Social Policy and Health Economics Adviser - WCARO, Dakar, Senegal, P5

The Position:

The Social Policy and Health Economics Adviser is the West and Central Africa Regional Office’s (WCARO) senior technical authority on Social Policy, health economics, public financing, and investment strategy in support of UNFPA’s mandate across West and Central Africa. The Adviser serves as WCARO’s principal expert on the economics of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), population dynamics, and gender equality — translating complex economic evidence into actionable policy and sustainable financing strategies.

Reporting to the Deputy Regional Director, the Adviser works in an integrated manner and provides high-level technical leadership across a 23-country portfolio, guiding Country Offices and national governments in mobilizing domestic resources, strengthening health financing systems, and positioning SRHR firmly within national budgets, development plans, and international financing architecture.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender- based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact and sustained results and ensure effective external relations, communications, and partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

The Social Policy and Health Economics Adviser provides strategic leadership to advance the transition from Funding to Financing the ICPD Programme of Action across the West and Central Africa region. The Adviser leads UNFPA's shift from funding to financing in the region through three key functions: 1) Evidence Generation and Data Analysis, 2) Policy and Advocacy, and 3) Accountability and Monitoring. This includes the generation and application of economic evidence, supports countries in designing investment cases and financing strategies, translates analytical insights into effective policy engagement and budget advocacy; and monitors financial flows and gaps.

Through strategic partnerships with governments, international financial institutions (IFIs), UN agencies, development partners, and the private sector, the Adviser contributes to mobilizing sustainable financing that accelerates progress toward UNFPA’s three transformative results: ending preventable maternal deaths; ending unmet need for family planning; and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices.

The development financing landscape is undergoing a structural transformation. The recent withdrawal of major bilateral donors has accelerated the urgency of domestic resource mobilization and diversified financing for UNFPA’s mandate. In response to this challenge, UNFPA has designed a financing ICPD Strategy and incorporated an output, "Leveraging sustainable financing," into its Strategic Plan.
West and Central African governments face compounding fiscal pressures arising from geopolitical instability across the Sahel, climate‑related shocks, commodity volatility, and macroeconomic fragility. The large informal sector—accounting for a substantial share of employment and non‑agricultural activity—compounds challenges for revenue mobilization.

At the same time, emerging evidence reinforces the economic imperative of investing in SRHR: analyses suggest that every dollar invested in family planning can yield returns up to USD 120 in long‑term health and economic benefits through the demographic dividend. UNFPA’s Match Fund—which provides up to USD 2 worth of reproductive‑health commodities for every USD 1 a country invests—has helped participating governments increase spending on contraceptives fivefold since 2020, reaching more than USD 50 million in 2024.

In this context, the Adviser plays a decisive role in supporting countries and Country Offices to navigate the transition from aid-dependent programming to sustainable, domestically led financing of the ICPD Programme of Action.

You would be responsible for:

A. Strategic Leadership on Health Financing and Policy Engagement

Provide senior technical advice on health economics and financing to advance UNFPA’s transformative results across the region:

• Advise Regional Office leadership and Country Representatives on national health financing architectures, fiscal space opportunities, and sustainable resource allocation strategies for SRHR.
• Lead high-level policy dialogue with Ministries of Finance, Planning, and Health to strengthen public investment in SRHR, population programmes, and universal healthcare (UHC) benefit package design.
• Engage strategically with IFIs — including the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank, IMF, and the Global Financing Facility (GFF) — to influence the design and conditionalities of lending packages, development policy operations, and Programme-for-Results financing to embed SRHR priorities.
• Champion the Abuja Declaration benchmark and the Addis Ababa Agenda for Action, advocating for at least 15% of national budgets to be allocated to health and for progressive growth of domestic SRHR allocations.
• Promote innovative financing approaches including results-based financing, debt-for-health swaps, health insurance scheme integration, “sin” tax reform (tobacco, alcohol, sugar-sweetened beverages), diaspora bonds, and public-private partnerships.
• Engage private companies to promote Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Gender Equality in the workplace.
• Advise on the development of pool funding to support SRHR integration within national health insurance benefit packages, social protection frameworks, and government procurement systems.
• Participate in the Technical Working Group (TWG) on sustainable financing and collaborate with the Interdivisional Working Group (IDWG).

B. Evidence Generation and Economic Analysis

Lead the development and application of high-quality economic evidence to underpin policy dialogue and financing strategies:

• Support Country Offices to conduct and use comprehensive financing diagnostics: financing dashboards, mini-Public Expenditure Reviews (PERs), rapid expenditure analyses, out-of-pocket expenditure assessments, and fiscal space analyses.
• Lead the development of holistic investment cases for SRHR, covering situational analysis, expenditure mapping, service package costing, coverage scenarios, cost-benefit analysis, cost-of-inaction analysis, fiscal space analysis, and multi-year financing strategy design.
• Conduct regional analyses drawing on National Health Accounts (NHA), macroeconomic updates, and population projections and dynamics to identify financing trends, investment gaps, and policy priorities.
• Apply demographic dividend frameworks and macroeconomic modelling to build the political case for sustained SRHR investment, including evidence of returns on investment in family planning and gender equality.
• Apply gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) methodologies to support governments in tracking, tagging, and increasing budget allocations for gender equality and SRHR.

C. Capacity Development and Technical Support

Strengthen health financing and public financial management (PFM) capacities within UNFPA and among government counterparts:

• Design and facilitate regional learning initiatives, technical workshops, and webinars on health financing, using UNFPA’s global resources including the e-course on Financing the Transformative Results.
• Provide tailored technical assistance to governments on health financing reforms, national health insurance scheme design, gender-responsive budgeting, results-based financing, and PFM for health.
• Build the analytical and advocacy capacities of Country Offices to engage in national budget processes, MTEF cycles, health sector reviews, and UHC financing dialogues.
• Support Country Offices in leveraging economic evidence and analytical products for policy dialogue and strategic communications.
• Support engagement with UNFPA’s Match Fund and other incentive-based mechanisms that catalyze domestic government investment in SRHR services.
• Organize and contribute to national and regional policy dialogues, strategic financing events, and multi-stakeholder platforms on health economics.

D. Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

Strengthen strategic alliances and mobilize resources to sustain and scale financing initiatives:

• Lead the design and development of country proposals under UNFPA’s Strategic Investment Facility (SIF) to advance SRHR financing across the region.
• Establish and manage strategic partnerships with United Nations agencies, International Financial Institutions, philanthropic organizations, the private sector, and bilateral partners to advance collective health financing objectives.
• Support Country Offices to identify and capitalize on innovative financing windows, trust funds, and blended finance opportunities aligned with national SRHR priorities.
• Lead or contribute to multi-country and regional financing initiatives, including joint programming within UNSDCF frameworks and Delivering as One arrangements.
• Engage the private sector and development finance institutions (DFIs) in co-investment models for women’s health, harnessing momentum in sustainable and impact investing across Africa.

E. Knowledge Leadership and Global Engagement

Contribute to global learning and knowledge leadership on health economics and development financing:

• Generate and disseminate regional analytical products, policy briefs, and knowledge assets on health financing trends and innovative approaches.
• Contribute to UNFPA’s global technical networks, inter-agency platforms, and multi-regional health financing initiatives.
• Share regional evidence and lessons learned to inform global discussions on health economics, demographic transition, ODA contraction, and sustainable development financing.
• Monitor global health financing developments — including IFI strategies, G20 Joint Finance and Health Task Force outputs, the Lusaka Agenda, and WHO UHC tracking — and translate implications for WCARO’s strategic positioning.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s level or equivalent) in Health Economics, Economics, Public Finance, Public Health, or a closely related discipline. A PhD or equivalent is an asset.

Knowledge and Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in health economics, health financing, or related fields, of which at least 7 years at the international level.
• Demonstrated track record in a senior health economist role encompassing health sector reform, PFM, health systems strengthening, and health financing strategy.
• Demonstrated expertise in policy engagement with Ministries of Finance, Planning, and Health in LMICs, with ability to translate economic evidence into policy influence.
• Deep familiarity with SRHR, family planning, gender-based violence, and population dynamics as they relate to UNFPA’s mandate and the ICPD Programme of Action.
• Technical proficiency in investment case development, fiscal space analysis, Public Expenditure Reviews, National Health Accounts analysis, gender-responsive budgeting, and development finance instruments (results-based financing, debt swaps, health insurance, blended finance, etc.).
• Established networks within the global and regional health economics and financing community, including relationships with IFIs, bilateral donors, and UN agencies.
• Strong evidence of producing high-quality analytical outputs—demonstrated by an extensive publication record—and translating them into policy influence and financing results.
• Field experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, ideally in the West and Central Africa region, is required.

Languages:

• Fluency in both English and French is required, reflecting the bilingual nature of WCARO’s mandate across Anglophone and Francophone countries, regional bodies, and government counterparts.

Required Competencies:

• Values:
  • Exemplifying integrity,
  • Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system,
  • Embracing cultural diversity,
  • Embracing change
  • Core Competencies:
    • Achieving results,
    • Being accountable,
    • Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
    • Thinking analytically and strategically,
    • Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
    • Communicating for impact
    • Functional Competencies:
      • Strategically positioning UNFPA programmes
      • Providing conceptual innovation to support programme effectiveness
      • Generating, managing and promoting the use of knowledge and information
      • Strengthening the programming capacity of Country offices
      • Facilitating quality programmatic results
      • Internal and external communication and advocacy for results mobilization
      • Managerial Competencies (if applicable): Compensation and Benefits: This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable. UNFPA Work Environment: UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more. Disclaimer: Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.
        • Providing strategic vision and focus
        • Engaging internal / external partners and stakeholders
        • Leading, developing and empowering people / creating a culture of performance
        • Making decisions and exercising judgment