International Consultant: Health System Specialist

Purpose of the Consultancy:

UNFPA is the leading UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. 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 and operates under United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2019-2023, fully embracing the UN development system reforms and stepping up its system wide support for the Government of Malawi.

Under the current COVID-19 pandemic, sustaining and strengthening Malawi’s national health system is vital to the health and development of the nation. As rapid increase in teenage pregnancy and child marriage has been reported, ensuring continuity and scale-up of maternal and neonatal care, family planning outreach, HIV prevention/treatment, response to Gender Based Violence and provision of post abortion care are among the key priorities.

To meet the needs, the Country Office has secured funding from the UK’s FCDO Umoyo Wathu programme, which is a UN Joint Programme with UNICEF and WHO, providing technical assistance to the Government to strengthen health system particularly around the pillars of integration, quality of care, resilience building and governance in selected districts. As UNFPA takes the lead on health facility-based interventions, key activities include, for example, development of more robust Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EMONC) networks.

In addition, on-going flagship UN joint programmes such as the COVID-19 Multi-Partner Trust Fund project funded by the UN Secretariat, the Spotlight Initiative funded by EU, Joint Programme on Girls Education (JPGE) funded by Norway, 2gether4SRHR funded by Sweden have significant SRH components. A new programme supporting teen mothers to be funded by KOICA will be added to this list. Ensuring integrated approaches both within UNFPA Malawi Country Office as well as with other relevant UN agencies around SRHR priorities are needed to attain and maximise the intended outcomes in these programmes.  

Moreover, UNFPA actively engages with key stakeholders on policy discussions, technical advice and programmatic interventions, including Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), Health Donor Group(HDG), HIV-AIDs Development Partners Group (HADG) and the (humanitarian) health cluster and works closely with other UN/international organisations such as UNICEF, WHO, the Global Fund. It is critical for UNFPA to demonstrate technical excellence in the SRH domain, both from public health and medical practice perspectives.   

Against this background, this consultancy aims at supplementing UNFPA Malawi Country Office’s existing capacity and expertise in the specialised areas of health system strengthening, and promotion of integrated and comprehensive SRHR services. The consultant is expected to add values in terms of the Country Office’s thought leadership, strategic coordination, quality assurance, and innovation, building on international standards and regional good practices, taking fully into consideration Malawi’s context.

Main Responsibilities:

Under the overall supervision of the Resident Representative, the Deputy Representative will provide the direct supervisory role. The consultant will work closely with the SRH Team Coordinator and her team members. The consultant will also collaborate with Programme officers of relevant areas, especially youth/adolescents and gender teams. 

• Provide managerial leadership in the launch and implementation of Umoyo Wathu programme, including engagement with other UN agencies (UNICEF and WHO) as well as the donor.
• Facilitate technical and programmatic support to the Government of Malawi in the areas of health system strengthening and continuity of care, particularly in the COVID-19 context.
• Strengthen technical oversight on integrated SRH programme within the Country Office, with particular focus on the 2gether4SRHR programme promoting integration of SRH, HIV and GBV service delivery, as well as UNFPA’s engagement in the UN Joint HIV/AIDs programme.  
• Support more effective integration and coordination with youth/adolescent and gender teams, particularly in the delivery of the flagship programmes indicated above.  
• Provides expert analysis, advice and support related to Health System Strengthening and SRHR in support of RR and DR’s policy, advocacy, coordination and partnerships building activities.
• Support and advise UNFPA’s technical lead in various forums including the health cluster, HDG, HADG, and engagement with the Global Fund.
• Develop and implement innovative research concepts and policy advisory documents.
• Collect and analyse information/data in the subject areas and draft analytical reports, project documents, and funding proposals.
• Assist in improving existing processes and products in programme delivery.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education: 

• Advanced degree in international public health is required.
• Advanced medical degree is highly desirable.

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of working experience in the area of public health is required.
• Working experience in integrated SRH services including family planning, HIV/AIDs, maternal and neonatal care is high desirable.
• Working experience on Malawi’s national health system is highly desirable.  Working experience in the southern Africa region is an asset.
• Working experience in programme management is highly desirable.
• Working experience in providing technical assistance and policy advice is highly desirable.
• Working experience in humanitarian emergency response, preparedness and resilience building is an asset. 
• Experience in the production of research or analytical papers is an asset.

Functional Skill Set:

• Good understanding of Malawian national health system
• Demonstrated ability to conduct research, data collection/analysis/processing for strategic initiatives;
• Excellent drafting and analytical skills.
• Strong knowledge of results based and data driven programme management.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.

Duration and Location of Consultancy:

• The contract will run from 10^th May 2021 to 31^st December 2021 with a possibility of extension and subject to availability of funds.
• The consultant is expected to work full time (excluding weekends).
• UNFPA Malawi Country Office and remotely, following COVID-19 related restrictions where/when applicable.

Deliverables and Monitoring:

• Delivery dates and products are determined by the specific tasks to be provided. 
• The consultant needs to submit monthly reports.
• Progress will be monitored as per the schedule of each deliverable to be agreed on respective tasks to be given.
• Regular meetings/calls with RR, DR and the other officers involved.
• An inception meeting will be conducted to discuss how the consultant understands the scope of work and the deliverables.

Expected Travel:

• The consultant may be required to travel within Malawi as required but taking all COVID 19 precautions.

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-Health System Specialist’.  Applications should be received on or before 27^th March 2021.