Health Research Advisor (International Consultant)

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

Since 2014, UN Women in Yemen has been providing support to women displaced by the conflict, while advocating for greater women’s engagement in the ongoing political process within WPS efforts. To this end, UN Women utilizes a multi-sectoral approach that contributes to achieving the following results as part of all stakeholder’s collective response to Yemen crisis:

• Enhancing access to life saving support to women and youth through protection and economic empowerment.
• Strengthening the humanitarian – development – peace nexus efforts in Yemen.
• Supporting women and youth advocates participate and lead in multi-track peacebuilding processes and governance structures.

UN Women has also been working in close collaboration with the Resident Coordinator and the broader UN system to provide coordination, normative and programme support that strengthens gender equality and women’s empowerment efforts. UN Women has been implementing a variety of projects related to supporting women’s rights actors working for peace and strategically, it has outlined three priority areas:

• Women, Peace, and Security (WPS): Increase women’s leadership and inclusion in peace process as well as enhance gender in peacebuilding in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325).
• Gender mainstreaming in humanitarian response: Provide capacity building support to leaders, networks, civil society, and UN agencies on gender mainstreaming in humanitarian programming.
• Humanitarian action: Address the needs of vulnerable women and girls to ensure those affected by the crisis can participate in, are empowered by and benefit from response and recovery efforts.

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Yemen Country Office Representative the consultant will be responsible for overseeing the development of the strategic directions for defining the approach, work schedule, resources, and personnel required to establish standardized data collection mechanisms. These mechanisms aim to assess opportunities and obstacles related to women’s empowerment, employability, and leadership within the health sector, while identifying effective strategies for enhancement.

Additionally, the consultant will provide capacity building support to the Yemen Country Office, establish and strengthen relevant partnerships with the health sector stakeholders and develop relevant knowledge products as requested.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Design and develop the data collection tool(s).

• Conduct a desk review for women participation in the health sector labor market identify gaps and priorities for context-relevant actions;
• Design, formulate and conduct the health-economics’ assessments in the selected governorate(s) and initiate proper coordination steps in coordination with the UN Women team;
• Finalize the assessments’ work plans, and resources needed and manage their implementation.

2. Manage the implementation and management of the assessments’ workflow.

• Supervise and conduct an in-depth women empowerment assessment or other standard national assessment;
• Conduct structured meetings with relevant national authorities to identify gaps, priorities and opportunities for future prospects of female health workers empowerment in health sector in Aden;
• Manage the submission of timely reports and inputs about achieved progress;
• Examine, review, analyze and update current national data available to review, analyze and map existing and emerging health risks in Aden and prepare a risk profile based on a risk assessment

3. Manage technical assistance on surveys and feedback design and possible future exercises.

• Manage the implementation of technical support and utilization of the assessments’ tools;
• Map and document trends and findings of women existing and future health labor market challenges/opportunities;
• Provide recommendations about data collection parameters needed for similar exercises in other projects;
• Present the surveys key findings UN Women staff and external audience/ stakeholders;
• Provide recommendations on the possible adoption of feedback tools relevant to the intervention that can be borrowed/applied in the Yemeni context;
• Organize, facilitate, and conduct tailored focus groups as agreed with UN Women in the selected areas and with all relevant stakeholders.

4. Provide strategic leadership advice for operationalization in the generation of data reports and manuscripts for formulating an academic publication/ research paper.

• Carry out a search and review of academic and non-academic literature in the areas of care economy and conduct data analysis using national survey data;
• Conduct research to understand the status of female health workers in Aden health sector;
• Prepare reports which compile information on care economy according to the agreed outline;
• Keep a record of all documents reviewed;
• Organize regular meetings with concerned team members from UN Women as needed on its formulation;
• Design a behavioral insight study (BIS) to identify best approach for women empowerment in health sector in Aden.

5. Expected assessment deliverables by the end of the assignment.

• Data collection tools formulated and endorsed by UN Women team;
• Data collection activities for the health sector based economic opportunities through field surveys & data collection and KIIs;
• Conduct and facilitate the required focus groups as agreed with UN Women in the selected locations;
• Regular reports/updates on the progress of the assessment activities as agreed with UN Women team;
• Mapping the trends of women labor market in the health sector in Yemen and identify affecting factors to women participation and occupation in the sector various segments;
• Provide high technical guidance to UN Women senior management on the establishment/strengthening of female medical referral including referral structures at provincial level that includes defined roles/responsibilities and resources for key functional areas;
• Workshops: organize and facilitate external/internal sessions to disseminate and validate the findings with relevant stakeholders including UN Women staff members;

6. Performs other official duties and tasks which may be requested by UN Women & support other gender-related work as needed/requested by the country Representative.

Expected Deliverables

The consultant will be expected to complete the below tasks within the defined indicative timeframe:

The consultant should in the development of the deliverables allow time for the deliverables to be reviewed and commented by UN Women prior to their finalization.

All deliverables of an acceptable standard and quality should be submitted to UN Women in English.

Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and the consultant and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy, with envisaged travel to the targeted areas in Yemen (subject to security clearance) and all travel costs will be covered by UNW YCO in accordance with UN Women’s rules and regulations.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

Key performance indicators

• Timely and quality technical advice and support.
• Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted and submitted in a timely manner.
• Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders.
• Timely and quality knowledge products.
• Submit policy brief and strategic documents as required.

Functional competencies:

• Strong knowledge and experience related to current policies and practices in the fields of health economies, women empowerment, gender equality, protection, and humanitarian action;
• Strong knowledge of health business models design, development, implementation, and reporting;
• Strong knowledge of the region;
• Ability to write policy papers, academic research and briefings;
• Ability to synthesize programme performance data and produce analytical reports;
• Ability to analyze and present complex information;
• Strong interpersonal, teamwork and communication skills;
• Ability to work independently and proactively solve problems;
• Capacity to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time;
• Capacity to engage with national and international staff, provide clear feedback and maintain effective rapport with different kinds of people;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Ability and willingness to work as part of a team to meet tight deadlines and produce high quality work;
• Adaptability to include comments and revisions as required.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Public Health, Health Policy, Health Economics, Gender, or any relevant health major is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• 10 years of progressively responsible working experience on issues of health economics and/or Public Health related programmes;
• Technical experience conducting assessments and data collection;
• Experience in policy analysis and strategic planning;
• Experience in providing high-quality reports, including comments and revisions according to the specified deadlines;
• Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and CSOs internationally and in the field;
• Experience working with the UN is an asset;
• Experience working in the MENA region is an asset.
• Computer skills, statistics, internet communication and command of MS Office.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required.

How to Apply

• Personal CV or P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc )
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality, and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW, and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.