Back SRH/RHCS Specialist (SB5)

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.  

Organizational Setting:

The UNFPA Sub-regional Office for the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean supports 22 countries and territories and has offices in six countries, i.e. Jamaica, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago. UNFPA and UN Women, with funds from Global Affairs Canada, will jointly work in four Eastern Caribbean countries with the aim to improve economic and social equality for women and girls, including for marginalized or vulnerable women and girls. UNFPA will particularly contribute to enhanced quality and accessibility of sexual and reproductive health and rights frameworks and services for women and adolescent girls, especially for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

Under the direct supervision of the UNFPA Deputy Director of the Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean (SROC), currently based in Barbados   the SRH/RHCS Specialist is responsible for leading Reproductive Health /Reproductive Health Commodity Security (RH/RHCS interventions in the four Eastern Caribbean countries as well as for providing RHCS technical support to the other countries covered by the SROC.

This position is time-bound and linked to the ‘Build back Equal” funding source. The SRH/RHCS Specialist works in close collaboration with the SRH Advisor in Guyana and the Liaison Officer in Barbados. The SRH/RHCS Specialist works in an integrated manner with other UN Organizations, particularly UN Women, technical staff in host government and civil society organizations to ensure successful implementation of the programme. During a humanitarian crisis, RH/RHCS Specialist works in partnerships with cluster coordinators.

Job purpose:

The Technical Specialist provides strategic technical and programmatic leadership for the SROC in SRH/RHCS to ensure that capacity building, advocacy and policy dialogue work reflects UNFPA’s policy and programme policies as well as current thinking and academic advance in substantive areas affecting the ICPD Programme of Action. S/he/they maintains primary responsibility for coordination of the provision of technical assistance and programmatic support to primarily Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines with a specific focus on family planning and RHCS, but also on adolescent health, comprehensive sexuality education, integrated SRH/GBV services and humanitarian preparedness and response.

Main Tasks & Responsibilities

Rapid assessment of infrastructure, capabilities and human resources to inform the design of a robust SCM system.

Development of RHCS strategies, action plan and monitoring plan in all four countries (including consultations and validation processes) and development of advocacy materials.

Technical assistance to support the design of an automized Logistic Management Information System in Grenada to be implemented at all levels.

Supply Chain Costing capacity building to protect SCM financing and guide budgeting for SCM in Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Training on quantification and procurement practices- includes coaching.

Design robust SCM system, inventory control, and LMIS including capacity building. 

Development & dissemination of advocacy materials on SCM in health crisis. 

Design the health commodity supply logistic in line with the health priorities, and the national RHCS plans.

Provide, coordinate and manage trainings on rights-based voluntary family planning with a focus on adolescents and marginalized populations with focus on LARCS (Implants and IUDs) to health care providers, including:

Technical support to the introduction of implants and reposition of IUDs and capacity building on rights-based voluntary family planning.

Procurement of implants and anatomical models for the capacity building of health providers in implants and IUD insertions and removals.

Provide technical assistance to the Ministries of Health and CSOs on establishing rights-based, gender-focused and SRH services responsive to the needs of adolescents and youth

Development and implementation of the standards for quality health care services for adolescents.

Support ministries of health to develop mechanism for monitoring the provision of quality adolescent friendly services as per national standards.

Provision of integrated SRH information, services and the roll out of CSE toolkit for out-of-school youth, with particular focus on the most vulnerable persons (including adolescent girls, LGBTQ+, sex workers, hard to reach population etc.) through CSOs.