Job Description
Mission and objectives
The United Nations Population Fund (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 focuses on advancing women’s and young people’s ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive health rights. Since 1970, UNFPA in Pakistan has supported: Sexual and reproductive health information and services; Adolescents and youth; Women’s empowerment and gender equality; Population and development. Our programmes expand across the country with tailored interventions for local contexts. We do this through: Gender-responsive and youth-friendly policies, laws and initiatives; Advocacy for increased investments in health and education; Strengthened capacities of government and civil society institutions for youth-led sexual and reproductive health programmes and partnerships; Alliances and strategies to reduce gender inequality; Integrated and multi-sectoral approaches to population dynamics and its linkages to development; Communication strategies that address social norms change; Enhance government partnership with private and civil society sectors. Working with government, civil society partners and other humanitarian agencies, UNFPA Pakistan advocates for the integration of gender and sexual and reproductive health issues by increasing awareness and commitment among policy makers, decision-makers and program managers and strengthening partnerships with national entities to improve coordination for effective preparedness and response. UNFPA is aligned with national priorities (Pakistan 2025 Vision), the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF 2018-2022), UNFPA Strategic Plan (2018-2021), International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) and Family Planning 2020 commitments.
Context
The Government of Pakistan, through its National Health Vision Pakistan 2016–2025, aims to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), with a focus on women and children. To meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the targets are set to reduce the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) to 70 per 100,000 live births and the Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) to 12 per 1,000 live births. However, Pakistan’s NMR was 41 in 2019 and 39 in 2021, the highest in South Asia and the second highest globally. Similarly, MMR stood at 140 in 2017 and increased to 154 in 2020, exceeding the regional average. This indicates a pressing need for further action to reduce mortality rates. One major barrier to achieving UHC and SDGs is the acute shortage and imbalance in Human Resources for Health (HRH). The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 23 doctors, nurses, and midwives per 10,000 population, while Pakistan had only 14.5 per 10,000 as of 2017. There is also a significant disparity in distribution, with the number of doctors nearly double that of nurses, midwives, and Lady Health Visitors (LHVs) combined. With a population growing at over 2% annually, Pakistan will need 874,000 additional nurses and midwives by 2030. Notably, while nurses largely serve urban curative roles, midwives often work in peripheral areas on preventive care, positioning them to impact maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) outcomes effectively. In response, the National Vision and Strategic Framework for the practice of Midwifery was developed in 2022 by a technical working group under the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination. Key stakeholders included UNFPA, WHO, Health Services Academy, the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC), and the Midwifery Association of Pakistan. The framework calls for producing midwifery leaders, ensuring evidence-based and independent midwifery practice, developing educational institutions, fostering research, and establishing clear career pathways for midwives. UNFPA has played a leading role in advising policy, revising midwifery curricula, and training faculty. To implement the framework nationwide, strong collaboration among development partners is crucial. JICA has supported MNCH efforts in Punjab and KP, introducing the Family Health Book initiative and training skilled birth attendants such as LHVs, community midwives (CMWs), and women medical officers (WMOs) in rural areas. However, these efforts remain limited in scope, and broader replication has been hindered by insufficient government ownership and budget constraints. JICA’s international experience in institutionalizing midwifery education and improving service quality in maternal and child health across Asia and Africa could offer practical insights for Pakistan. To support implementation of the midwifery framework, JICA Pakistan is considering dispatching a MNCH Coordination Officer (UNV, ex-JOCV) to UNFPA’s Islamabad office, facilitating close collaboration with both JICA’s Pakistan office and its technical cooperation project teams
Task description
Under the guidance of Family Planning (FP) advisor and day to day supervision of Program Analyst Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH)- (Midwifery/Maternal Health), the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: Under the guidance of FP advisor and day to day supervision of Program Analyst SRH- (Midwifery/Maternal Health), the specialist UNV – MCH coordination officer is responsible to perform the following roles; 1. Support implementation and monitoring of The National Vision and Midwifery Strategic Framework in Pakistan. 2. Support development for educational institutions for midwives, including implementation of Bachelor course in nominated universities, and upgrade public health schools for Lady Health Visitor (LHV), Community Midwife (CMW). 3. Support development for midwifery researchers which can integrate evidence-based research into Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) practice, including collaboration with JICA utilizing long term training/scholarship. 4. Support development of career structure and pathway for midwifery professions including bridging or merging program for different related cadre such as LHV and CMW. 5. Support in Preparing briefs, concept notes, monitoring reports, project updates, re-ports, summary notes of key results achieved, research findings of SRH /FP under poli-cy advocacy and quality of Care & services related initiatives. 6. Identify assets, good practice, resources and materials from JICA MNCH projects and promote collaboration between UNFPA and JICA, and other stakeholders as required. 7. Other tasks as required. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities. • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technical-ly possible.
Eligibility criteria
Age 18 - 80
Required experience 3 years
Nationality Candidate must be a national of a country other than the country of assignment.
Additional eligibility criteria
This assignment is funded by JICA, therefore only former Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JICA-JOCV) recommended by the JICA-JOCV Secretariat are eligible to apply. Please consult the JICA website (https://www.jica.go.jp/volunteer/obog/career_support/unv/index.html) for further information on the eligibility criteria. Deployment is scheduled between 1 October and 30 November (no later than 31 December 2025).
Assignment requirements
Relevant experience 2 years
Languages English, Level: Working knowledge, Required
Required education level
Bachelor degree or equivalent in midwifery, nursing, public health, health promotion/policy/administration or other fields relevant. Alternatively, first university degree with additional years of related work experi-ences and/or relevant training/courses.
Competencies and values
Adaptability and Flexibility Commitment and Motivation Communication Creativity Integrity Knowledge Sharing Planning and Organizing Professionalism Respect for Diversity Technological Awareness Working in Teams
Skills and experience
• Experience in MNCH, midwifery programme development, or health systems coordination. • Experience working on government frameworks, midwifery training institutions, or multilateral health projects (is desirable). • Experience in fostering open dialogue, building trust, and engaging key stakeholders. • Excellent command of the English language (listening, writing, speaking). • A minimum 2 years of JOCV completed, and experience in implementing and assessing innovative approaches and techniques in dispatched facility/community/country.
Area(s) of expertise Development programmes, Community development
Other information
Living conditions and remarks
Pakistan is situated in South Asia. Located along the Arabian Sea, it is surrounded by Afghanistan to the west and northwest, Iran to the southwest, India to the east, and China to the northeast. Pakistan has an extremely varied geographical outlook, including mountains, deserts, major rivers and the sea. Pakistan experiences frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe, especially in north and west. Security: Islamabad is a family duty station. For all official travel, UN Security Clearance is required/mandatory. Registration with home embassy is highly recommended. International Staff deployed in Pakistan are required to report to Security Unit for detail briefing. Guest Houses: The UNV Field Unit will help arrange your initial accommodation, at your expense (Settling-in Grant is foreseen for this). Telecommunications: There is one major fixed line provider (PTCL) and 4 cellular companies (Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor and Zong). 4G service is being provided by almost all cellular companies. Call rates vary but are extremely cheap for some Western countries. All cellular operators in Pakistan use GSM platform. Country code for Pakistan is +92 and City code for Islamabad is (0)51. Electricity (Voltage): Electricity in Pakistan is 220-240 Volts. Health: State of the art health facilities are available throughout the country and especially Islamabad. Dental care facilities are also available. There are no mandatory vaccines required to travel to Pakistan. Currently dengue fever is on the rise in Pakistan especially in Punjab. Mosquito repellents are recommended. There are other health facilities in Islamabad which have been recognized by WHO. Diet, Food and Water: There are many local markets around Islamabad as well as various supermarkets that are stocked with imported goods. Islamabad has a large number of restaurants and cafes. Tap water is not advisable and bottled water is available almost everywhere. Using alcoholic drinks in public is illegal in Pakistan. Money/banking: Current US dollar exchange rate is 1 USD = PKR 280. To receive payments locally, UNV unit will help you open a bank account with Standard Chartered Bank. This will be a paired account where you can use it both for US dollar as well as Pak Rupee. ATM machines can be found throughout the country. Climate: The climate is generally characterized by hot summers and cool or cold winters. From June to September, most of the country is lashed by the South West Monsoon, which leads to heavy rainfall and high humidity. Islamabad has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers accompanied by a monsoon season followed by fairly cold winters. The hottest months are May and June, where average highs routinely exceed 38 °C (100.4 °F). Respect: Pakistan is a conservative country and it is advisable for women to wear long skirts or trousers in public (Pakistani women wear the traditional shalwar kameez, but in the big cities, women wearing jeans and khakis is not very uncommon sight, especially in casual settings, shopping malls and around picnic spots). Dress codes for men are more lax, though shorts are uncommon. Men should never shake hands with or touch a woman they don't know very well. As with most of South Asia, the right hand is used for eating, shaking hands and giving or receiving everything (including money), while the left hand is reserved for handling shoes and assisting in toilet duties. Discussion about religion and Islam should remain respectful and positive.
Inclusivity statement
United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
How to Apply: click this link to apply online: https://app.unv.org/opportunities/1784888021260223?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=impactpool