Part-Time International Consultancy: Coordination of Menstrual Health Issues and the African Coalition for Menstrual Health (MH)

Hiring Office:

East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), Johannesburg

Purpose Of Consultancy

Today many countries in Africa are moving towards more holistic responses to menstrual health (MH). For this, the focus on MH should be expanded from product availability as a stand-alone solution to integrated, cross-sectoral policy and programmatic responses. This involves gender; education (including CSE for in- and out-of-school youth); water sanitation (WASH) and waste disposal; and health system strengthening with a competent workforce, both in development contexts and humanitarian responses. The need for MH-focused research and learning, and monitoring and evaluation is being increasingly emphasised. However, despite progress in some countries, many of these efforts remain undocumented, limited in geographical coverage, lacking a strong evidence-base, and are largely donor or charity-dependent. More needs to be done to strengthen high-level policy commitment, coordination, knowledge sharing, and evidence-based programming. There is also a need to develop effective and innovative approaches to improve supply management and distribution; build commitment to strengthen education efforts; improve water and sanitation infrastructure in school and other spaces; and ensure that multi-sectoral plans are costed and supported with adequate financial resources to sustain efforts; develop monitoring and evaluation; and bring programmes to scale across the African continent.

In line with this, UNFPA East and Southern Africa Regional Office (UNFPA ESARO) with the support and collaboration of several other partners, has contributed to a strengthened commitment to better respond to the MH needs of people who menstruate throughout their reproductive life cycle, by supporting the evidence base and showcasing a range of innovative and sustainable models. Among these is the establishment of an African Coalition for Menstrual Health, with the aim of sharing experiences and available evidence, and coordinating efforts to address MH issues in Africa.

The African Coalition for Menstrual Health (ACMH) consists of more than 600 individuals, policymakers, the private sector, young people, social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, groups and institutions that aim to strengthen coordination among key stakeholders to build on and support the evidence base to better transition research into action. Our focus is to support multi-sectoral policy making and the scaling up of sustainable, evidence-based programmes that address the menstrual health needs of girls, women and all people who menstruate, throughout their lifecycle.

ACMH is coordinated by the Secretariat and governed by the leadership team, which comprises the leads and co-leads of the six (6) task forces of the Coalition, with Research and M&E being an overarching task force.

In view of this, the purpose of the part-time consultancy is to oversee the management, communications and advocacy of Menstrual Health issues, as the coordinator of the Secretariat of the African Coalition for Menstrual Health.

Scope Of Work

( Description of services, activities, or outputs)

The Coordinator will support the management of the Coalition Secretariat and oversee all communication, advocacy, and resource mobilisation tasks. In consultation with the leadership of the Africa Coalition on Menstrual Health, at an operational level, the Coordinator is responsible for planning, implementing, and managing all activities associated with the coalition including providing support for coordination, advocacy, communications research and knowledge management, as well as overall leadership and support for MH issues. During this consultancy assignment, the consultant will also mainly work to mobilize resource mobilization, strengthen the coalition, and organizing the roundtable discussion.

Coordination of the secretariat of the African Coalition for Menstrual Health The consultant is expected to lead the following tasks:

Advocacy, policy and strategy development and implementation

• Support the development periodic newsletter and annual report;
• Support the WCARO expansion
• Strengthening the African Coalition for Menstrual Health leadership and its members ;
• Support the selection of the Co secretariat to co-technical and financial support;
• Work with UNFPA and the Coalition leadership to finalise and implement a 5-year strategy, action plan and a joint advocacy strategy for the ACMH;
• Lead the contribution of ACMH to a global review of MH related policies;
• Guide Coalition member’s efforts to advocate for policies, legislation and guidelines at regional/national levels;
• Represent the Coalition in global, regional and national policy dialogues and high-level discussions;
• Conduct media outreach and act as the media spokesperson in all matters related to menstrual health.

Research and knowledge management

• Continually broaden expertise in the area of Menstrual Health and serve as a resource person for the Coalition members across Africa;
• Conduct literature/resource reviews to identify and document best practices on MH for the African Coalition for Menstrual Health;
• Working closely with private sectors to support the development and implementation of knowledge products, such as the application of instruments and tools for testing effectiveness of coalition strategies;
• Liaise and broker TA between global, regional and national partners for knowledge management, capacity building and South-South collaboration within and beyond the Coalition; and

Partnership and resource mobilization

Writing and Working closely with partners to mobilise funds by writing funding proposals for the ACMH management and technical support

• Seeking strategic partnerships and discussions with different stakeholders such as The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF), Water Aid, Amplify Change, GIAZ, AFDB, FIFA, etc;
• Represent the coalition in relevant global, regional and national advocacy events as deemed necessary;
• Recruit and maintain a diverse Coalition membership with African, regional and national partners;
• Working closely with private sectors to support the Menstrual Health agenda across Africa.

Communications

• Compile, analyse and document findings and progress of Coalition activities in written quarterly reports to UNFPA, other funding agencies, and Coalition members;
• Co-ordinate the various internal communications initiatives of the African Coalition for Menstrual Health, including, but not limited to:
• Collate information, writing, editing and designing quarterly newsletters;
• Manage the Coalition list-server and database;
• Lead and coordinate the branding and visual identity of the Coalition;
• Social media – lead the development of content for various media platforms and manage related social media accounts; and
• Report and present coalition progress and program findings through online and face-to-face communication with Coalition members and external partners.

Work Relations

The part-time IC will work under the overall supervision of the Regional Director, UNFPA East and Southern Africa with daily supervision by the Adolescent and Youth Programme Specialist. This requires close collaboration with African Coalition for Menstrual Health members, other key partners and UNFPA Country Offices.

Duration And Working Schedule

1 April 2024 – 31 December 2024 – Part-time online

Place Where Services Are To Be Delivered

Services will be delivered online remotely for three days per week. The working dates will be decided in consultation with the Africa Coalition on Menstrual Health and UNFPA

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

All reports and feedback are delivered in electronic copies.

Monthly deliverables will be agreed with the selected part time consultant.

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format & deadline:

The consultancy is expected to commence by the 1 st of April 2024 and must be completed no later than 31 December 2024.

The consultant will be expected to hold regular meetings with the Adolescents and Youth Programme Specialist and with other team members.

Supervisory Arrangement

The IC will work under the overall supervision of the Regional Director with daily supervision by the Adolescent and Youth Programme Specialist, UNFPA ESARO. S/he will have a dotted line of reporting to the team leader as the overall responsible person for the Adolescent and youth programme.

Expected Travel

• None

Qualifications

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

Education: A Master degree or equivalent in health education, public health, social sciences, or other field directly related to the substantive areas of this position.

Experience And Skills

• 5 years’ relevant work experience with government, UN or NGOs on issues related to sexual and reproductive health, health education, adolescent health or related areas;
• Experience in strategy and action plan development;
• Strong advocacy and networking skills with the ability to liaise with and engage government, UN agencies, CSOs and other stakeholders in a professional and friendly manner;
• Experience in M&E, including development of indicators and tools;
• Excellent administration, coordination and organizational skills;
• Strong communication skills and proven experience with the use of social media and other channels for effective advocacy, knowledge sharing and campaigning;
• Strong writing and analytical skills;
• Ability to work with and within inter-disciplinary and multicultural groups;
• Good computer skills, including for the establishment and maintenance of online databases; and
• Experience with resource mobilization and grant/proposal development is an asset.

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner

N/A

Other Relevant Information Or Special Conditions, If Any

The payment will be done on monthly basis upon receipt of monthly report.