The Position:
The Technical Specialist on Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health (FP/MH/RHCS/SRHR) will be based in Port Moresby with travel as required to different provinces in PNG. They will work under the overall guidance of the UNFPA Representative in PNG, the direct supervision of the Deputy Representative, and they will work closely with other program staff in the UNFPA Country office. They will lead the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights team at the country office and work collaboratively with the National Department of Health, Provincial Health Authorities, NGO partners, bilateral and multilateral donor agencies to enhance family planning, maternal health, and reproductive health commodity security (RHCS), including managing PNG’s transition to more sustainable, nationally financed RHCS 3 SUPPLIES. They will provide technical support and conduct relevant research, analysis and training activities aimed at providing information and knowledge base and methodologies to national counterparts, planners, policy makers, programme managers and service providers.
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 Government of Papua New Guinea has prioritized population as a national development concern articulated in the Alotau Accord II of August 2017. The high political commitment to the health and wellbeing of the population is well articulated in the National Development Plan, Vision 2050, the Reproductive Health Policy, the National Population Policy 2015-2024, and the family planning policy. The Government envisions reducing the country’s high maternal mortality ratio by more than 50 percent by year 2024 but is currently off-track to achieve this goal – a situation further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Health has prioritized family planning as the most cost-effective intervention and the government aims to have family planning and maternal health services throughout the country including the remotest areas. The Technical Specialist will support the Government’s goal by providing technical guidance, advice, and advocacy for a comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health program which is sustainably financed and addresses quality of care, inequities in access to care and a health system strengthening and human rights based approach. The Technical Specialist will work in collaboration with partners to expand availability of quality comprehensive SRHR services, including respectful routine and emergency maternal and newborn care for all populations, improving the skills and competencies of SRH/Maternal Health service providers with a focus on midwives, upskilling of community health workers and village volunteers.
You would be responsible for:
Providing dedicated leadership and technical support to national efforts to scale up and sustainably finance a high quality and comprehensive national SRHR program for all populations including in humanitarian emergencies.
- Advocacy and Partnership
- Advocate and develop partnerships that strengthen the national health system to deliver comprehensive SRH services for all populations which are affordable, accessible, and of high quality. This will include strategic policy advice and formation of strategic partnerships for scaled up implementation and financing of policies at subnational levels
- Lead in the adoption/implementation of the newly developed Midwifery Policy. Contribute to awareness-raising with different audiences (policymakers, general public) of the impact of the midwifery profession and its importance/effectiveness in supporting the delivery of comprehensive SRHR in PNG as part of UHC.
- Lead the national advocacy efforts with partners and facilitate adoption of an integrated approach to SRH and RHCS including in humanitarian emergencies. This integrated approach is complemented by a focus on issues of quality and availability of care, improvements to the reproductive health commodity security system.
- Lead in the development of project proposals on SRHR/RHCS/Humanitarian and the nexus of same to build UNFPA’s Comprehensive SRHR portfolio in PNG in partnership with other key actors.
- Lead UNFPA’s engagement with national midwives and midwifery associations and midwifery educational institutions to strengthen investments in midwifery and the quality of SRHR services
- Collaborate with partners, including UN agencies, NGOs and government partners) to promote integrated approaches to improving reproductive and maternal health, particularly in areas such as: (i) Condom programming under HIV/AIDS program; (ii) Improving access to contraceptives and lifesaving maternal health medicines; (iii) upscaling family planning; (IV) ensuring comprehensive SRHR services including for young people and the furthest behind; (V) ensuring availability of quality routine and emergency maternal health services including referral networks for emergency obstetric and newborn care.
- Collaborate with other UN Agencies and development partners to promote and provide integrated technical support for RH/MH/RHCS within the country (particularly with WHO, UNAIDS, UNICEF, DFAT, Marie Stopes, PSI, FHI360, FHA/IPPF among others) and to carry out operations research and implement findings.
- Engage with government counterparts, specifically National Department of Health and Department of Finance/Treasury to ensure that PNG has allocated sufficient funds for the SRH workforce and RH commodities as required within the Phase 3 of SUPPLIES program.
- Advocate with Government and development partners for increased and sustained financing for family planning, reproductive and maternal health programming.
- Represent UNFPA in the relevant UN coordination mechanisms based on expertise, capacity and resources.
- Support effective communications to raise awareness about SRHR/RHCS.
- Capacity development and Technical Support
- Provide Government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) counterparts with technical assistance and advice on evidence-based approaches and strategic directions for strengthening the quality of family planning and maternal health services, including in humanitarian emergencies.
- Provide technical assistance to partners to ensure effective demand for family planning, MH services and RH commodities.
- Build national capacity in contraceptive technology (including long-acting methods)
- Provide support to RHCS team and government counterparts for the preparation of National Supply Plan and in analyzing and disseminating data on the status, movement and utilization of FP/RH commodities.
- Support to national partners to integrate family planning, maternal health, HIV and RH commodities.
- Participate in the UNFPA and FP2030 technical networks on Family Planning maintaining communication and feedback loops on all substantive work.
- Building partners capacity on MISP as part of the CO response to humanitarian emergencies.
- Provide technical assistance to government to develop mechanisms for sustained health system strengthening and financing.
- Provide technical guidance to strengthen midwifery as a profession in PNG, provide capacity building as needed to the midwifery association.
- Evidence and knowledge development and dissemination
- Contribute to the identification, analysis and synthesis of technical knowledge and evidence-based information in family planning, reproductive and maternal health, and RHCS.
- Coordinate and technically support the implementation of various surveys/data collection mechanisms on FP/RHC/ emergency obstetric and newborn care/ MPDSR initiated by the office and programmes.