The Position:
The SWEDD Project Director oversees all project activities under UNFPA’s responsibility and serves as focal point for interface with the Regional and Continental Governing bodies and key partners. She/He manages and oversees UNFPA’s Technical Assistance to member countries and regional/continental partners.
The SWEDD project seeks to improve women and adolescent girls’ empowerment and their access to quality reproductive, child and maternal health services in selected areas of the participating west and central African countries, through improving regional knowledge generation and sharing as well as regional capacity and coordination. Initially targeting Sahelian countries, it has now expanded to include other countries in West and Central Africa.
The project Director will work closely with UNFPA representatives of participating countries, UN partner agencies, the World Bank, WAHO and the African Union Commission.
The primary functions of the Project Director are:
- Effective program coordination
- Building and nurturing high-level relationships with implementing partners and participating governments
- Provision of high quality technical advisory services
- Management of Regional Technical Secretariat
- Management of financial resources
- Knowledge management
- Managing SWEDD ‘s regional human resources.
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 Special SWEDD Director reports directly to the Regional Director, who provides overall direction and guidance. Under direct day to day oversight and coordination with the Deputy Regional Director, She/he is the coordinator of all technical and programme support functions for the UNFPA-managed regional activities carried out under the SWEDD project and is responsible for the smooth functioning of the Regional Technical Secretariat (RTS).
Working with and drawing from UNFPA Regional Office technical teams, She/He provides state-of-the-art technical expertise and easy access to knowledge through high quality advisory services based on global applied research and best practices, builds partnerships, promotes regional capacity building initiatives and activities to allow participating governments and other development partners to identify, create and share knowledge relevant to solving development challenges in the areas of reproductive and maternal health, gender, youth and adolescents, human capital and demographic dividend. The Director is also responsible for ensuring that quality and timely technical inputs and guidance is provided to the participating countries. Timely and quality donor reporting is critical.
She/He prioritizes the strengthening of existing continental strategies and initiatives, such as the AU Gender Strategy 2017 -2027, Agenda 2030, Agenda 2063, the Maputo Plan of Action on the Operationalization of the Continental Policy Framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (2016-2030), the protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the AU Roadmap on Harnessing the Demographic Dividend, the African Youth Charter (2006), the Common Position on Ending Child Marriage in Africa (2015) and others.
Qualifications and Experience:
Education:
Advanced university degree in international development management, public policy or administration, Political Science, economics, sociology, demography, public health, or equivalent development management areas.
Knowledge and Experience:
- A minimum of 10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in the management of complex, donor-funded and multi-partner programmes including five years at the international level. Experience in the public policy sector is desirable.
- Work experience in a developing country context in Africa.
- Evidence of political acumen and partnership building.
- A track record of extensive national/international working experience with increasing managerial responsibilities in the development area, preferably with experience in gender, eVAWG and/or SRHR programming.
- Experience in leading/managing knowledge product development and dissemination.
- Experience in leading/managing communications product development and dissemination.
- Experience of working closely with the AU/AUC, the Word Bank Group is preferred.
- Strong track record of leadership and management, and proven ability to produce demonstrable results.
- Ability to build and motivate / lead cross-cutting teams to produce client-oriented results.
Languages:
-
Strong verbal and writing communication skills in English and French is required.
Knowledge of other official UN languages is desirable.
Compensation and Benefits:
This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.
Disclaimer:
UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm
In accordance with the Staff Regulations and 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, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.
We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
