Representative, Freetown, Sierra Leone – D1  

The Position:

 The Representative leads a country office team in the design and implementation of a population and development and sexual and reproductive health country programme. Through alliances and partnerships with governments, UN and bilateral agencies, development partners, civil society, academia and the private sector, the programme aims to realize the 2030 Agenda in order to make a positive difference in the lives of millions of people; especially those furthest behind.

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:

Under the guidance of a Regional Director, you will lead the Country team in the development and management of an innovative Country Programme of Cooperation focused on population and development and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, including maternal health, family planning, gender, and adolescent and youth empowerment. You are accountable for the effective implementation of the Country Programme, playing the lead role in promoting the mandate of the organization, and ensuring the integration of issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the broader national development agenda. Through engagement with national counterparts, UN Country Teams, compelling advocacy, and delivery of effective programmes, including in emergency settings, you serve on the frontline of the organization, validating both the mandate of the organization and its ability to deliver high quality support and results. Your ultimate accountability is to the people that you serve; the most vulnerable, excluded, or marginalized and for the causes that you serve; human rights, sustainable development and humanitarian relief

You would be responsible for:

A. Strategic direction, planning and management:

• Lead the positioning of UNFPA on strategic issues in the country on the basis of global, regional and national policies and strategies
• Build institutional relationships with government counterparts, civil society, the private sector, the UN community, other international/national organizations, academia and bilaterals that galvanize support for UNFPA’s mandate
• Promote UNFPA’s role in the national development agenda, and in the changing aid environment
• Establish priorities for the work of the Country Office in line with regional and global UNFPA corporate priorities
• Ensure that policies, programming tools, state-of-the-art knowledge and sound business practices are incorporated into UNFPA country operations 
• Lead and coordinate the development of a strategic plan for UNFPA’s humanitarian and preparedness actions in-country.

B. Management of resources:

• Manage international and national staff providing them with direction and motivation; fostering
• Empowerment, learning and career management
• Demonstrate performance appraisal and transparent leadership approaches that support a culture of growth and development, where good performance is incentivized and underperformers are held to account
• Attract and retain the highest calibre of staff for the Country Office
• Set standards of performance, and assign responsibilities for achieving results according to the Country Office Strategic Information System
• Drive the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive resource mobilization and partnership strategy including donor relations and effective mobilisation of funds; securing and efficiently using mobilised funds and assigned budget allocations for the country programme
• Ensure the safety, security and wellbeing of staff by driving compliance with Minimum Operating Security Standards (MOSS) and Minimum Operational Residential Security Standards (MORSS).

C. Programme leadership and representation:

• Advise senior management of UNFPA on country level issues
• Provide leadership in the development and execution of the organization’s country level policy dialogue and programme, including delivery of technical assistance for capacity development and for humanitarian situations
• Engage national counterparts through effective advocacy on UNFPA’s agenda; build support for programme objectives and create awareness of the role of ICPD issues in the overall development agenda and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
• Represent UNFPA within the inter-agency United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and the UN Humanitarian Team; support the UN Resident Coordinator (RC) as UNCT leader, promoting integration of population and development, and sexual and reproductive health issues in the development and humanitarian agenda; contribute to the UN reform process including the triple nexus (Development, Humanitarian and Peace) within the UNCT context
• Drive UNFPA accountability for the UN Flash Appeal/ Humanitarian Response plan and contribute actively to the achievement of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) common results, including through chairing/cochairing UNCT Results Groups
• Initiate programme and technical support opportunities for South to South collaboration with other countries.

D. Programme oversight and coordination:

• Drive the application of results-based management and quality assurance frameworks for the work of the Country Office;
• Enforce financial and monitoring processes to ensure the Country Office complies with UNFPA policies and procedures, corporate requirements and audit recommendations;
   

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

Advanced university degree in any of the following disciplines: Public Health, Medicine, Sociology, Demography, Gender, International Relations, International Development, Economics, Public Administration, Management or other related field.
 

Knowledge and Experience: 

• 10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in public administration and international development of which at least 8 years in the field of population and development, sexual and reproductive health or humanitarian at the international level; 
• Current knowledge of issues of population and development, sexual and reproductive health, and their place in the development and humanitarian agenda;
• Provenability to lead teams to achieve demonstrable and high quality results 
• Experience at national and international level in advocacy and policy dialogue
• Experience in media/communication with partners, and public information 
• Experience in international development, particularly in the mandate of UNFPA and dedication to the principles of the United Nations; 
• Field experience is essential; experience from a developing, humanitarian or crisis context is an asset.
   

 Languages: 

•  Fluency in English is required. French is desirable.

Required Competencies: 

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity, 
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system, 
• Embracing cultural diversity, 
• Embracing change

Core Competencies: 

• Achieving results, 
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen, 
• Thinking analytically and strategically, 
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships, 

Managerial Competencies:  

• Providing strategic focus,
• Engagingin internal/external partners and stakeholders, 
• Leading, developing and empowering people, creating a culture of performance, 
• Makingdecisions and exercising judgment

UNLeadership Characteristics: 

• Norm-based-grounded in UNnorms andstandards
• Principled- defends norms and standards without discrimination, fear or favour 
• Inclusive of all personnel and stakeholders 
• Accountable 
• Multi-dimensional 
• Transformational 
• Collaborative 
• Self-applied- modeled in our own behaviour

Appointment, Compensation and Benefits:

The initial fixed-term appointment of a staff member shall be for a period of one year. A fixed-term appointment may be renewed, subject to satisfactory service. A fixed-term appointment does not carry any expectancy, legal or otherwise, of renewal or conversion, irrespective of the length of service. UNFPA offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of equality, diversity, integrity, and healthy work life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply

Disclaimer:

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Fraudulent notices, letters or offers may be submitted to the UNFPA fraud hotline http://www.unfpa.org/help/hotline.cfm 

Persons applying to positions in the Professional and higher categories who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment

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