Policy Advisor, HIV & Health

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP's policy work carried out at HQ, Regional Hubs and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policies and guidance to support the results of UNDP's Strategic Plan. BPPS's staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP's Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP's development programmes.  BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledgeable data-driven including in its programme support efforts. 

UNDP is a founding co-sponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and a signatory of the WHO-led SDG3 Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-Being for All, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s focus/mandate is to address the development dimensions of health, focusing on systems, inequalities, governance and resilience. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development leverages UNDP’s core strengths and mandates in sustainable development, governance, poverty reduction and climate. UNDP delivers support to countries in three areas of HIV and health: reducing the inequalities that drive disease, promoting effective and inclusive governance for health and building resilient and sustainable systems for health.  UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty, governance, financing, and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Sustainable Development Goals and the pledge to leave no one behind. UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights, and health and development responses, especially for those left behind.  UNDP also supports countries in the effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on SDG 3 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding.  UNDP partners with countries, WHO and other partners in responding to health emergencies and HIV and health dimensions of crisis/post-crisis situations.

Regional Context

The HIV epidemic continues to grow in many parts of Eastern Europe and the Central Asia region. While most people living with HIV in the region are in Ukraine and Russia, epidemics are also emerging in other countries, particularly where injection drug use is increasing as well.  Sexual transmission is increasingly common, including amongst men who have sex with men.  Tuberculosis is also a major challenge in the region, with the emergence of multi-drug resistant TB a particular threat. There is a strong case for addressing the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health. The strategy is tailored to the regional context applying UNDP’s global mandate to local realities. Advances in HIV and TB prevention and treatment in recent years have often been financed by external donors, including the Global Fund and the World Bank.  With a decline in such external financing, countries need to increase domestic resource allocation to these diseases, improve the targeting and quality of prevention efforts and lower the long-term costs of diagnostics and treatment. Improving the legal environment and reducing the stigmatization of most affected populations is a key low cost, high impact priority. There continues to be a need to strengthen the contribution of strategic actors outside the health sector, including prison authorities and local governments and municipalities. Under the guidance and supervision of the HIV, Health and Development Director, BPPS/GPN and the IRH Manager, the Policy Advisor will provide an advisory and management role for Country Offices in the EECA region. In coordination with the HIV, Health and Development Director and the IRH Manager, the Policy Advisor will directly supervise programme Specialists (P3) and consultants working in the HIV, health and development domain.

The Policy Advisor’s key role is to strengthen and support UNDP’s overall work on HIV, health and development in Europe and Central Asia Region, as part of the relevant global policy and programme support. To that end, the Policy Advisor’s functions are fully integrated into UNDP’s Regional Hub structure, resulting in planning and delivery. The incumbent will be accountable for the delivery and quality of results to both the Deputy Regional Director (DRD) at the IRH and the Director: HIV and Health in NY.  

The Policy Advisor’s specific duties will include (i) Providing substantive, technical Advisory services on HIV, health and development within the region, within UNDP’s mandate areas of focus; (ii) Mobilize and managing financial resources to be invested in the region from multiple sources with a high degree of accountability for the delivery of those resources, including the management of UNDP’s relationship with UNAIDS; (iii) Supervise the team working on HIV & health, and to mentor and provide quality assurance back-up to a larger number of focal points at the country level and those working to support the UNDP/Global Fund partnership; and (iv) Ensure UNDP delivers on the HIV, health and development related goals of its Strategic Plan 2022-2025, through both focused efforts and integration of this agenda into other areas of work.

The incumbent will be responsible for the following functions:

1. Policy Advisory/Regional HIV Programme Management and Delivery;
2. Policy Development;
3. Management/Coordination;
4. Advocacy and Partnership Building;
5. Building Cross-cutting Linkages across thematic clusters;
6. Quality Control and Assurance; and
7. Knowledge Management.

Key Duties and Accountabilities

Programme and Policy Advisory Services /Regional HIV Programme Management and Delivery

• Provide programme, policy & technical advisory services to the UNDP country offices Governments, and other partners in the region in the HIV, Health and development area;
• Provide management and coordination functions and policy advisory services on the Bureau’s regional programme;
• Contribute to the design and formulation of CO/regional programmes drawing upon lessons from programmes and other initiatives in the region and from global experiences;
• Provide effective support and backstopping for, and timely feedback and reporting on the implementation of programmes in support of the HIV & Health and development architecture;
• Strengthen internal CO capacity in the HIV, Health and development area
• Promote effective  utilization of financial resources by country offices and the regional team;
• Provide guidance on cross-thematic issues pertaining to HIV, health and development and lead the development of integrated approaches in supporting country offices in the region.

Policy Development

• Develop corporate policy and guidance with the Director: HIV & Health in BPPS NY;
• Provide substantive inputs to international fora pertaining to HIV, health and development to help shape global and regional development strategies, policies, norms, and standards;
• Support legal and regulatory frameworks for rights and gender-based approach to national and regional HIV responses; advocacy for and empowerment of key populations at higher risk for HIV infection and their civil society networks; sustainable responses including social return on investment, sustainable financing, and optimization of investment strategies for national HIV responses in the context of social protection and inclusive societies.
• Facilitate rights-based, multi-sectoral, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to health and development for communicable and non-communicable disease control; addressing social, economic, and environmental determinants of health and health equity in the context of national and regional development plans and development programming.
• Enable sustainability in health: Innovations in measuring and reducing carbon and toxicological footprints of global health initiatives in the context of UNDP’s Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria operations; advocacy, policy, and strategy development for the environmental and social safeguarding of global health initiatives; green procurement in the health sector including engagement of suppliers and manufacturers of health commodities and devices.

Management and Co-ordination

Substantive Leadership:

• Provide substantive leadership of the HIV and Health team and coordination for all personnel engaged in related operational activities in the IRH including on the regional programme;
• Lead advocacy in the thematic area in the region including promotion of HIV & health policies, norms and standards and the sharing of the practice’s global regional and South-South experience;
• Collaborate with the Regional Team Leaders of Africa & Arab States and the Global HIV and Health Director and policy advisors in headquarters to ensure that the IRH-based HIV and Health team is up to date on evolving policies and strategies;
• Positioning HIV, health and development priorities strategically  in the region;
• Technically lead the HIV and Health area in the region ensuring UNDP’s credibility in the delivery on a highly visible programme which in turn links to UNDP’s delivery of its Strategic Plan 2022-2025;

Coordination and Management:

• Develop and implement HIV and Health work plans including for the Regional Programme and provide inputs to Country Offices IWP and requests in the HIV and Health area;
• Provide practice/cluster programme management including development/management of regional and global programmes;
• Consolidate and anchor the HIV and Health architecture in the regions to support country offices;
• Liaise with country offices to support the inclusion of HIV and Health areas at the planning stages of country-level programming (and regional programmes);
• Identify sub-regional and inter-country development and integration opportunities and translate them into capacity development initiatives to address cross border issues;
• Support the COSMOS Tracking system for the HIV and Health team;
• Manage all activities related to the HIV and Health work at the IRH including direct supervision, when appropriate, of the policy advisors and specialists, creating a positive team environment and ensuring access to learning opportunities for all staff and consultants;
• Ensure coordination and management of all related human and financial resources, including the regional programme, in a politically complex environment.

Mobilizing the HIV & Health architecture:

• Promote the development of the HIV and Health architecture at the regional level and catalyze and connect to global experiences including cross-regional/team collaboration, providing intellectual leadership and supporting capacity development of practitioners across the region, including leveraging capacities across the Global Policy Network;
• Coordinate and capitalize on the approaches and tools supporting effective practice coordination

Advocacy and Partnership Building

• Provide substantive and content leadership in UNDP corporate discussions and Inter-Agency coordination on technical issues;
• Represent UNDP (and UN partner organizations) to advocate HIV and Health technical messages in the international development for a discussion;
• Mobilize external partnerships for UN/UNDP initiatives.
• Effectively position UNDP’s HIV and Health technical capacity within the UN system to foster consistency in approach, within the regional level by scanning and assessing activities of non-UNDP players in the local context and in support of UNCTs and UNDP CO programming arrangements with government counterparts;
• Provide guidance and leadership for the engagement of civil society in regional and country programmes (in support of country office efforts), the promotion of civic engagement and the establishment of strategic partnerships;
• Engage national and regional partners in practice policy and programme responses under the leadership of the country offices and the UNCT;
• Lead partnership building with regional and local institutions and consultancies;
• Lead the development of an expert roster for the region in the HIV and Health thematic area;
• Develop multi-partner proposals to build regional partnerships and resource mobilize;
• Lead the formulation and implementation, in the HIV & Health thematic area, of the regional partnership to support resource mobilization strategies in liaison with the Regional Bureau and other concerned units;
• Scan partnership opportunities and donor intelligence and inform DRD of new partnership developments – e.g., donor priorities; pledges, new donor funding modalities, etc. ensuring that this supports the HIV & Health thematic area;
• Maintain and strengthen partnerships with key multilateral (BWIs, Regional Banks, etc.) and key regional institutions to support the practice architecture.

Building Cross-cutting linkages across thematic clusters

• Identify opportunities for cross-thematic collaboration to ensure integrated approaches to SDG achievement;
• Develop joint advocacy and programming initiatives with other areas of work such as gender, crisis prevention and recovery, governance, and poverty.

Quality Control and Assurance

• Provide Quality Assurance to ensure alignment with global development policies, norms, and standards;
• Co-ordinate delivery of demand-driven service delivery to country offices and regional programmes ensuring professionalism in support – e.g., timeliness, responsiveness, quality in deliverables, etc.;
• Promote quality standards including long-term locally driven initiatives;
• Ensure cross-thematic approach and cross-regional collaboration back into the global technical areas of work.

Knowledge Management (KM)

• Develop with the Development Effectiveness Team, in coordination with the HIV and Health Director, region-wide lessons learnt, best practices and general knowledge needed and lessons learnt, including from other regions, to shape UNDP’s strategies in the region;
• Lead local KM sharing events and support the corporate KM agenda on HIV and health;
• Support the development of a knowledge system and support the utilization of KM strategies and tools;
• Link KM to business processes;
• Promote UN-wide Knowledge Management Strategies.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: Two Programme Specialists (P3) and several technical consultants in the Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH)

Requirements:

Education

• A relevant advanced university degree (Masters or PhD) – Public Health, Health Policy, Economics, Public Policy, Development Management, International Relations, etc.

 Experience, Knowledge, and Skills

• At least 10 years of overall relevant professional experience as well as established and recognized expertise in the development dimensions of HIV and health;
• Proven technical expertise and track record of providing relevant advisory support in developing countries;
• Significant experience in technical support to country partners, including cross-country and cross-regional support
• A strong track record in managing and delivering programmes in complex environments;
• Relevant experience in strengthening the capacity of government officials and/or civil society in public health or a related field;
• Experience in resource mobilization for regional and country levels; and
• Knowledge of the work in Europe and Central Asia region is desirable.

Language requirements

• Fluency and proficiency in English

Expected Demonstration of Competencies

Core

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have a lasting impact

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, and develop new ideas to solve complex problems

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands

Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate the complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate the benefits of a diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

People Management: UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Business Direction & Strategy

Entrepreneurial Thinking - The ability to create clarity around UNDP’s value proposition to beneficiaries and partners and to develop service offers responding to clients needs to be based on UNDP’s organizational priorities and mandate

Business Management

Results-based management - Ability to manage programmes and projects with a focus on improved performance and demonstrable results

Business Management

Partnerships management - Ability to build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society, private sector partners, experts, and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies

2030 Agenda: People

Health - Health emergencies

2030 Agenda: People

Health - HIV/AIDS

2030 Agenda: People

Health - Social Determinants of Health

2030 Agenda: People

Health - Universal Health Coverage, including NCDs

Keywords

Results-based management, partnership management, HIV and Health