SRH TWG Field Coordinator

Post Title:               SRH TWG Field Coordinator

Reports to:        UNFPA SRH Coordinator

Post Level:             Service Contract, SB4/Max

Position number:  106204

Duration of the service: one year with possible extension

Duty Station:         Kyiv (with frequent travels to Dnipro, Kharkiv,  Odessa, Vinnytsia, Lviv,             Poltava)

Full/part time:          Full time

Background information:

Context of the Emergency

The ongoing war in Ukraine continues to take a toll on the lives of an estimated 14.5 million people in need of health assistance and an estimated 17.7 million people requiring protection assistance and services inside Ukraine. The estimated number of internally displaced people is 6.9 million, and more than 7.5 million refugees are recorded in European countries. As of December 2020, WHO had verified 747 attacks on health facilities; access to health care remains extremely challenging due to severe service disruptions, security concerns, restricted mobility, broken supply chains and mass displacement.

The security situation in Ukraine deteriorated rapidly following the onset of war with the Russian Federation on the 24th February, 2022.  The intense military escalation has resulted in loss of life, injuries, and mass movement of civilian population throughout the country and to neighbouring countries, as well as severe destruction and damage to civilian infrastructure and residential housing. Public service provision - water, electricity, heating and emergency health and social services - is under severe pressure, and people’s access to health care is limited by insecurity. The situation of the estimated 9.4 million women of reproductive age is of particular concern, as their access to life-saving reproductive health including family planning, obstetric and neonatal, and gynecological services has been severely limited.

In 2022, humanitarian partners targeted 11.7 million people for support out of the estimated 17.7 million people in need, with a total funding requirement of $4.3 billion. Under the 2022 Ukraine Flash Appeal, the humanitarian response has been spanning seven sectoral areas – camp coordination, education, food security and livelihoods, health, protection, shelter/non-food items, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. Under the Health Cluster, there are 11 functioning working groups, including the Sexual and Reproductive Health Technical Working Group (SRH TWG).

Organizational Context

Under the guidance and supervision of the SRH Coordinator, the incumbent works in close collaboration with other UNFPA staff members and Health Cluster partners. The incumbent will have the overall responsibility to setup and lead the SRH TWG focusing on the sub-national levels covering several provinces, enabling an effective and efficient implementation of the humanitarian health response in area of SRH (family planning, maternal and neonatal health, sexual health, and women’s health including breast and cervical health) in close collaboration with local authorities, partners and other relevant stakeholders.

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. The Fund operates globally since 1969 in more than 150 countries and territories. UNFPA focuses on women and young people, because these are the groups whose rights are often compromised UNFPA has been active in Ukraine since 1997.

For UNFPA, gender was always in the core of its mandate and center of all Program activities and interventions. UNFPA helps the Government of Ukraine, local authorities, civil society and networks to empower women and ensure their involvement into decision-making processes through development of gender policies and legislation, support of gender research and combating gender discrimination and violence.

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 SRH TWG is chaired by UNFPA and co-chaired by the local NGO Women’s Health and Family Planning (WHFP), under the direction of the Government of Ukraine. The purpose of this position is assisting the coordination of response partners in the areas of family planning, maternal and neonatal health, sexual and reproductive health, clinical management of rape, and women’s health including breast and cervical health both at national and sub-national levels. This coordination includes all agencies providing SRH services to ensure that the most vulnerable women and girls, men and boys are reached with SRH services and to address the barriers that hinder the effective implementation of the minimal initial service package for SRH (MISP), particularly in locations where the healthcare infrastructure has been impacted. It will also adapt objectives through early recovery, incorporating an integrated and multisectoral approach towards the reestablishment of comprehensive SRH services. The humanitarian, development, peace nexus dimension is integral to the success of the working group.

Objectives of the SRH TWG

• To coordinate response actors and strengthen partnership for an effective and efficient SRH response in Ukraine, for those remaining in their homes in high-risk locations, displaced persons, and affected hosting communities
• To support efforts to increase access to MISP at all stages of the emergency
• To provide quality SRH services and standardize approaches by all partners responding to the emergency
• To share knowledge, tools, lessons learned, and good practices among partners
• To ensure timely reporting and analysis of SRH data to facilitate programmatic decision making
• To integrate SRH into joint emergency assessment tools and to establish SRH interventions in national emergency preparedness, humanitarian response, and early recovery and resilience planning
• Support the efforts towards joint response planning and resource mobilization efforts for the SRH
• Coordinate and strengthen linkage and cooperation with other 11 working groups of the Health Cluster and other sectoral clusters, including the GBV sub cluster

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support SRH WG under Health Cluster in establishing and managing effective coordination and operationalization of SRH -related interventions in designated regions(s), in line with UNFPA Guidelines and MISP;
• On behalf of the SRH Coordinator contribute to the engagement of relevant humanitarian actors including the local government actors, international and national non-governmental organisations in the work of the sub-national SRH working group(s);
• Assist in promoting shared knowledge and understanding of the SRH related guiding principles and MSIP 
• for effective SRH programme management and inter-agency coordination;
• Support the SRH WG in mapping and verifying the quality of locally available SRH services, ensuring access to SRH services and cross-referral with/to GBV services for survivors of violence in designated regions(s);
• Work with the local partners to the SRH WG and provide necessary support to enable data entry into the 5W and SRH Service Mapping;
• Contribute in the development of location-specific SRH coordination working group work plans
• Assist in developing a strategy for effective communications with affected populations on SRH services, including access to services for vulnerable groups of women and girls;
• Assist  in conducting Rapid Assessments and responses initiated by the Health Cluster and SRH WG, including by contributing to the assessment of capacity gaps that hinder quality and/or coverage of SRH services;
• Monitor the implementation and quality of SRH service provision, including provided with UNFPA support to facilities and via mobile clinics  in designated regions(s);
• Contribute in coordinating the delivery of SRH training to all interested actors in designated region(s)
• Map actors who can support SRH-related interventions and identify gaps in designated regions(s);
• Prepare standard periodic reports and progress updates on ongoing SRH working group for inclusion in SRH WG/Health Cluster  updates, OCHA SitReps, Humanitarian Bulletins, UNFPA HQ internal and external meetings and advocacy, etc.
• In consultation with SRH Programme Manager, International SRH Response Coordinator prepare, update, implement and monitor the calendar activity plan for the programme based on the approved annual work plan(s);
• Ensure regular updates for implementation of the activities of SRH  Programme and coordination with SRH partners at the designated regions, highlighting progress, bottlenecks and solutions;
• Conduct regular meetings with SRH Programme Manager, SRH Programme team, and country office;
• Ensure visibility of the programme activities through public relations, advocacy, working with the mass media and other communications activities;
• Contribute to drafting of progress reports required by UNFPA and donors, provide regular updates/briefs as required by UNFPA;
• Contribute to creation and sharing of knowledge by synthesizing and documenting findings and lessons learned, success stories and best practices, strategies and approaches of the country office, and drafting relevant materials for dissemination;
• Perform any other duties as may be required by UNFPA country office management.
• Serve as a back-up for the SRH TWG Coordinator (WHFP-embedded) position
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the supervisor

Qualifications and Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level (e.g. in project/programme formulation, management, local governance, private sector development.)
• Previous work experience in Health Sector;
• Experience working on similar positions with international organizations/projects will be considered an advantage;
• Familiarity with UN procedures and working methods, particularly with UNFPA agenda, policies and procedures is a plus;
• Solid experience in writing functional specifications would be an asset;
• Working experience in projects funded by international donors is desirable;
• Broad partnership networks in the designated regions will be an advantage;
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills and ability to convene stakeholders and facilitate a policy process among UN, NGOs, national health authorities and donors.
• Proficiency in MS Office package, Google applications and teleconferencing tools;
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills, ability to multitask and be detail-oriented;
• Understanding of the main processes and methods of work regarding the position.

Education:

MA degree in Social Sciences, Humanities, Public administration, Health sciences, Public health, or equivalent qualifications.

Languages:

Fluency in English and Ukrainian.

Required Competencies:

Please APPLY for this position via the link before 2 February 2023