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The UNFPA Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (ESARO) has committed to fostering innovation and creativity and encouraging the adoption of innovative  approaches.

Recognizing the latent potential for innovation within the organization and the key role that investing in youth and cultivating new partnerships plays in innovation, ESARO with funds from DFID recently developed a programme called Preventing Maternal Death in East and Southern Africa” (“PreMDESA”). The PreMDESA programme includes in its objectives:

● Brokerage, development and support of strategic results-oriented partnerships that contribute towards achieving an increase in the availability of robust evidence and proven innovation relating to SRH and the improved awareness of, access to and uptake of family planning and SRH services across the ESA region, with a focus on women and adolescent girls.
● Generation and increased availability of up to date, robust evidence and innovation in the ESA region to inform design, planning, scale up and delivery of quality SRH, MNH and FP services or women and youth.

As part of PreMDESA, ESARO launched an initiative called Innovation Accelerator (“iAccelerator”): a mentorship-driven accelerator program supporting young entrepreneurs with seed funding, training and skills development to generate innovative, business-oriented solutions in response to challenges related to Sexual and Reproductive Health services, sexuality education, family planning, maternal health and other population development issues in line with UNFPA's mandate.
With 5 accelerator cycles in 4 countries expected to be completed by September 2017 and the first phase of the initiative coming to an end in October 2017, the initiative is now at a crossroads. To ensure continued support, UNFPA needs to capitalize on the lessons learnt from implementation as well as draw on the experience of other successful innovation entities and draft a strategy that allows it to create impactful returns for potential future donors to the program. The purpose of the consultancy is therefore to develop an Exit Strategy for the iAccelerator that will lay the groundwork for UNFPA to sustain the Innovation Accelerator funding and operations beyond October 2017, when existing funding ends.

Qualified candidates are requested to apply by Wednesday 16 August 2017 by sending an email to jobs.esaro@unfpa.org with Subject “Application for iAccelerator Exit Strategy consultancy”. The application should contain:

● Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and including detailed availability over the working period (maximum 2 pages);
● Recent CV including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees.

The consultancy will be home based. Fees will be based on qualifications and the level of experience. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

Download the attached PDF for full details.