and Experience:

· Seven years of relevant and increasingly responsible experience in managing RH or health programmes, of which at least five years national and/or international experience in advising on SRH programmes RH commodities, health systems and supply management. Professional experience as Technical Specialist to Ministries of Health in other countries will be an asset.

· General knowledge of the principles and operational aspects of integrated RH/MH care.

· Interpersonal and communication skills for the dissemination of information and advocacy activities.

· Familiarity with UN development programmes and working procedures, especially UNFPA policies and programming procedures, an asset.

· Proven skills in report writing and publication of articles in maternal health and family planning are essential.

Languages

Mastery of English is required.

Knowledge information

Proven skills in current use of the office software are also required.

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender quality, teamwork, respect for diversity, integrity and a healthy balance of work and life. We are committed to maintaining our balanced gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply.

We offer an attractive remuneration package commensurate with the level of the position. The package includes a competitive salary plus housing allowance, home leave, health insurance and other benefits.

UNFPA has established an electronic application management system. This allows applicants to create a candidate profile, which can be updated regularly and submitted for more than one vacancy.

Download the Step by Step Guide to Applying in the E-Recruit System of UNFPA at https://erecruit.partneragencies.org/erecruit.html

Please print out the Guide for your reference during the registration and application process.

Notice: There is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the application process. UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

In accordance with the rules of the United Nations, persons applying to posts in the international Professional category, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, are required to renounce such status upon their appointment. Exceptions to this rule are very limited and can be made only for: (a) stateless persons; (b) newly appointed staff members who have applied for citizenship by naturalization, when such citizenship will be granted imminently; (c) acting staff members in the General Service and related categories with permanent residency status, on promotion to the Professional category; (d) staff members appointed under a temporary appointment. Please understand that UNFPA is not in a position to provide advice on or assistance in applying for any citizenship.

[i] No expectancy of renewal in accordance with UN Staff Regulation 4.5

Deadline: 20th March 2014

Email

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The Agri-Fin Mobile program approach works with partners to build sustainable models, where farm and crop management tools and financial services are "bundled" in affordable, unified platforms on mobile phone channels to promote mass uptake commercially. The program targets partners with existing financial, MNO and agricultural technical service mobile platforms or applications, or demonstrated interest in developing and investing in them, and facilitates development of a business model whereby the bundling process provides an increased value proposition for each partner, such as, increased fee income, greater outreach or reduced risks.

The Agri-Fin Mobile program will achieve two primary results within the 3-year program time frame:

1) 180,000 smallholder farmers will access farm productivity services through improved productivity and financial management practices accessed via mobile based technologies.

2) A commercially viable business model which “bundles” key services from agriculture industry stakeholders, research and extension institutions, financial service providers, and telecommunications companies, will be developed in three locations (Indonesia, Uganda, Zimbabwe) offering detailed examples for replication and scalability.

The program began in June 2012 and has successfully launched business models in each location, and is currently reaching over 100,000 beneficiaries. There is approximately 18 months remaining in the program Phase I, which will be focused on continuing to reach scale, and deepening impact. In addition, Mercy Corps is actively looking to leverage the opportunity with new donors and preparing for phase II.

PROGRAM/ DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

The Program Advisor will be responsible for technical oversight of the program, including working with country focal points on formulating and managing the program inception phase, market research and partner development, followed by conceptualizing and leading project development with program partners and supporting country coordinators to manage project implementation, as well as key consultant experts to support project implementation. The Program Advisor will be responsible for overseeing performance on projects, as well as ensuring that a strong cross-learning, monitoring and evaluation stream of activities is consistently applied. The Program Advisor will be responsible for developing program reports to the donor, as well as participating in program publications and events. The Agri-Fin Mobile program is supported by the Social Innovations group within Mercy Corps, and as such, the Program Advisor will be responsible for communicating learning, leveraging and integrating the program in to other SI and Mercy Corps initiatives.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Program Development

Communications

M&E and Knowledge Management

Administrative and Operational Responsibilities

Organizational Learning: As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve - we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries: Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Program Director

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Indonesia Program Coordinator, Uganda Program Coordinator, Zimbabwe Program Coordinator, Agri-Fin Mobile Advisory Committee, Relevant Country Directors, South East Asia & East and Southern Africa Regional Program Directors, Chief Innovations Officer, Deputy Executive Director (EDI), Program-Related Consultants, and other Program Stakeholders

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful Program Advisor will skillfully represent programmatic priorities of the agency to donors and regional partners while providing effective leadership to the Mercy Corps Agri-Fin Program. S/he will be innovative, decisive and have an inclusive leadership approach. Must have excellent communication and team-building techniques with the ability to manage ambiguity, frustration and stress while maintaining a sense of humor throughout. S/he will have high emotional intelligence, constructive mentoring skills and proven experience with capacity building and will be committed to long-term program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities. Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and challenging environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.

LIVING /ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

The Program Advisor is based in Kampala. The location is accompanied and secure. Housing is individual accommodation with unlimited freedom of movement beyond the house/office. There are three reputable International schools in Uganda. Staff access to medical, electricity, water, etc. This position requires frequent and significant travel internationally.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

APPLY VIA URL:
http://mercycorps.silkroad.com/epostings/submit.cfm?fuseaction=app.dspjo...

Email

Over the past 17 years, more than 5,000 humanitarian organizations have supplied ReliefWeb with 540,000 pieces of humanitarian related information.

So to help you easily find what you’re...

Share information through ReliefWeb to better inform humanitarians worldwide.