Job Description

The Position:

Local Consultancy: Maternal and Newborn Health Consultant

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.

Introduction and Context 

The UNFPA is an organization within the United Nations that focuses on sexual and reproductive health. Its mission is to create a world in which all pregnancies are intended, all childbirths are safe, and young people are able to reach their full potential. To achieve this, UNFPA endeavors to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, promote reproductive rights, and reduce maternal mortality. Furthermore, these efforts aim to accelerate progress towards the goals set forth in the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on improving the lives of adolescents, youth, and women. To achieve this, UNFPA concentrates on four key areas of transformation by 2030: eliminating unmet needs for family planning, reducing preventable maternal deaths to zero, preventing new cases of gender-based violence and harmful practices, and eliminating new HIV infections. These objectives will be met through policy and advocacy dialogues, as well as effective knowledge management.

Purpose of consultancy: 

Serve as a principal technical advisor in providing integrated technical, policy, and programme advice on Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH).   

Scope of Work & Deliverables 

The scope of work and deliverables for the assignment will include:  

•  Act as a liaison between various stakeholders, including UNFPA Country Office, government, and other partners involved in health system strengthening, with a specific focus on health programmes (e.g. NHI, MNH and SRH).
•  Provide technical guidance on roll-out of Integrated Maternal and Perinatal Care guidelines for South Africa.
•  Contribute to the operationalization of UNFPA Country Office (CO) Maternal and Newborn Health Fund activities.
• Encourage and support research initiatives and innovative solutions to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes.
• Lead teams in the design, implementation, and evaluation of UNFPA programs in partnership with Department of Health counterparts and other institutions.
•  Participate in and provide strategic leadership and technical assistance through technical working groups (TWGs), workshops, campaigns and evaluations that support and/or involve system strengthening.
•  Identify and document technically sound, cost-effective, and practical approaches to programming consistent with UNFPA policies and priorities. This includes assisting in the preparation of design and developing concept notes for specific project interventions.
• Remain informed and up to date on technical and management issues affecting the design, implementation and evaluation of UNFPA’s activities in the 2025 workplan with particular focus on system strengthening; and
• Participate in the UNFPA Programme Review meetings and other strategic discussions with regional office and the MIC Hub.

Deliverables

1.  Produce concept note to support strategic MNH and SRH projects jointly identified with stakeholders and partners working with UNFPA;
2.  Develop research protocol(s)to generate evidence to support the emerging best practices within MNCH and SRH activities; and
3.  Review and contribute to UNFPA CO quarterly and technical health reports.

Duration and working schedule: 

This assignment will last eight months, from 1 April to 30 November 2025. After UNFPA Management has appointed the consultant and approved the proposed project plans and research protocols, the consultant will be expected to provide a detailed project/research progress within stipulated time frames to meet the above-mentioned deliverables. 

Place where services are to be delivered :
Consultancy will be virtual, with travel as and when required to Pretoria or to the UNFPA-supported provinces (e.g., Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal).

Supervisory arrangements:

The consultant will be under the overall supervision of the UNFPA Assistant Representative/Head of Programmes.  
Expected travel:

The consultant is expected to work both remotely (off-site/virtually) and be available to travel for field work and stakeholder engagement as appropriate.

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements: 

•  Must have demonstrable previous experience in SRHR and/ or HIV programmes.
•  Have a postgraduate degree in Medicine, Public health or Epidemiology.
• Experience working in collaboration with government (particularly, the Department of Health, development partners (especially UNFPA), civil society organizations (organizations implementing Public Health programs in South Africa)
•  Demonstrated strong report writing skills and evidence of reports produced.
•  Excellent knowledge and at least 7 years’ experience working in family Planning, Maternal and Child Health.

Inputs / services to be provided by Women, Youth and Persons with disabilities   (e.g. support services, office space, equipment), if applicable: 

• Office space, Printing and Internet

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.

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