NATIONAL CONSULTANT: Humanitarian Programme Associate

The Position: National Humanitarian Program Associate

The Consultant will support procurement and delivery of emergency medical supplies and equipment and dignity kits and assist in establishing relevant partnerships with other humanitarian stakeholders, NGOs, donors, and government counterparts. Under the direct supervision of the UNFPA Bentiu Field Office Field Program Coordinator, the consultant will help promote Sexual and Reproductive Health and GBV prevention and response programming in the Region

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.
 

Job Purpose:

The protracted conflict, insecurity in neighboring countries and climate shocks has impacted the lives of civilian populations of South Sudan. The situation of the civilian population is characterized by massive displacements, the ubiquitous presence of armed actors, high levels of insecurity and a struggle to meet basic survival needs. Violence, human rights violations, and abuses continue in several counties due to active hostilities in key conflict areas. 

South Sudan is the world’s country with the highest maternal mortality (1.200/100.000 live births) making SRH in general and access to quality EMoNC and absolute priority. The multiple logistic challenges make the availability of medical supplies an important focus of UNFPA investment. Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most critical threats to the protection and well-being of women and children in South Sudan. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), 2.8 million people, the majority of whom are women and girls, are victims of some form of sexual violence and GBV, such as child marriage and rape, during their lifetime. Other forms of GBV include sexual assault, physical assault, forced marriage, denial of resources and emotional abuse. The country is facing multiple outbreaks of infectious disease such as cholera. The fighting in Sudan resulted to influx of thousands of returnees and refugees in the country passing through different entry points in Upper Nile, Unity and Jonglei States. Majority of the returnees and refugees have returned to n their place of origin, integrated in the host communities and others remain in the Transit Centers.

In 2025, an estimated 9.3 million people will require humanitarian assistance according to the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP-2025), with urgent needs in SRH services and GBV prevention and response, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach areas such as the Greater Nile region, covering Unity, Upper Nile, and Jonglei states as well as parts of Greater Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria region. UNFPA interventions entail accessible health services; social safety nets; and the economic empowerment for women, girls and youth that have contributed to improving the knowledge and skills of women, girls, men, and boys to address the risks and consequences of GBV and to facilitate their access to quality integrated services in a timely and coordinated manner

You would be responsible for:

Improving Service Delivery and Technical Support to Implementing Partners
•     Explore other opportunities and entry points to deliver SRH services for specific at-risk vulnerable groups affected by the crisis, e.g.: uniformed personnel, sex workers, ex- combatants, women associated with armed forces, persons with disabilities, etc. 
•     Initiate and coordinate training sessions on SRH in emergencies (for health care providers, community services officers, security personnel, refugee/IDP population, host population, etc.) and GBV in Emergencies
•     Coach and support implementing partners; members of SRH sub-national working group and UNFPA staff in the field office to strengthen the implementation of MISP – sexual and reproductive health priorities 
•     Develop an exit strategy, which includes the transition to evidence based, comprehensive SRH and GBV programmes
•     Support the establishment of Women and Girls Friendly Space in case of emergency and to ensuring quality service provision. This includes conduct of coaching and mentoring sessions on GBV Case Management to the staff managing the WGFS and One Stop Centers to ensure quality and timely service provision
•     Contribute to the development of prevention and response plans to different infectious diseases. Similarly, due to the known psychological impacts of disease outbreaks on patients and families, facilitate access to MHPSS services especially for GBV survivors, SEA victims and survivors of other forms of violence and abuse
•      Contribute to the development of standard operating procedures for case management of potential infectious diseases during pregnancy and facilitate training for service providers on responding to outbreak of infectious diseases. 
•     Support health workers in PoC and IDP camps to include women and girls in education messages on infectious diseases with a special emphasis on targeting pregnant women

RH Supplies and Dignity Kits Management
•      Manage distribution of Inter-agency RH Kits and targeting health facilities that provide services to vulnerable women and girls at heightened risk due to their exposure and vulnerability. Ensure that women and girls, often deprioritized from accessing health, have equal access to diagnosis and treatment. 
•     Distribution of dignity kits to vulnerable women and girls of reproductive age in collaboration with partners and ensure necessary reports for accountability are submitted by partners. 
•     Oversee (in collaboration with the Logistics/Procurement officer) procurement of emergency RH kits, equipment, and medical supplies as well as dignity kits; develop a distribution plan to meet the needs of implementing partners other identified NGOs for RH services, monitor distribution and ensure utilization reporting. 
•     Regularly monitor and prepare reports on the proper use of the commodities and supplies received through UNFPA, including technical reports and periodic situation report.
•     Maintain a database on SRH commodities and supplies dignity kits and share information with coordinating UN agencies and host communities - NGO and government implementing partners

IEC Materials Development
•     Contribute to the development of gender and age-appropriate Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials for SRH, GBV and GBV using local languages to enhance access of women and girls to prevention, treatment, care, and support services.

Conducting Assessments
•     Conduct/Lead rapid assessment/s of SRH needs of the affected population and the coordinated GBV Safety Audit
•     Carry out routine needs assessments and gaps and make proposals to improve RH and GBV service delivery and expansion to the target groups in the conflict affected populations.

Supporting GBV and SRH Coordination Mechanisms
•     Support in co-leading the SRH Technical Working Group under the Health Cluster that has been established for the response.
•     Support in Co-leading with the State Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare on the GBV Area of Responsibility
•     Co-facilitate capacity building activities of the members of the GBV and SRH coordination mechanism
Project Monitoring and Reporting
•     Conduct Field Project Monitoring visits in the different project locations to track the progress of project activities as per approved Work Plan
•     Contribute to the Field Office Weekly Report for submission to the Deputy Representative and Heads of Units at the Country Office.
•     Provide inputs for SitReps and other communication products, as required. 
Data Management
•     Collect, analyse, and provide feedback on RH and GBV data to implementing partners and CO. 
•     Ensure an effective response that integrates SRH (including ASRH), GBV and data interventions. 
 

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  
Completed secondary school education in public health, Medicine, Sociology, Demography, Gender, International Relations, International Development, Economics, Public Administration, Management, or other related fields

Knowledge and Experience: 

•     Five years of progressively responsible professional experience in the field of Humanitarian and development activities, preferably in field coordination, programme/ project design, appraisal, and management. 
•     Prior experience implementing the Minimum Initial services package for SRH is a plus. 
•     Proven ability to lead and manage teams to achieve demonstrable results. 
•     Excellent written and oral communication skills to foster engaged partnerships at a high level of representation and to maintain political partnerships
 

Languages: 

Fluency in English; knowledge of other official UN languages, preferably Arabic is desirable.

Required Competencies: 

Values:

Core Competencies: 

Functional Competencies:

•     Advocacy/ Advancing a policy-oriented agenda 
•     Leveraging the resources of national governments and partners/ building strategic alliances and partnerships 
•     Delivering a results-based programme 
•     Internal and external communication and advocacy for results mobilization 

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.