Social Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs Adviser

**The Position**

The Social Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs Adviser post is located at the UNFPA East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) and works under the overall direction and supervision of the Regional Director and direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Director. The Adviser will focus on facilitating and guiding UNFPA’s regional influencing and agenda-setting role in positioning sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights within relevant political and intergovernmental mechanisms across the development, humanitarian, and peace contexts in the region. The Adviser will also strengthen political scanning through tailored guidance and tools as may be required in collaboration with other UNFPA Regional Offices covering Africa, Country Offices, and the UNFPA Representation Office to the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The incumbent will also collaborate with members of the ESARO team for effective
engagement with the AU and its organs as well as Regional Economic Communities of East African Community (ECA), and Southern African Development Community (SADC) to mention a few.

**Job Purpose**:
In line with the urgency for reinvigorated multilateralism in line with the UN Charter, the Regional Social Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs Adviser position will support the regional office management to advance intergovernmental, inter-agency, and multilateral processes required for the delivery of the regional programme delivery and strategic positioning of the ICPD Agenda with continental and regional bodies. In particular, the position will ensure political landscape analysis is available on the shifts and impact of the political economy on achieving the ICPD Programme of Action, in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Africa Union Agenda 2063, and Frameworks of Regional Economic Communities. This will guide engagements of the regional leadership with relevant African institutions in collaboration with UNFPA West and Central Africa and Arab States regional offices covering Africa and the UNFPA Representation Office to the African Union and UN Economic Commission for Africa. Guided by the prevailing and evolving landscape of population dynamics, including sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights in the region, the Adviser will ensure UNFPA leverages opportunities and mitigates risks in a timely manner, while also learning from the continued impact of megatrends, multiple threats, geopolitics and polycrises on constrained policy and resource environments. As may be required, the position will also support the regional office management in its contributions to the UN Regional reform aimed at strengthening the value proposition of the UN to member states and regional institutions, including the African Union Commission and its organs, and Regional Economic Commissions.

You would be responsible for:
A. Strategic Policy Advice
B. Capacity Development on Policy and Intergovernmental mechanisms
C. Policy Research, Evidence, and Knowledge sharing and Management
D. Strategic Partnerships and Positioning

A. Strategic Social Policy Advice
- Provide policy advice informed by political scanning and multidimensional analysis of the prevailing political environment for the ICPD Programme of Action. These will take into consideration the normative standards and relevant geopolitical dimensions applicable to the region and continent as well as inter-country aspects when required.
- Undertake sustained monitoring of the political trends and intergovernmental relations, including shifts and impact on the ICPD Agenda with a view to supporting UNFPA regional and country level to sustain further and advance political commitment to the ICPD PoA;
- Contributes to delivering strategic, timely, and comprehensive analysis, advice, and foresight on social policy to support decision-making at continental, regional, and national levels
- Lead policy research and measurements of change in the political environment with the aim of guiding policy advocacy to advance SRH/RR as an integral part of regional and continental agenda, including political economy analysis. This will also include partnerships with external entities;
- Support the operationalization of evolving corporate systems for monitoring risks, particularly regarding political sensitivities around SRH/RR, and provide guidance on mitigation measures as may be applicable;
- Contribute to internal coherence and alignment of approaches across regions as may be required, including the use of reliable sources of evidence to guide corporate recommendations on political positioning and inter-governmental relations, and communicating these in a clear and compelling manner;
- Lead with the preparation for documentation for global, continental, and regional inter-governmental processes to enable UNFPA’s engagement within and beyond the UN system, continental and regional insti