Programme Specialist, Global Health Economics; Quality Programming Branch, Programme Division, P-4, Nairobi (215461)

Note: All recommended candidates who are not selected for this position, will be rostered for future similar vacancies.

The Position:

The Programme Specialist, Global Health Economics, reports to the Adviser for Financing for Development, in the Quality Programming Branch of the Programme Division.

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 to 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 who transform, inspire and deliver high-impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, and exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job purpose: 

The key activities of the post include:

• Developing economic models for evidence-generation in support of the UNFPA’s Transformative Results.
• Reviewing, validating, and strengthening existing tools for assessing economic costs and outcomes of interventions in the UNFPA's scope.
• Designing, testing, improving, and disseminating methodologies, guidelines, and templates for applying available evidence-generation tools, such as a) Investment cases, b) budget briefs, c) Financing dashboards, d) Open Budget Surveys, e) Public Expenditure Reviews, f) Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys, g) fiscal space analysis, and h) other Macro-economic and demographic analysis.
• Preparing reports, collecting and using economic evidence in support of the UNFPA's Transformative Results.
• Quality assuring on economic evidence developed by UNFPA at headquarters, regional, and country offices. Provide technical assistance to UNFPA RO, CO, governments and other relevant stakeholders in the costing of PHC, particularly the operational costs of integrated SRHR.
• Provide guidance to regional offices, country offices and consultants on development of investment cases direct support to country offices when required. This support may include detailed reviews of the modeling assumptions, outputs, analysis and the projections themselves.
• Providing institutional thought leadership and guidance in the finalization and communication of global level costing and impact work.
• Providing technical assistance in health financing to regional offices and countries including capacity building initiatives.
• Supporting the development of economic impact estimates for the Three Transformative Results for the global level as well as guidance on additional analysis such as secondary analysis and applications at the country level 

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

Advanced University Degree (a Master’s and/or PhD) in Health Economics, Demographic Economics, Public Policy Econometrics, Quantitative Research, Evaluation and Measurement and/or other related social science disciplines applied to Economic modelling.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• At least 7 years of relevant experience preferably in modelling and developing quantitative assessments in health, gender and welfare policies and projects.
• Knowledge and skills in developing programmes on issues related to SRHR expenditures and financing policies, on the inter relationships between macroeconomic policies and SRHR.
• Expert in measuring the relations between health and development, the economic determinants of health and the impact of health investments on national economies, preferably for sexual and reproductive health, including family planning.
• Background on policy and academic writing in health economics and SRHR released in peer-reviewed journals or as grey literature would be an asset.
• Experience working on projects for UNFPA or other UN agencies would be an asset.

Languages: 

Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of another official UN language is an added advantage.

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,
• Communicating for impact

Functional Competencies:

• Skills for writing and preparing reports, infographics, and presentations.
• Skills for training high-level professionals in a diverse cultural environment.
• Domain on Spectrum (Fam Plan, LiST, Dem Proj and RAPID), Impact2, FP Market Analyzer, other tools by FP2030, WorldBank Data, UN Population Portal, World Population Dashboard, and other online platforms as a data source.
• Expertise in using, measuring, and interpreting economic, epidemiologic, and demographic indicators.

Compensation and Benefits:

This position 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 gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international 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.