Background

UNDP’s mission as part of the UN system is to achieve sustainable development and fight poverty wherever it is greatest. This requires the very best of us, world-class collaboration, innovative thinking, resilient-based strategies, and continuous learning. UNDP’s competitive advantage as a development partner of choice comes from having the trust of developing countries, owing to our impartial character, transparency, and longstanding presence and commitment to the poorest and most vulnerable. We offer opportunities to make a lasting difference to the more than 170 countries where we commit our support and expertise.
 

UNDP’s Partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) makes a vital contribution to UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and HIV and Health Strategy 2022-2025, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the SDGs and the pledge to leave no one behind.

As a long-standing partner of the Global Fund, UNDP has been the Principal Recipient (PR) of grants in 53 countries since 2003, and also provided technical assistance to national governments implementing Global Fund programmes.  In line with UNDP’s HIV and Health Strategy 2022-2025, UNDP’s value proposition lies in providing an integrated package of programme, policy and capacity development support to national partners, leveraging expertise from across UDNP’s Global Policy Network (GPN), and Regional and Central Bureaux. 

UNDP’s Global Fund Partnership and Health Systems Team (GFPHST) provides technical support across all functional areas (programme, finance, monitoring and evaluation, procurement and supply management, and legal) to UNDP Country Offices that serve as PRs of Global Fund grants.  The GFPHST also undertakes global monitoring, oversight and assurance functions to strengthen performance and effectively mitigate and manage risks across the grant life cycle.

UNDP is strongly committed to upholding UN values and, as such, prohibits all forms of harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse of authority in its workplace as well as any sexual misconduct with regards to the populations we serve, either by our personnel or by partners we work with in our policy and programme work.

A Strategy and Action Plan on Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH), 2021-2022 were approved in March 2021, with a focus on the four priority areas of (i) Prevention; (ii) Reporting and Response; (iii) Support to Victims/Survivors and (iv) Accountability. A UNDP Task Force led by the Deputy Chief of Staff drives the implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan. OHR contributes to further advancing positive changes in these areas of work, leading the ongoing effort on building a UNDP working environment based on respect, openness, trust and free from any kinds of harassment, discrimination, bias, abuse of authority and misconduct, including sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse, as part of the work on enhancing the overall employee experience.

Objective of the assignment

In line with the Strategy and Action Plan on PSEAH 2021-2022, UNDP prohibits and has a zero-tolerance approach to SEAH in all programmes that it implements, including programmes financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund).

To that end, UNDP is seeking to engage a PSEAH Specialist to strengthen measures to protect against SEAH in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Global Fund-financed programmes managed and implemented by UNDP.  

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the development of technical guidance and training resources to assess the PSEAH capacity of partners

• Review existing UNDP and Global Fund strategies, policies, guidelines, and other resources relating to PSEAH.
• Identify how to supplement and/or adapt UNDP’s existing guidelines and Partner Capacity Assessment Tool (PCAT) specifically for UNDP’s Global Fund-financed programmes.
• Develop technical guidance to inform how UNDP staff should conduct PSEAH capacity assessments of Sub-recipients, contractors and suppliers for Global Fund-financed programmes.  The technical guidance should supplement UNDP’s PCAT.
• Develop training resources and best practice examples of PSEAH Capacity Assessments for at least five countries.

Design and deliver training to UNDP personnel working on GF-financed grants on how to assess and build the PSEAH capacity of Sub-recipients and contractors

• Develop and deliver training to UNDP personnel working on GF-financed grants across different country offices on how to:
  • undertake PSEAH Capacity Assessments of Sub-recipients for Global Fund-financed programmes;
  • develop SR PSEAH Capacity Building Plans based on the findings of PSEAH Capacity Assessments; and
  • identify and record PSEAH risks in the country office risk registers.
• Establish a roster of PSEAH experts who may be contracted by UNDP Country Offices to conduct PSEAH Capacity Assessments of PSEAH.

Review of PSEA Risks in GF-Financed Programmes

Undertake a systematic review of PSEAH risks in the design of UNDP’s GF-financed programmes of at least five countries to:

• identify key PSEAH risks and issues in GF-financed programmes;
• weaknesses in programme design, which increase the vulnerability of programme staff and beneficiaries to the risk of PSEAH;
• measures to strengthen the design and implementation arrangements of programmes to mitigate PSEAH risks;  
• measures to help reduce the vulnerability of programme staff and beneficiaries to the risk of PSEAH; and
• measures to strengthen complaints, reporting and victim support mechanisms.

PSEAH Capacity Building of UNDP personnel, SRs and contractors for Global Fund-financed programmes

• Develop and deliver training to build the PSEAH capacity of UNDP personnel, SRs and contractors for Global Fund-financed programmes
• Provide technical support and advice to UNDP personnel, SRs and contractors on how to protect against PSEAH in Global Fund-financed programmes, and effectively respond to SEAH allegations.
• Support the preparation of PSEAH Capacity Development Plans for SRs and contractors.

Participate in, and contribute to PSEAH Technical Working Groups, on behalf of GFPHST/HHG and HHG

• Support the GF Team Manager to participate in in the Global Fund’s PSEAH Technical Working Group.
• Liaise with the PSEAH Focal Points within UNDP to advance the objectives of the Strategy and Action Plan on PSEAH.
• Liaise with relevant PSEAH stakeholders at other UN agencies including WHO, UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women. 
• Upon request by the Executive Office and the HHG Director, participate in relevant IASC PSEAH group meetings and other relevant fora. 

Monitor progress on PSEAH activities and draft regular reports, briefing notes, and other relevant documents on PSEAH as required

• Draft briefings and contribute to speeches and materials to aid in advocating the importance of PSEAH.
• Draft briefings and talking points to support GFPHST/BPPS and the HHG Director in discussions on PSEAH in relation to Global Fund-financed programmes.
• Support development of PSEAH M&E framework to monitor progress on measures to protect against SEAH in Global Fund-financed programmes, including leveraging existing corporate dashboards and action plans, as appropriate.
• Monitor and track progress in the implementation of SR PSEAH Capacity Development Plans for Global Fund-financed programmes.

Competencies

• Experience in providing technical advice and guidance on the implementation of health and development programmes. 
• Proven ability to draft technical guidelines.
• Proven ability to design and deliver training to implementers in developing countries.
• Strong coordination, facilitation, networking, and advocacy skills. 
• Familiarity with PSEA and SH UN inter-agency mechanisms 
• Project management skills. 
• Experience working in developing country settings

Required Skills and Experience