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 organization’s frontline, validating both the organization’s mandate and its ability to deliver high-quality support and results. Your ultimate accountability is to the people you serve; the most vulnerable, excluded, or marginalized, and for the causes you serve; human rights, sustainable development, and humanitarian relief.

RESPONSIBILITIES

A) Strategic direction, planning and management

• Lead the positioning of UNFPA on strategic issues in the country based on 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 caliber 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 mobilization of funds; securing and efficiently using mobilized funds and assigned budget allocations for the country programme
• Ensure the safety, security, and well-being 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 the 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/co-chairing 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;

E) Carry out any other duties as may be required by the Regional Director.

REQUIREMENTS

Education: Postgraduate 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:

• 15 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in public administration and international development of which at least 10 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;
• Proven ability 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:

• Fluent in English and Portuguese/Spanish is Required