Strategic Policy Specialist, Office of the Executive Director (OED), New York, P-4

UNFPA • New York, NY

9h • Onsite

About The Position

The Strategic Policy Specialist post is located in the Office of the Executive Director (OED). The incumbent reports directly to the Chief of Staff and provides strategic, substantive and coordination support across priorities under the Chief of Staff’s purview. 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 will defend them courageously and with full conviction. UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact sustained results, ensuring effective external relations, communications, 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. It is critical that the Office of the Executive Director (OED) coordinates delivery in a strategic and proactive manner and, forges new and strengthens current partnerships within and outside the UN System, including with Member States, and other key partners in order to advance UNFPA’s mandate. The various current and emerging engagements must be coordinated, operationalized and reinforced in a cohesive way and monitored for impact, with effective preparation, coordination and follow-up across relevant organizational units. An emphasis on the strategic, quality and timely coordination and delivery of results will ensure that UNFPA is a credible partner that can bring concrete changes in the lives of women, adolescents and youth. The Strategic Policy Specialist within the OED will contribute to the Mandate of UNFPA by providing substantive and strategic support to the office of the Chief of Staff within the OED in the overall execution of his/her duties, including strategic coordination, substantive preparation and follow-up, and including other front office and business units that fall under his/her purview.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (minimum Master’s degree or equivalent) in international relations, international development, public Administration, business, management or other related field.
• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible relevant experience, particularly in strategic coordination, strategic partnership, advocacy and communication, of which at least 5 years at the international level.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity; can decide and act without having the total picture; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, written and communications skills.
• Demonstrated success in developing and or building effective partnerships for development.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate impact of change, and to direct self and others.
• Self-directed, able to maintain productivity when implementing new, altered or incomplete procedures.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of a second UN language is highly desirable.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in supporting senior-level engagements and coordinating with Member States, UN entities and other partners is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Support and provide strategic coordination to the current and emerging senior-level engagements and collaborations with Member States, UN entities and other partners with a view to ensuring efforts are harmonized, mutually reinforcing and achieve greatest impact.
• Analyze policies/frameworks and monitor actions/decisions that require follow up from senior management discussions and meetings.
• Anticipate and forecast upcoming tasks, deadlines and/or deliverables and monitor timelines reflecting on implications to the Fund’s mandate.
• Contribute to the preparation for high-level external and internal meetings as needed, and follow up on decisions and actions to be taken.
• Build awareness, collaboration and information-exchange within and external to the OED. Contribute to the development of OED deliverables including briefing materials and correspondence.
• Contribute to the development of the OED annual work plan, SIS and other office management reports.
• Flag institutional bottlenecks and lessons learned to ensure successful implementation of work plans.
• Prepare briefing notes and other background and communications materials needed to support senior management in their partnership engagement.
• Support Chief of Staff in high-level policy discussions. Support internal and external consultations to advance strategic and policy discussions around internal and external matters.
• Proactively seek opportunities to connect the OED with business units across the organization.
• Propose solutions where necessary.
• Bring visibility to organizational development and reform initiatives and highlight results and impact of these engagements.
• Undertake any other duties, including day-to-day support, as may be assigned by the Executive Director and/or the Chief of Staff.

Benefits

• attractive remuneration package
• competitive net salary
• health insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior