Project Coordinator, Linking HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Southern Africa( Closed-For reference purpose only)

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. In order to maintain the Fund’s position at the cutting edge of development assistance in the field of population and reproductive health, we are continuously striving to enhance our programmatic and managerial capacities.

VACANCY NO.:             Job ID  1789

CLOSING DATE:                   17 June 2011 (5.00 p.m. NY  time)

POST TITLE:            Project Coordinator, Linking HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Southern Africa( Closed-For reference purpose only)

CATEGORY:            ICS-12 (P-5) *

POST NUMBER:            New

POST TYPE:            Non-Rotational

DUTY STATION:            Johannesburg

EXPECTED DURATION:        Initially, one year

ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT:         Eastern and Southern Africa Sub-regional Office


BACKGROUND:

In September 2006, the African Union agreed to implement the ‘Maputo Plan of Action’ calling for countries to “strengthen commitment to achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, and recognize and support the contribution of these services to HIV prevention efforts.

In 2010 the South African Development Community recognized strengthening SRHR and HIV linkages as key to achieving its target of a 50 percent reduction in new HIV infections by 2015. SRHR linkages are featured in the UNAIDS Outcome Framework.

A growing body of evidence suggests that better linking of efforts in addressing HIV and SRHR produces mutually reinforcing progress in both areas. The impetus for linkages stems from a sound rationale - the majority of HIV infections are sexually transmitted or associated with pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, and ulcerative/ or inflammatory sexually transmitted infections can also affect HIV transmission. s. A combination of improved Maternal Child and Health, reproductive health and HIV services, and structural interventions to create a more enabling environment and greater demand for these services, is required to ensure lasting changes in these long-standing problems.


With the endorsement of the new Communication on the EU role in Global Health, the Council affirms health as a human right and the significance of efforts to address social exclusion, power structures that impede equity, and gender equality. Emphasizing the central role of the EU in accelerating progress of global health challenges, the Council calls on the EU and its Member States to act together by prioritizing their support on strengthening comprehensive health systems in partner countries.

In this context, this project intends to support EU partner countries in overcoming barriers to scaling up linkages between policies, programmes and services for SRHR and HIV. The project will focus on catalytic action in select pilot countries in the region of Southern Africa and will stimulate scaling up in other countries through regional level action. Southern Africa is the region most heavily affected by HIV in the world, with HIV prevalence rates of more than 10% in the adult population in nine of the ten countries, and more than 20% among women attending antenatal clinics.

The overall aim of this project is to support at least 7 countries in Southern Africa in addressing barriers to efficient and effective linkages between HIV and SRHR policies and services, to appropriately include essential actions in the education, justice and gender sectors, and to achieve the goals of universal access to reproductive health (MDGs3, 4 and 5) and HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support (MDG 6) by 2015. The specific objectives of the intervention are: to support 7 countries in Southern Africa in enabling full integration of HIV/AIDS and SRHR, in the context of national health and broader development strategies, plans and budgets and to enable 3 countries in Southern Africa to better link and effectively scale up efforts in SRHR and HIV integration to enable and stimulate the formulation and dissemination of lessons learned in the Southern Africa Region, formulate best practices and facilitate South-South Cooperation in this field.



ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING:

Under the Supervision of the UNFPA Sub-Regional Director for East and Southern Africa and in close collaboration with the HIV Technical Advisor in the Sub-Regional Office, the incumbent will also liaise as relevant with all thematic UNFPA Programme Officers and UNAIDS Country Coordinators in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as relevant national counterparts, UN system organizations, multi and bilateral international development agencies, civil society and local communities to build and develop the capacity of national institutions and civil society to link HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Southern Africa.



DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Project Coordinator will have the following core functions in the context of the project:

•     Coordinate the overall implementation of the project, including reporting, financial management and monitoring of overall implementation of the project.
•    Guide countries and coordinate implementation of the project in the countries. He/she will oversee the project and its progress, help with arranging the appropriate support, help with overcoming bottlenecks, ensure proper exchanges of information and joint learning, and be responsible for financial management and balanced allocation of funds in line with Steering Committee decisions.
•    Coordinate collaboration between the UNAIDS, UNFPA, the WHO and other UN partners and also via the joint UN country teams on AIDS, where the UN delivers ‘as one’ combining the efforts of the ten co-sponsoring UNAIDS agencies. He or she will also coordinate and support implementation of activities at country level. The national project coordinator will collaborate closely with the Regional program Coordinator based in UNFPA Sub-regional Office in Johannesburg.

More specifically the  Project Coordinator will:

Technical support
•    Support the integration of SRHR and HIV linkages in national health and development plans, systems and service delivery;
•    Coordinate the provision of technical assistance to national counterparts  in linking SRHR and HIV and ensure accurate delivery of the project inputs (human resources, travel,  equipment & supplies and services) to promote effective strategic partnerships (UN agencies, national governments and relevant civil society organizations)
•    Document technical experiences to come to a strategy for successful SRHR and HIV integration at country and field level, taking into account the country specific context.

Promotion of multi-sectoral and sub-regional coordination
•    Participate in and provide technical inputs to the UN Country Thematic Groups meetings on HIV/AIDS and SRHR to promote a multi-sectoral approach to link up and scale up the integration of SRHR and HIV linkages
•     Provide within the appropriate forums, recommendations to government counterparts and  UNAIDS Country Offices, development partners to ensure gender-sensitive and evidence-based approaches in the integration of SRHR and HIV linkages
•    Maintain regular information sharing between UNFPA and UNAIDS at the country level and feed the information back to the regional program coordinator in Johannesburg to keep them abreast of the current developments on the SRHR and HIV linkages  trends, experiences, challenges and priorities related to targeted groups;
•    Using experience from the country, contribute to regional/sub-regional knowledge sharing networks, (including through the UNFPA and UNAIDS web sites as well as South-South cooperation, including via the AU/SADC and other relevant continental and global frameworks) ;
•    Support the Governments to mobilize resources and to dialogue and lobby with major funding organizations, development partners and national and sub-regional authorities to leverage funds for the integration of SRHR and HIV linkages programmes and activities or any other proposals to be submitted to donor agencies etc.

Project Management
•    Ensure the overall responsibilities of the proper management and coordination of the project including procurement of works, goods and services, financial management, monitoring and evaluation and the preparation and submission of required reports based on the procedures set forth in the signed Funding Agreement between EC and UNFPA and Action Fiche Proposal;
•    Oversee and provide guidance to the work of consultants and subcontractors within the project to ensure the quality of their work and outputs in accordance with the Funding Agreement between EC and UNFPA (including for on-site monitoring and evaluation processes, expenditure verification, accurate reporting and for proper implementation of outstanding activities and accounting of the project funds);
•    Prepare regular analytical reports to be shared with UNAIDS field offices, UNFPA and UNAIDS Regional Offices in Johannesburg and the Steering Committee;
•    Facilitate documenting the best practices and approaches for deepening the knowledge base for UNFPA, UNAIDS and partners as an integral resource for linking HIV and SRHR.

Required Competencies
CORE COMPETENCIES:
•    Integrity/Commitment to UNFPA’s Mandate/Valuing Diversity
•    Performance Management
•    Developing People/Coaching and Mentoring
•    Fostering Innovation and Empowerment
•    Working in Teams & Communication Information and Ideas
•    Self-Management/Emotional Intelligence
•    Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making
•    Analytical and Strategic Thinking and Results Orientation/Commitment to Excellence
•    Knowledge Sharing/Continuous Learning


FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:
•    Conceptual Innovation in the provision of technical expertise
•    Leveraging the resources of national governments & partners/Building strategic alliances and partnerships
•    Job knowledge/Technical expertise
•    Adaptation and application of knowledge/innovations in different contexts
•    Integration in a multidisciplinary environment

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

•    Advanced university degree in public health, medicine, demography, social sciences or related field;
•    10 years experience in development, design, and implementation of HIV and AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programmes in developing countries;
•    Experience in Africa with international donors; experience in the UN system and in Southern Africa is an asset;
•    Experience in the management of multi-country HIV or Health related programmes;
•    Fluent in English with excellent writing, analysis and communication skills; knowledge of other UN language is an asset.

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, respect for diversity, integrity and a healthy balance of work and life.  We are committed to maintaining our balanced gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply.

We offer an attractive remuneration package commensurate with the level of the position.   The package includes a competitive net salary plus housing allowance, home leave, health insurance and other benefits.

HOW TO APPLY

UNFPA has established an electronic application management system. This allows applicants to create a candidate profile, which can be updated regularly and submitted for more than one vacancy.

Please print out the Guide for your reference during the registration and application process.

Notice: There is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the application process. UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

*This is a project-funded post.

Click on the "Apply for this job" button to download the Step by Step Guide to Applying in the E-Recruit System of UNFPA.