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Job Description

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.

UNFPA Humanitarian Access 

UNFPA Afghanistan has responded to the emerging needs of Afghan girls and women following the Taliban’s taking over through scaling up its humanitarian programming. Operating in such a complex environment that is full of uncertainty and ambiguity requires proper understanding of the different social, political, legal and security landscape and dynamics; In addition this will be able to inform effective planning, mitigate potential risks, and overcome faced bottlenecks. Additionally, achieving unimpeded principled humanitarian access is a key to delivering humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian Access (HA) , as mandated by the General Assembly resolution 46/182, refers to a two-pronged concept, 1) Humanitarian actors’ ability to reach populations in need and 2) Affected populations’ access to assistance and services. 

Through the UNFPA humanitarian mandate, UNFPA Afghanistan Country Office (CO)  is working to ensure effective engagement and negotiation with Afghanistan de facto authorities aiming to build acceptance around UNFPA programs and maintain uninterrupted service delivery and access to population. UNFPA is an active member of various access coordination platforms including the Humanitarian Access Group, the Access Working Group, and the UN Joint Engagement Group, where the CO provides support to the larger humanitarian community in improving the overall capacity of actors to address access challenges. 

The Afghanistan CO is seeking the technical assistance of a home-based consultant to support its Humanitarian Access work in Afghanistan including the following:

  • Provide technical support on access and engagement with DfA to Program staff. 
  • Support the development and testing of standard training toolkits on Humanitarian Access, Humanitarian Negotiations and Risk Management for UNFPA staff and IPs staff in Afghanistan.
  • Support the review and update of UNFPA Afghanistan Access and Engagement Strategy and Workplan. (September 2022)
  • Develop a set of knowledge products on humanitarian access and engagement relevant to UNFPA programs, regional-specific access analysis, case studies on UNFPA access and negotiations. 

During the consultancy period, the consultant will ensure proper coordination with Program staff, Humanitarian Coordinator, AAP specialist, PSEA specialist, and M&E Specialist and other relevant capacities.  

The Position:

UNFPA Afghanistan is seeking a consultant to provide Humanitarian Access support to UNFPA Afghanistan.

 

Job Purpose:

<Brief description of job purpose>

You would be responsible for:

To achieve the objectives of the consultancy, the consultant will support the Humanitarian Access Portfolio in UNFPA Afghanistan in consultation and direct supervision of Access Specialist) through the following activities:

  1. Provide technical support on access and engagement with DfA to Program staff. 
  • Support UNFPA program managers in analyzing different access challenges and advising on means to unblock constraints.
  • Support UNFPA program managers on areas related to engagement with DfA using a risk-informed approach to ensure continuous acceptance of UNFPA mandate in Afghanistan (Maternal & Reproductive Health, GBV/PSS, Youth & Adolescents), while adherence to UNFPA organizational positions and redlines.
  • Facilitate identifying sensitive narrative or sensitizing narratives, communications, documentations, surveys to ensure acceptance of local authorities at central and provincial levels.
  • Review of, provide access inputs and apply an access lens to the different developed knowledge products, SoPs, guidance notes by UNFPA programs.
  • Review and provide inputs to inter-agency access documents including position papers, surveys, assessments, access analysis, guidance notes, etc.
  • Support updating the risks and opportunities of the current operational space between DFA and UNFPA.

 

  1. Support the development and testing of standard training toolkits on 1) Humanitarian Access, 2) Humanitarian Negotiations and 3) risk management for UNFPA staff and IPs staff in Afghanistan.

 

  • Support the development of a capacity gap assessment on Humanitarian Access, Humanitarian Negotiations and Risk Management for UNFPA IPs.
  • Develop six training toolkits, three for UNFPA internal use to train UNFPA staff, and three for UNFPA IPs  on 1) Humanitarian Access, 2) Humanitarian Negotiations and 3) risk management. The toolkits should include a Training of Trainers guidance, interactive modules, supporting tools, and M&E tools to measure results.
  • Test the toolkits on a sample group of UNFPA staff and IPs and use feedback for final improvements.
  • Support the final editing, design and production of the toolkits.
  • Train a group of Trainers from all UNFPA IPs on the different toolkits.
  •  
  1. Support the review and update of UNFPA Afghanistan Access and Engagement Strategy and Workplan issued in September  2022. 

 

  • Support the annual revision  of UNFPA Access and Engagement Strategy and workplan (September 2022) to reflect the changes of the operating environment and UNFPA approaches to address such changes since last year (i.e ban on women NGO and UN staff) , in addition to reviewing the structure of the strategy.
  • Update the Introduction to Afghanistan Humanitarian Access and Engagement Environment section with the relevant changes in the operating environment. 
  • Review the structure of the strategy and provide suggestions on areas under the strategy.
  • Review and update the content of Access strategy and consult with relevant staff members on the suggested changes.
  • Review and update the different engagement positions and approaches in line with the changes of the operating environment.
  • Support developing a workplan annexed to the strategy for access activities in consultation with relevant UNFPA staff.
  • Develop  a CO orientation plan for the new access and engagement strategy.
  • Develop a guidance note on UNFPA Access in Afghanistan to be annexed to the strategy.
  1. Develop a set of knowledge products on humanitarian access and engagement relevant to UNFPA programs, including regional-specific access analysis, case studies and lessons learnt of UNFPA Afghanistan access and negotiations. 
  • Develop Regional-specific access analysis:

The analysis should include for each region:

  1. Access operational space/DFA general approach to UNFPA.
  2. Key access constraints/ trends/ opportunities.
  3. UNFPA counterparts and key actors from DFA and their influence on acceptance and agreements.
  4. Regional political dynamics and profiles of political actors.
  5. Ethnic composition and influence on regional conflict drivers.
  6. Regional Intra-Taliban dynamics 
  7. Anti-Taliban groups within the region.
  8. Situation of women and girls and gender dynamics
  9. Access of women and girls to services
  10. UNFPA engagement with DfA at regional level.
  11. The analysis should provide the following:
  12. Recommendations to strengthen UNFPA access and engagement with DFA at regional level.
  13. Regional-specific messaging and narrative of UNFPA programs.
  • Document the following case studies:
  1. Fostering localized arrangement in Kandahar for WFHS 
  2. Navigating the risks facing women staff following the DFA ban on women workers for NGOs and UN.
  3. Positioning and negotiating agreements at central level for FHHs and MYCs,
  4. Creating acceptance and differentiating of the UNFPA MHT model.
  • Develop a document on lessons learnt and best practices of how UNFPA navigated the complex operational environment in Afghanistan following August 2021 and scaled up Humanitarian operations.
  • Develop a coordination framework with associated tools for Access, AAP, PSEA and Humanitarian Coordination for UNFPA Afghanistan

Places where services are to be delivered:

The consultancy is mainly home-based with expected travel to Afghanistan, Kabul for a total of four weeks on an intermittent basis.

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:

  • Advanced University degree (Minimum master’s degree in International Relations, Social Science, Public Administration, Strategic Management or any other relevant field to the scope of work). 

Knowledge and experience:

  • A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience at international level in the field of humanitarian assistance, preferably in humanitarian settings of complex and high threat environments.
  • Demonstrated knowledge, skills and experience in humanitarian access with related technical experience In conflict analysis, actor mapping, humanitarian negotiations with state and non-state actors.
  • Sound understanding of practical application of humanitarian normative framework including international humanitarian law, human rights law, humanitarian principles.
  • Good understanding of the UNFPA mandate with familiarity of UN policies, rules and regulations is an advantage.
  • Previous experience in emergency programming including emergency preparedness and response, risk management, humanitarian logistics, interagency coordination and cluster system.
  • Excellent analytical and negotiations skills, and demonstration of political sensitivity and awareness.
  • Excellent communication skills (written, spoken) in English.
  • Demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with persons of different backgrounds in a multicultural environment.
  • Experience working remotely across program sites to achieve stakeholder participation and consensus.
  • Experience working in Afghanistan is an advantage.

Core Competencies:

  • Integrity, commitment, cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity
  • Developing people, coaching and mentoring
  • Building and managing relationships
  • Personal leadership and effectiveness

Functional Competencies:        

  • Business acumen
  • Implementing management systems
  • Innovation and marketing of new approaches
  • Client orientation
  • Organizational awareness
  • Strategic alignment of human resource practices
  • Promoting organizational change and development
  • Impact and influence
  • Job knowledge/technical expertise
     

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g. support services, office space, equipment), if applicable: 

The consultant is expected to provide all necessary equipment to complete the assignment (computer, software, phone, access to internet, etc.). 

UNFPA will provide all relevant background information and documentation regarding the regional and country contexts, as well as play a coordinating role to facilitate the onboarding meetings for the consultant. 

To apply, click or copy/paste the link below:

https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_2003/job/13851/?utm_medium=jobshare

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

In accordance with the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, persons applying to posts in the international Professional category, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.