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.  Our strategic plan (2018-2021), focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices.

We are looking for Deputy Representatives that can foster an exceptional partnership with UNFPA Representative and act as a catalyst for staff members to grow and succeed.  Through engagement with national counterparts, compelling advocacy, and delivery of effective programmes, including in emergency settings, you serve on the frontline, validating the mandate of the organization and its ability to deliver high quality results.

We are recruiting seven Deputy Representatives for our country offices listed below.  Please list the position(s) for which you are applying for and the order of preference:

UNFPA Country Offices:

• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Liberia
• Mali
• Niger
• Sierra Leone

Background:

The West & Central Africa (WCA) Region strengthened its management structure resulting in a number of positions being upgraded in order ensure key stakeholder engagement and continued support for the programmes on the ground. Strengthening management positions at the country level will ensure that country offices have the right balance and mix of skills and expertise to deliver on the 2030 agenda and achieve transformative results. The WCA region is predominantly composed of fragile countries, where UNFPA implements a large and complex portfolio, especially in the Sahel and Lake Chad basin. For these large-scale complex programmes to achieve greater results, it was deemed imperative to strengthen a staffing structure that was becoming increasingly inadequate.

The Position:

Reporting directly to the UNFPA Representative, the Deputy Representative holds the leading role in the design and delivery of the UNFPA population and development and sexual and reproductive health country programme. Through building 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.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education: 

• Post-graduate university degree in one or more of the following disciplines: International Development, Public Policy and Administration, Political Science, International Relations, Economics, Public Health, Sociology, Demography, or other Social Science field. 

Knowledge and Experience: 

• 10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in public administration and international development at the international level.
• Experience leading and managing complex development and humanitarian programmes in civil society organizations and/or the United Nations
• Good understanding of human rights, population and development, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, and their place in the development agenda;
• Strong high-level negotiation skills;
• Good knowledge and understanding of UN and International development frameworks and the sustainable development goals;
• Proven ability to lead and manage teams to achieve demonstrable results;
• Identify strongly with the United Nations values and principles, and the Mandate of the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, in particular;
• Demonstrable management and field experience is essential, specifically in complex countries or humanitarian situations.
• Demonstrated ability to sustain and advance current partnerships and to develop new partnerships with untraditional partners.
• Demonstrated innovative thinking, creativity and calculated risk taking.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic vision and focus by successfully communicating and implementing priorities based on clear deliverables.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate obstacles and successfully adapt team priorities in order to develop alternative plans.
• Demonstrated ability to take responsibility for team decisions, providing the rationale as appropriate.
• Demonstrated successful management of a complex and uncertain environment negatively affecting colleagues’ well-being.
• Demonstrated ability to provide team managers with the needed direction to achieve results and hold them accountable.

Languages:

• Fluency in French and English is required.