Location: UNFPA Nairobi,
Full/Part-time: Full-time
Duration: 4.5 Months (1 September 2025 to 15 January 2026)
The Position:
The consultant will support UNFPA’s work on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), with a focus on maternal and newborn health (MNH) data and strategic information. Under the guidance of the MNH Team Leader, the consultant will assist in implementing activities outlined in the 2025 work plan and contribute to the Start with Her UNFPA Strategy for Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health and Well-Being 2025–2030.
The consultant will help ensure continuity in routine monitoring and data-related activities during the
maternity leave of the staff member, supporting UNFPA’s role in advancing SRHR/MNH data use and
programmatic learning.
About UNFPA and 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 International Conference on Population and Development (ICDP) Programme of
Action (ICPD-PoA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the Decade of Action leading
up to 2030.
The MHTF, established in 2008, follows a people-centered, rights-based, gender-transformative and life
course approach. In 2023, the MHTF continued to support 32 high maternal and newborn mortality
countries across 5 regions (the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, East and Southern Africa, Latin America
and the Caribbean, and West and Central Africa). The MHTF plays a vital role in driving UNFPA’s
maternal and newborn health agenda by providing technical leadership, operationalizing global
standards, and collaborating with country and regional offices to maintain the focus on maternal and
newborn health and wellbeing within the context of comprehensive SRHR. All of the MHTF’s efforts are
aimed at accelerating progress towards achieving UNFPA’s three transformative results, specifically the
one aimed at achieving zero preventable maternal deaths with strong linkages with the other two
transformative results on ending harmful practices (transforming gender norms) and ending the unmet
need for family planning.
The MHTF is now entering its Phase IV in 2024 (2024 -2027) with the aim to continue providing direct
program implementation and focused technical support to priority countries, and all regions, propelling progress in a more focused set of countries based on analysis of the new MMR estimates. Phase IV will
support both UNFPA’s Strategic Plans (2022-2025, 2026-2029) and the MNHW Strategy (2023-2030).
Building on the success factors and the lessons learned from Phase III, and addressing the
recommendations that emerged from the midterm evaluation in 2022, a new Business Plan for MHTF
Phase IV UNFPA will increasingly address maternal and newborn health and well-being within the scope
of health system strengthening, including ensuring integrated MNH/SRHR service delivery as part of
universal health coverage (UHC) with a strengthened focus on primary health care (PHC), and quality of
care. The MHTF will also strengthen community engagement for MNH, and target a wider spectrum of
related morbidities such as maternal mental health, mental health for health workers, cervical cancer,
and others, following strong gender transformative and human rights-based approaches.
The new Business Plan responds to the new MMR data and is also futuristic in responding to the potential impact (opportunities and threats) of megatrends such as climate change, migration, urbanization, humanitarian crises, demographic shifts, digitalization and past and future pandemics.
The MHTF directly contributes to global partnerships in MNH, including the ENAP (Every Newborn Action plan)/EPMM (Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality) and other global initiative co-chaired by UNFPA, WHO and UNICEF. Its interventions complement other major initiatives, such as the Muskoka, and the Global Financing Facility (GFF).
You would be responsible for:
1. Strengthening Strategic Information Systems and Technical Expertise
● Support the development and use of SRHR-integrated maternal and newborn health indicators, including those related to health management information systems (HMIS)/DHIS2, Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR), Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC), and maternal morbidities.
● Oversee the collection, analysis, and interpretation of SRHR/MNH data from country programmes, ensuring alignment with global standards, data quality, and programmatic relevance.
● Support the development and implementation of robust data management protocols and tools,
and promote data-informed decision-making at national and subnational levels.
● Provide technical advice to countries on strengthening national EmONC facility networks and
MPDSR systems, with linkages to midwifery and quality-of-care strategies.
● Serve as the focal point for all workplans and country-level support under the “Leverage” pillar
of the Start with Her UNFPA Strategy for Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health and Well-
Being 2025–2030.
2. Country and Regional Support and Capacity Strengthening
● Provide direct technical assistance to countries and regions to strengthen SRHR/MNH data
systems, indicator use, and integration with HMIS.
● Coordinate and document technical support to country offices, especially for MPDSR
implementation, and data for maternal health programming.
● Develop or update training materials, and facilitate capacity-building initiatives for UNFPA staff
and government counterparts on SRHR/MNH strategic information.
● Ensure countries supported by the Maternal and Newborn Health Fund (MNHF) collect a
minimum set of SRHR indicators in routine and population-based data systems, and provide guidance on adapting tools to specific country contexts.
● Support the joint UNFPA-UNICEF initiative on monitoring potential disruptions to essential health services due to declining development aid.
3. Global Measurement and Normative Engagement
● Support UNFPA’s representation in global data partnerships related to SRHR and MNH, including
the MPDSR global program, and the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE) measurement group.
● Contribute to the development and advancement of global normative frameworks and
indicators on SRHR-integrated maternal and newborn health, including respectful maternity care, maternal wellbeing, and fistula.
● Provide technical inputs to strengthen global indicator frameworks, including those linked to
SDGs (e.g., Targets 3.1, 5.6), ICPD monitoring, and global financing institutions (e.g., GFF, Global Fund).
● Support post-2024 Expert Group Meeting follow-up, including the coordination of the Technical
Advisory Group and contributions to the development of a new global framework to measure sexual and reproductive agency.
4. Strategic Data Products, Knowledge Translation, and Internal Reporting
● Lead the design and dissemination of high-impact data products or digital tools under the
“Leverage” pillar of the Start with Her UNFPA 2025–2030.
● Produce technical briefs, high-level analyses, and knowledge translation products to transform
complex SRHR/MNH data into actionable insights for advocacy, programming, donor
engagement and reporting, and strategic dissemination within UNFPA, including to senior management and the Executive Board.
● Coordinate technical inputs for global, regional, and internal reports (e.g., MNHF Annual Report,
Executive Board updates, UNFPA Strategic Plan indicators), ensuring alignment with programmatic achievements.
● Contribute to alignment across divisions and partners on data for impact.
● Prepare briefing notes for senior management as needed.
● Any other task as assigned by the supervisor, the MNH Team Lead, the Branch Chief or Division Director.
Qualifications:
Education:
● Advanced degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, or a related field
Knowledge and Experience:
● At least seven years of professional experience in the area of international development
including maternal and new-born health
● Recognized expertise in monitoring and evaluation
● Significant number of publications related to maternal and new-born health measurement
and/or data systems
● Strong track record of technical M&E work, and proven ability to produce demonstrable results
● Network among diverse academic institutions and development community
● Field experience is a strong asset
● Fluency in English required; working knowledge of French is an asset
How to Apply:
Please send your application with “SRHRB/MNH Strategic Information Application” on the subject line
and email the document to Ms. Mona Sharan at msharan@unfpa.org
Due to the volume of applications received, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an
interview.
PROPOSED DEADLINE: 5 August 2025.
