NATIONAL CONSULTANT: MISP Readiness Assessment

The Position:

NATIONAL CONSULTANT: MISP Readiness Awareness Consultant

The consultant establishes and maintains collaborative relationships with counterparts in the local government and civil society to address emerging issues and facilitate programme delivery. Internal contacts include the Representative, Deputy Representative, the Humanitarian Emergency Coordinator, the CO’s Programme/Technical team, and the Operations team. External contacts include other UN agencies in the Hub catchment area, and counterparts as well as partners in Country programme activities, including international NGOs, experts, etc.

The consultant is expected to produce the following reports and share them electronically:

• Inception report 
• Monthly report, presenting the work progress
• Preliminary findings of the assessment in a form of presentation 
• Final report after incorporating comments of all partners

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:

The Consultant will lead a comprehensive assessment of the readiness of South Sudan primary and secondary health facilities to implement MISP for SRH in emergencies. The assignment will include review pf existing strategies, plans and policies and assessing systems, capacities, and gaps at national and state levels to ensure preparedness for delivering lifesaving SRH services in crisis situations. The findings will inform actionable recommendations to strengthen readiness and response mechanisms. After the validation of the assessment report and actionable recommendations, the consultant will lead the development of a national emergency response plan under the overall guidance and leadership of the Ministry of Humanitarian and Disaster Management affairs and through a direct engagement with the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC)

You would be responsible for:

During the assignment, the consultant will deliver the following tasks:

Assessment Design and Planning

• Develop a detailed assessment framework and methodology, aligned with global MISP guidelines.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to tailor the assessment approach to the local context.
• Develop and share tools for data collection, including surveys, key informant interview guides, and focus group discussion protocols.
• Facilitate an inception meeting to present the assessment plan and gather input.

Data Collection and Analysis

• Conduct a desk review of relevant policies, plans, strategies, and reports related to SRH in emergencies.
• Conduct key informant interviews and focus group discussions with stakeholders, including national and state authorities, health service providers, humanitarian actors, and community representatives.
• Visit selected health facilities to assess the availability of SRH services, supplies, and trained personnel.
• Map existing coordination mechanisms, referral systems, and supply chain processes for SRH.
• Analyze the readiness of health systems to implement MISP components, including existing coordination of SRH services; access to essential SRH supplies and commodities; availability of and accessibility to clinical management of rape, emergency obstetric and newborn care and family planning.

Stakeholder Engagement and Advocacy

• Facilitate consultative meetings and a validation workshop to validate findings and gather feedback.
• Engage with national and state government counterparts, UN agencies, and local organizations to ensure ownership of the assessment process.
• Advocate for the integration of MISP readiness in national or organizational emergency response plans.

Reporting and Recommendations

• Develop a comprehensive report summarizing key findings, strengths, gaps, and actionable recommendations.
• Provide a prioritized action plan to enhance MISP readiness and implementation capacity.
• Present findings and recommendations to key stakeholders in a validation meeting or dissemination event.

This is a four-month consultancy, the anticipated starting date is April 15, 2025, and a closing date of August 14, 2025. The consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables 

• Produce an Inception Report that details the methodology, tools, and work plan.
• Produce preliminary findings and recommendations for stakeholder review.
• Produce a comprehensive assessment report with an actionable plan to address gaps.
• Present the summary of findings and recommendations for dissemination to stakeholders through a validation workshop
   

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

• Advanced degree in Public Health, Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• At least 7 years of experience in SRH programming in humanitarian or emergency settings.
• Proven experience conducting assessments, evaluations, or research in emergency or low-resource settings.
• Strong knowledge of the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for SRH in emergencies.
• Experience working with government health systems, humanitarian organizations, and community-based actors.

Knowledge and Experience: 

Skills

• Excellent analytical and report-writing skills.
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proficiency in designing and using qualitative and quantitative data collection tools.
• Ability to work effectively in culturally diverse and resource-constrained environments.
• Strong planning skills with the ability to produce emergency response plan reports. 

Other Requirements

• Availability to travel to field locations, including remote or insecure areas.
• Frequent travels to Upper Nile, Jonglei, and Jonglei States as well as Greater Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria regions

Languages: 

Fluency in English

Required Competencies: 

• Deep understanding of SRH in humanitarian settings and global standards such as Inter-Agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Cultural sensitivity and ability to work with diverse populations.
• Commitment to gender equality and sexual and reproductive health rights.

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.