Gender and Youth Programme Specialist, West and Central Africa Regional Office, Dakar, Senegal, P3

The Position:

The Youth & Gender Programme Specialist provides strategic, technical and programmatic support for the Sahel Women Empowerment and Demographic Dividend project (SWEDD) Regional Technical Secretariat (RTS) and the region in the area of Adolescent, Girls and Women empowerment, and the link with the Demographic Dividend Roadmap.

You will work under the direct supervision of the SWEDD Project Coordinator and maintain a technical reporting line to the Gender and Human Rights Advisor at the West & Central Africa Regional Office.

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:

1. SWEDD Project

The Sub-Saharian Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Project (SWEDD) is a regional collaboration and partnership encompassing thirteen countries of West and Central Africa. The SWEDD project is an initiative of the participating governments, funded by the World Bank’s regional IDA (International Development Association) resources. Other participating partners are the West Africa Health Organization (WAHO), technical health wing of ECOWAS, the African Union, and the Agence Française de Development (AFD). UNFPA ensures the Secretariat, with overall coordination and technical assistance role. The Project acts on the UN-African Union-World Bank commitment to assist countries reap the Demographic Dividend with deliberate investments in human capital, with focus on adolescents’ girls’ education and women’s empowerment. The overall goal of the project is to accelerate the demographic transition, to spur the demographic dividend, and to reduce gender inequality in the participating countries.

The SWEDD Project interventions are structured around 3 components: (1) Design and implement gender transformative interventions that promote girls’ and women’s social and economic autonomy; (2) Increased utilization of quality reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition services and qualified health workers at the community level; (3) Foster Regional and National Commitment and Capacity for Policy Making and on Gender Equality, and Project Implementation.

The Project governance is vested in a Regional Steering Committee, supported by the Regional Technical Secretariat (RTS) located at the UNFPA’s WCARO. The RTS is responsible for strengthening project management capacities of implementing agencies at national and regional levels. It also oversees the programming and implementation of all funding channeled through UNFPA for the project activities directly executed by UNFPA or sub-contracted to other agencies and partners.

It is in this context and as a member of the SWEDD Regional Technical Secretariat, that the Youth and Gender Programme Specialist will provide technical advisory services to support the youth and gender activities; generate demand for RMNCHN services by promoting social and behavioral changes; Set up a regional mechanism to monitor and evaluate ongoing country programs in women’s and girls’ empowerment and to improve their access to quality reproductive, child and maternal health services.

2. UNFPA WCARO

The Gender and Youth Programme Specialist will work closely with the Gender, Human Rights and Youth unit of WCARO. S/he will provide technical support on Gender and Youth interventions across the full range of SWEDD interventions. S/he supports the effective integrated planning and cross fertilization between SWEDD and other WCARO initiatives on ending child marriage, GBV and other harmful practices, using gender transformative approaches, positive masculinities, social norms programming, adolescent sexual and reproductive health approaches.

The Gender and Youth Programme Specialist will work within an integrated, coordinated and systems strengthening approach, which is fundamental to the Regional Office and UNFPA’s overall strategy.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education:

Advance Degree in Gender Studies, Public Health, Sociology, Public Administration, or other related fields.

Knowledge and Experience:

· 5 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in the substantive technical area, of which at least two years at the international level;

· Strong technical knowledge in the science and application of gender, social norms and behavioral change in the area of sexual and reproductive health services, family planning and adolescent/youth issues;

· Experience in project management and in the Sub-Saharan Africa is required;

· Proven ability to produce demonstrable results;

· Ability to work in teams and in a multidisciplinary, complex and multi-country programme environment.

Languages:

Fluency in French and English is required.

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,

Functional Competencies:

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

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.

To view the complete job description and apply to this position, click \"Apply Now\" below.