Regional SRHR Financing Specialist, ESARO, Johannesburg, South Africa, P4

The Position:

The position of Regional SRHR Financing Specialist is located in the UNFPA East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO). The Specialist will be responsible for providing expert guidance, policy advice, technical assistance, capacity building, and brokering strategic partnerships in the area of health financing and health economics towards ensuring sustainable financing for sexual and reproductive health and rights. The position will also contribute to cross-regional analysis of social sector financing policies, systems, instruments, and accountability mechanisms for enhancing sustainable financing, including domestic financing for SRHR. The specialist will play a key role in UNFPA’s collaboration and partnership with the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, national government, academia, and partners in East and Southern Africa. The SRHR Financing Specialist will be part of a UNFPA and broader United Nations-wide effort to scale up  SRHR financing guided by a clear value proposition, towards ending preventable maternal deaths, unmet need for family planning, and gender-based violence and harmful practices. 
 
Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Regional Director for UNFPA ESARO, the Specialist will be under the direct supervision of the Regional Health Systems Adviser with functional reporting to the Programme Manager of the 2gether 4 SRHR Joint Programme. The Specialist will also collaborate closely with the Health Financing, Health Economists, Technical Leads, and Specialists across UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNICEF, and WHO to ensure a UN system-wide effort required to strengthen sustaining financing mechanisms to improve SRHR outcomes.  

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 who 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:

Sustainable financing for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights is critical for the achievement of Health and Wellbeing for All, Gender Equality, and the broader realization of the Sustainable Development Goals and the ICPD Programme of Action. The position of SRHR Financing Specialist directly supports the under-listed summary tasks: 

• Thought Leadership on SRHR Financing
• Capacity Development and Support to Countries
• Knowledge Management on sustainable financing   
• Strategic Partnerships: Support existing high-level advocacy efforts by the African Union and Regional Economic Communities with Ministries of Health and Finance at continental, regional, and country levels to increase domestic investments for SRHR including investment through UHC policies and programmes to accelerate progress towards universal SRHR.

You would be responsible for:

A.Thought Leadership on SRHR Financing

• Conduct comprehensive analysis, studies and assessments of relevant financing landscape, policies, strategies, and plans with impact on SRHR outcomes, including health, education, youth, gender, and social protection, to mention a few. 
• Guide co-creation of proven pathways and financing strategies for increasing domestic investments for SRHR, in collaboration with key internal and external entities.
• Contribute to global, continental, regional, and national financing frameworks and strategies for integrating SRHR into Universal Health Coverage (UHC) benefit packages, financing and financial risk protection arrangements, National Macroeconomic frameworks and Development Plans, costed National Strategic Plans for relevant sectors of health, education, youth, gender.
• Contribute to policy advocacy efforts with the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, and national Ministries of Health and Finance to advocate for increased domestic investments in SRHR.

B. Capacity Development and Support to Countries

• Lead and contribute to tailored capacity development of UNFPA regional and country colleagues, national governments, and key stakeholders to actively participate in continental, regional, and country efforts for enhancing sustainable financing for SRHR.
• Strengthen governments' capacities to undertake resource mapping, including assessing the impact of health financing policies on SRHR outcomes with optimization potentials. 
• Support countries in conducting health budget analysis and national health accounts that include analyses of reproductive health sub-accounts, monitoring expenditure on reproductive health services, and out-of-pocket expenditures on SRHR.

C. Knowledge Management on sustainable financing 

• Develop and contribute to documentation, reports, policy briefs, and technical documents related to sustainable financing of SRHR.
• Curate and broker the generation and exchange of knowledge through south-south collaboration and cooperation. 
• Facilitate the dissemination of promising and best practices on securing sustainable financing SRHR through high-impact strategies and mechanisms across countries in the region.
• Regularly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of financing policies, strategies, instruments, and mechanisms with impact on SRHR outcomes. This will also include continuous tracking and monitoring to guide improvement and adaptation to emerging needs and challenges.

D. Strategic Partnerships

• Work collaboratively with traditional and non-traditional partners within the financing landscape and policy space to influence and shape the political economy in favor of sustainable financing.
• Collaborate with Health Financing experts, Health Economists, Technical Leads, and Specialists across UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO, UNDP, and the wider UN system to ensure a coordinated effort in strengthening and sustaining financing mechanisms for improved SRHR outcomes.
• Contribute to leveraging multilateral partnerships, including Multilateral Development Banks, International Financing Institutions, Global Fund, Global Financing Facility on Women, Girls, and Adolescent Health, SDG Financing and bilateral partnerships for increased investments for SRHR including HIV, and GBV.
• Engage with the African Union and its organs, other continental institutions, regional economic communities, parliamentarians, civil society, professional associations, academia, and social economic research institutions to strengthen the enabling environment for scaled sustainable financing for SRHR.
• Promote greater coordination and alignment of actions for SRHR financing.

E. Undertake any other tasks as assigned by the Regional Director

Qualifications and Experience 

Education:  

An advanced university degree with a specialization in health economics, development financing, business administration, public health, or a related field is preferred.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• Minimum 7 years of relevant professional experience, including at global, continental, regional, and/or country in health finance, and health economics with a focus on SRHR.  
• Deep technical understanding of health and gender equality and the impact of SRHR investments, from a financing perspective; 
• Direct experience in providing strategic advice to regional economic communities, governments, and civil society, on health financing with a focus on SRHR desirable.
• Proven track record in fiscal and health financing analysis, health financing and costing assessments, measurement of economic and social determinants; costing methodologies and approaches, public finance and expenditure reviews as a diagnostic tool; 
• Experience in providing technical assistance in the development of financially sustainable health financing policies, strategies, plans and/or programs for health, gender equality, health- or social protection;
• Strong verbal and written communication skills and ability to synthesize ideas and messages into digestible presentations/documents for non-technical users;
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective relationships both within and outside the organization;
• Previous experience/exposure to the UN sustainable development system, UN operational activities, policies, and UN SDG financing strategies and platforms preferable;

Languages: 

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

Required Competencies: 

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity, 
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system, 
• Embracing cultural diversity, 
• Embracing change

Core Competencies: 

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
• Communicating for impact

Functional Competencies

• Programme and technical delivery
• External and internal relations
• Resource mobilisation
• Operational excellence 
• Organizational oversight

UN Leadership Characteristics:

• Norm-based - grounded in UN norms and standards
• Principled - defends norms and standards without discrimination, fear or favour
• Inclusive of all personnel and stakeholders
• Accountable
• Multi-dimensional
• Transformational
• Collaborative
• Self-applied - modeled in our own behaviour

Managerial Competencies:

• Providing strategic focus 
• Engaging staff and partners Innovation and marketing of new approaches
• Leading developing and empowering people/creating a culture of performance
• Making decisions and exercising judgment

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

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. Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.