UN VOLUNTEER DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT

Preamble:

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programmeis the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers.

In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long-established, ancient traditions of sharing and support within the communities. In this context, UN Volunteers take part in various forms of volunteerism and play a role in development and peace together with co-workers, host agencies and local communities.

In all assignments, UN Volunteers promote volunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging in volunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, as well as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make the time they spend as UN Volunteers even more rewarding and productive.

1. UNV Assignment Title:Midwife (senior)

UNV Strategic Framework 2014-2017; Outcome 1, Output 1.2: ‘Volunteerism is integrated within UN entities’ programming through the implementation of UNV-UN partner joint programmes/projects in four priority areas: (a) youth; (b) peace building; (c) basic social services; (d) community resilience for environment and disaster risk reduction’

2. Type of Assignment:International UN Volunteer

3. Project Title:UNFPA Mano River Midwifery Response Project

4. Duration:Initially for one year (renewable based availability of funding and satisfactory performance)

5. Location, Country:Various areas in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone

6. Expected Starting Date:Immediately

7. Brief Project Description:

The overarching purpose of the Mano River Midwifery Response is to increase access to essential normal and emergency obstetric and neonatal service delivery and care for women and newborns in the Mano River area(Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone). In addition, this response contributes to reinforcing the health systems in the perspective of the post-Ebola epidemic. This response puts in place essential human resources, equipment, drugs and supplies, builds the capacity of national health professionals and raises community awareness. In each country a quick assessment will be done to determine population distribution, the available health professionals and equipment, and the international support already in place, in order to respond to the most critical needs and to complement efforts already conducted.

UNFPA is setting-up RMNH services, in facilities or in tent-based outreach (temporary centers) where facilities cannot be used, to pregnant women and newborns, establishing a network of 250 midwives in the affected areas, able to address the urgent needs of childbearingwomen and newborns. Community outreach through community health workers to restore trust in the RMNH services and to reach childbearing women through mobile-clinics is part of the response. The Services include family planning, antenatal, childbirth, post-partum/natal care,including basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care, sexual reproductive health matters and services. The midwives will serve in teams across the three affected countries. These Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (BEmONC) Centers will be connected with Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmONC) Centers linked with a referral system.. The UNVs contribute to the peace and development of the countries.

Background:

The current outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa is the largest and most complex outbreak of Ebola to date, with more cases and deaths than in all previous outbreaks combined. Mistrust and general panic are posing barriers to essential health care in the affected countries, with pregnant women being too scared to visit health centers and facilities no longer being able to perform routine and emergency maternal and newborn health services. The crisis has diverted critical resources away from pregnant women and newborns. It is estimated that more than 800,000 women in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia will be pregnant in the next 12 months. Moreover, more than 1.3 million women in these countries will need family planning services in 2015. If no intervention takes place, it is expected that the number of pregnant women and newborns dying from preventable causes will significantly increase.

8. Host Agency/Host Institute:UNFPA Country Office

9. Organizational Context:

The Head of the respective UNDP Office represents UNV in the countries and territories in which UN Volunteers are assigned. Programme and administrative support to UN Volunteers is normally provided through the UNV Field Unit in the UNDP Country Office. Where no UNV Field Unit is in place, UNV will ensure that the respective UNDP office designates a UNV Focal Point.

While remaining under the administrative authority of UNV, UN Volunteers shall be under the overall direction and substantive supervision of the UNFPA Country Office. In each country a logistic cell will be established to provide logistic and management/ programme services to the temporary centers. Furthermore, at country level a health coordination committee, national operational committee and national supervision team will be put in place.

10. Type of Assignment Place: assignment without family

11. Description of tasks:

Under the direct supervision of the Representative of the applicable Country Officeand the project coordinator in the country of assignment and in close collaboration with the programme associate, thesenior midwife will assume the following responsibilities:

A. Administrative and Professional Responsibilities

He/she will support the project coordinator in the supervisionof midwifery staff and support staff in the planning of care and implementation of the midwifery processes and midwifery case management. (S)he will support the overall management of the performance of the midwives in the team.

  • Plans unit workflow, determines priorities, assigns responsibilities, oversees and reviews clinical practice; Prepare staff work schedule, reporting and record keeping;
  • Provides regular feedback to the staff on their clinical performance, identifies staff development needs and presents the information to appropriate personnel for onward planning of professional advancement in best practice;
  • Mentors the more junior midwived in their daily work;
  • Promote professional ethics and conduct. Maintains and promotes standards of midwifery care in collaboration with partners including nurses and midwives associations;
  • Provides oversight for the requisition, safe storage and administration of drugs and supplies including the maintenance of equipment and all relevant inventories;
  • Assiststhe procurement process including identifying items necessary to provide the required care;
  • Assists, supports and encourages implementation of clinical and administrative policies and procedures;
  • Assists and supports the implementation of functional referral mechanisms;
  • Completes all required documentation and reporting on expected project results and outputs.
  • Facilitates team meetings including case reviews, and creates a forum for learning;
  • Engaging in professional development to meet PREP (post-registration education and practice) requirements;
  • Ensures the facility remains functional in administrative and clinical operations;
  • Liaises with agencies and other health and social care professionals to ensure continuity of care;
  • Identifies and shares best practices in their area of work with the UNFPA country team.

B. Clinical midwifery and gender sensitive reproductive health service delivery and care

The midwife ensures that gender considerations are part of the core professional midwifery practice on the unit and guides the team towards institutionalizing the following:

  • Early recognition of pregnant women presenting to midwives-led centers with symptoms that could suggest Ebola leading to immediate isolation and testing, before referral if positive case
  • Prompt the rapid institution of infection control measures (e.g., use of personal protective equipment (PPE),isolation, decontamination) to prevent potential transmission to staff,patients and visitors.
  • Diagnosing, supporting and examining women during pregnancy; developing, assessing and evaluating individual midwifery services of care for vulnerable groups;
  • Providing childbirth and neonatal services including basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC) services;
  • Providing full gender sensitive, integrated antenatal care, in facility, community and at home, including counselling and advice;
  • Identifying high risk pregnancies and, where possible, making timely referrals to more appropriate facilities;
  • Providing post-abortion services, including Family Planning (FP);
  • Arranging and providing parenting and health education for the woman, her partner and family members; encouraging participation of family members in the birth to support the mother and enhance both mother/ baby bonding and family relationships generally;
  • Offering support and advice following events such as miscarriage, termination, stillbirth, neonatal abnormality and neonatal death;
  • Supporting and assisting mothers in labour, monitoring the condition of the fetus and using knowledge of drugs and pain management;
  • Giving support and advice on the daily care of the baby, including exclusive breastfeeding, cord care, hygiene and Kangaroo mother care for preterm and for less than 2000g babies;
  • Providing advice and guidance on a safe and timely transfer home;
  • Provides advice and counseling on birth spacing (Family planning) methodologies and options to the client and her family.
  • Liaising with agencies and other health and social care professionals to ensure continuity of care;
  • Where possible, consults with and makes recommendations to the refered to facility concerning health needs of the clients;
  • Supports Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIVservices including providing HIV counseling and testing services; Supporting and providing comprehensive reproductive health services particularly for youth and other vulnerable groups including internally displaced persons, refugees and returnees;
  • Providing integrated antenatal care services, including PMTCT for HIV, STI and Malaria prevention and treatment, nutrition and immunization;
  • Play a central role in establishing partnerships and cooperating with and eventually supervising traditional birth attendants, other health care workers and community midwives.
  • Cooperating with and eventually supervising community outreach workers who mobilize the community to seek services in the BEmONCcenters;
  • Providing support for victims of gender based violence (GBV) and clinical management of rape.

C Further UN volunteers are expected 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 IVD);
  • 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 to 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 UNVolunteers;
  • 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 technically possible.

12. Results/Expected Output:

By the end of the project period, UN Volunteer midwives are expected to have contributed to the following results:

By the end of the Programme period, all UN Volunteer midwives are expected to have contributed to the following results:

  • Women provided with comprehensive antenatal services;
  • Women and newborns provided with quality and respectful midwifery care at childbirth and in the post-partum/natal period;
  • Women and newborns with complications are referred in a timely manner to the appropriate level of care, to the extent possible;
  • Women with Ebola symptoms are well managed (immediate isolation, testing, referral) and the health professionals well protected;
  • Women, including adolescents, and men receive access to family planning services;
  • Women and men receive access to HIV and STI counselling services;
  • Women and girls provided with care and counselling related to gender based violence, including rape;
  • Women provided with care and counselling in the case of abortion, stillbirth, neonatal abnormality and neonatal death;
  • Increased access to midwifery services, including FP and GBV;
  • Community outreach activities are well supported;
  • Production of timely and quality reporting;
  • Maternal deaths and nearmiss cases reviewed, as well as management of Ebola suspect/infected cases, with recommendations and follow-up;
  • A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

The senior UNV midwives will also have contributed to:

  • Excellent management of the midwifery centers;
  • Implementation of the Mano River Midwifery Response Programme;
  • Establishment and running of functional referral mechanisms.

13. Qualifications/Requirements:

  • Qualified midwife with at least a Diploma or equivalent in Midwifery with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in practicing midwifery;
  • An additional minimum 3 years of experience in managing midwifery unit, coordinating and supervising staff, mentoring and training staff and quality assurance of midwifery unit;
  • Experience in a developing country is required; experience in an emergency setting is considered an asset;
  • Previous training in dealing with infectious diseases/ public health emergencies is considered as asset;
  • Knowledge of midwifery association, education, legislation and regulation, preferably in the region;
  • Demonstrated skills in team and consensus building;
  • Ability to work independently;
  • For Guinea: fluency in French and a working knowledge of English is required/ For Sierra Leone and Liberia: fluency in English is required. Knowledge of local languages is an advantage.
  • .

Core Competencies

  • Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships
  • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Learning
  • Achieving results
  • Being accountable
  • Developing and applying professional expertise
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Ability to work independently

Values:

  • Exemplifying integrity
  • Demonstrates commitment to UNFPA and the UN System
  • Embracing cultural diversity
  • Embracing change
  • Respecting patients’ choice

Functional Competencies

  • Conceptual innovation in the provision of technical expertise
  • Job knowledge/technical expertise
  • Adaptation/application of knowledge in different contexts
  • Integration in a multidisciplinary environment

b)Competencies and values:

  • Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment;high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures in a politically sensitive environment, while exercising discretion, impartiality and neutrality; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented;
  • Accountability: mature and responsible; ability to operate in compliance with organizational rules and regulations;
  • Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment;
  • Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities;
  • Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender;
  • Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing personal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;
  • Flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently in austere, remote and potentially hazardous environments for protracted periods, involving physical hardship and little comfort, and including possible extensive travel within the area of operations; willingness to transfer to other duty stations within area of operations as may be necessary;
  • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values.
  • Creativity: actively seeks to improve programmes or services; offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs; promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas; takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks “outside the box”; takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches;
  • Technological awareness: keeps abreast of available technology; understands applicability and limitation of technology to the work of the office; actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks; shows willingness to learn new technology.

14. Living Conditions:

(Please complete with the required information)

The living and working conditions in the areas affected by Ebola are difficult. The health-systems are under pressure and panic exists among the population and health care workers. It is not easy to predict how the situation will develop over the coming months.

Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea are hardship duty stations.

To be further added after input received.