The Position:
The Political and Intergovernmental Technical Adviser post is located at the UNFPA West Africa Regional Office (WCARO) and works under the overall direction and supervision of the Regional Director and direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Director. The Adviser will focus on facilitating and guiding UNFPA’s regional engagement in positioning sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights within relevant political and intergovernmental mechanisms across the development, humanitarian and peace contexts in the region. The Adviser will also strengthen relevant systems for keeping abreast of the political environment through guidance and tools as may be required in collaboration with other UNFPA Regional Offices and Addis Representational Office covering the continent of Africa as well as other members of the WCARO technical team and Country Offices.
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 Regional Political and Intergovernmental Advisor will play a critical role in supporting the region in delivering its mandate by providing leadership in political environmental scanning, analysis of the impact of the political environment on the achievement of the ICPD Programme of Action, in the context of the 2030 Agenda and Africa Agenda 2063. Additionally, s/he will serve as the principal advisor on political and inter-governmental partnerships required for the achievement of transformative results outlined in the Strategic Plan. The position will support the region to strengthen positioning and integration of SRH/RR in outcomes of intergovernmental fora. Guided by the prevailing and evolving landscape for sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights in the region, the Adviser will ensure UNFPA leverages opportunities and mitigates risks in a timely manner, while also learning from the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on constrained policy and resource environments. Through the Adviser, UNFPA WCA region seeks to further consolidate and accelerate continental and regional political, policy and intergovernmental engagements through collaborations across UNFPA ESA and Arab States regions. UNFPA WCA Regional Office is keenly engaged in the UN Regional reform aimed at strengthening the value proposition of the UN to member states and regional institutions, including the African Union Commission and its organs, and Regional Economic Commissions.
You would be responsible for:
Strategic Technical Leadership, Monitoring and Oversight; Quality Technical Support and Capacity Development on Political and Intergovernmental Processes; Evidence and Knowledge Management; Technical Representation, Strategic Partnerships and Strategic Positioning; Strategic Technical Leadership, Monitoring and Oversight Provide leadership in further understanding the political environmental for the advancement of the ICPD Programme of Action through undertaking regular scanning facilitated by systems, guidance and tools that take into consideration normative standards and relevant geopolitical dimensions applicable to the region and continent; Systematically guide country, region and global positioning as driven by political trends, with a view to supporting UNFPA regional and country level to further advance political commitment to the ICPD PoA; Facilitate actions to ensure SRH/RR is an integral part of regional and continental agenda; for instance, inclusion of neglected SRH/RR needs of adolescents, young people, and women, including persons living with disabilities, and SRH/RR in humanitarian situations; Support systems monitoring risks particularly regarding political sensitivities around SRH/RR and provide guidance on mitigation measures as may be applicable; Contribute to internal coherence and alignment of internal approaches, including use of reliable sources of evidence to guide corporate recommendations on political positioning and inter-governmental actions, and communicating these in a clear and compelling manner; Lead and make substantive contributions to assist with the preparation for global/regional/sub-regional inter-governmental processes and use such platforms to engage a broad range of stakeholders. These include global fora including the High Level Political Forum, Commission on Population and Development, and Human Rights Council, as well as regional fora convened by the African Union Commission and the Economic Commission for Africa; Quality Technical Support and Capacity Development on Political and intergovernmental processes Provide technical support to countries for sustained reporting, analysis and synthesis of environmental scanning information across the spectrum of political economy in line with the strategic direction and integrated approach of the organization, including through the Strategic Plan, Regional and Country Programmes; Develop tools and guide to inform regular trends analysis across the ICPD Programme of Action and produce periodic snapshot of current positions, of member states, and outcomes of regional and global bodies; Provide technical support to country offices to respond to requests from member States on the ICPD agenda, including building forward better from the impact of COVID-19 and prevailing multiple threats in the region; Establish and manage think tanks with ability to provide external perspectives to the interests of the organization and support decision making by UNFPA management in the region; Evidence and Knowledge Management Support documentation for required regional management of political and inter-governmental engagements and outreach; Undertake and update mapping of current and potential strategic partners for enhancing political and intergovernmental momentum for ICPD in countries in the region; Develop guidelines for above partnerships, including contributing to a database on regional partners; Work with regional and country offices to harness and share knowledge from within and beyond the region on accelerating political influence and agenda shaping for SRH/RR, including through south-south cooperation. Disseminate and promote the use of state-of-the-art technical knowledge, evidence, lessons learned and success stories to improve the effectiveness of UNFPA’s engagement in the political economy of ICPD and intergovernmental processes; Technical Representation, Strategic Partnerships and Strategic Positioning Identify opportunities to mobilize key partners at global, regional and national level including through the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, United Nations System, Bilateral and Multilateral institution, etc. required to advance the ICPD Programme of Action, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and aspirations of Africa Agenda 2063; Provide support to strengthened internal coherence of UNFPA messaging with Headquarters, regional and Representational/Liaison Offices in Addis Ababa, Geneva and others; Manage networks of partners in the region and create mechanisms for interaction among partners in the intergovernmental processes (Economic Commissions for Africa, African Union Commission and its organs, parliamentarians, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), etc.) to further UNFPA’s mandate; Perform any other duties as assigned by the Regional Director.Qualifications and Experience:
Education:
Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, Political Science, International Relations; Political Economy or other relevant fields.
Knowledge and Experience:
At least 10 years of relevant and increasingly responsible professional experience in development and multilateral affairs, of which 4 years at the international level; Experience in implementation of political scanning and analysis of complex socio-economic and human rights issues is an asset; Experience with advocacy within intergovernmental processes and strong negotiation skills.This vacancy is archived.