Technical Experts: SRHR Financing Specialists

UN News; Remote; ZAR 60 000 - 90 000; Part time

Job summary

A United Nations program in Johannesburg is inviting applications for technical experts to enhance health financing initiatives, particularly for sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). The role requires a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in health finance, strong communication skills, and the ability to work in multicultural environments. Selected candidates will contribute to the development of sustainable financing strategies and advocate for increased investment in SRHR across Eastern and Southern Africa. This is an opportunity to make a significant impact in the health sector.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Opportunity to impact health policy

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of relevant professional experience in health finance and economics focused on SRHR.
• Experience providing strategic advice on health financing to governments and organizations.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical assistance for sustainable health financing policies.
• Conduct analyses of financing landscapes impacting SRHR outcomes.
• Lead capacity development of stakeholders in financing for SRHR.

Skills

Health financing

Gender equality

Strategic communication

Multicultural relationship building

Education

Advanced university degree in health economics or related field

Job description

Application requirement:

To be registered for future assignments kindly submit your CV and cover letter, as well as three relevant examples of your previous work.

Background of consultancy

The 2gether 4 SRHR is a joint United Nations Regional Programme that brings together the combined efforts of UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, and WHO to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of all people in Eastern and Southern Africa.

One of the objectives of the programme is to provide timely and quality‑assured technical assistance (TA) to continental and regional economic communities, parliamentary fora, participating United Nations agencies, and countries.

To achieve this, the Programme developed a regional SRHR Technical Assistance Hub, which is a roster of pre‑determined quality‑assured technical experts, professional organizations, institutions, and partners working on SRHR in the region.

This call is for technical experts to apply for consideration to be added to the Technical Assistance Hub. Applicants will be assessed based on each call, relevant qualifications, previous experience and examples of previous work. Once included in the roster you will have preferential access to consulting opportunities to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all people in East and Southern Africa.

Selected candidates will be contracted by one of the four participating UN agencies of 2gether 4 SRHR (UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO) or other partners using their internal policies and procedures. Inclusion in the TA Hub does not constitute a contractual obligation by any participating party.

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 realise 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.

Purpose of consultancy

This call seeks to identify technical experts to support the following areas of work:

• Provide technical assistance in the development of sustainable health financing policies and programs.
• Inform cross‑regional analysis of social sector financing and accountability mechanisms.
• Broker strategic partnerships to mobilise sustainable financing for SRHR.

The technical experts will provide evidence to drive advocacy towards increased investments in SRHR, scale‑up coverage for women and young people and keep SRHR at the forefront of health priorities, by directly supporting the following tasks:

1. Thought Leadership on SRHR Financing
2. Capacity Development and Support to Countries
3. Knowledge Management on Sustainable Financing
4. Strategic Partnerships

Scope of work: (Description of services, activities, or outputs)

Selected technical experts will be invited to register for the TA Hub to provide technical assistance to regional institutions and countries in one or more of the following areas:

1. Thought Leadership on SRHR Financing

• Conduct comprehensive analyses, studies and assessments of relevant financing landscapes, policies, strategies, and plans that impact SRHR outcomes, including those related to health, education, youth, gender and social protection.
• Guide co‑creation of financing strategies and proven pathways 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, and costed national strategic plans for relevant sectors including health, education, youth and 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.

2. Capacity Development and Support to Countries

• Lead and contribute to tailored capacity development of UN staff, 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 core health financing assessment, including but not limited to resource mapping (including analysis of SRHR spending through national health accounts, covering government and out‑of‑pocket expenditures), fiscal space analysis and assessing the impact of health financing policies on SRHR outcomes.
• Support countries in conducting health budget and expenditure tracking analysis and cost and efficiency assessments.

3. 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 for 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.

4. 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 favour 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 & 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 and economic research institutions to strengthen the enabling environment for scaled sustainable financing for SRHR.
• Promote greater coordination and alignment of actions for SRHR financing.

5. Undertake any other tasks related to SRHR financing as assigned by and agreed upon with the supervisor.

Duration and working schedule

Assignments will be determined based on specific technical assignments identified by the participating UN agencies, countries and other regional partners. Those specific assignments will include information on duration and working schedule.

Place where services are to be delivered

Details will be determined based on the specific technical assignments identified by the participating UN agencies, countries and other regional partners.

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.)

Details will be determined based on the specific technical assignments identified by the participating UN agencies, countries and other regional partners.

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline

The consultant will be required to provide regular updates via email to monitor adherence to tight schedules. Regular check‑in meetings.

Supervisory arrangements

Technical experts will be contracted by the relevant UN agency and/or partner using their identified procurement processes.

Expected travel

Travel will be based on the nature of the assignment that the technical expert may be contracted for.

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements

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 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, measurement of economic and social determinants of health; costing methodologies and approaches, public finance and expenditure reviews as a diagnostic tool and benefit package design.
• Experience in providing technical assistance in the development of financially sustainable health financing policies, strategies, plans and/or programmes 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 in the region.
• 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 is required; proficiency in French or Portuguese 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

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. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. 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.