Technical Specialist, Health Taxation and Financing

Senior Medical & Health

Contract

This is a IPSA-11 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally internationally recruited only. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education. More about IPSA-11 contracts.

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the knowledge frontier organization for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy and programme work, carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office (CO) levels, form a contiguous spectrum of deep, local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. Within this context, UNDP invests in a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan.

The UNDP Tax for SDGs Initiative is managed by the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS’s) Sustainable Finance Hub (SFH), with resource persons embedded in the SDG Finance Teams in Amman, Bangkok, Istanbul, Panama and Pretoria.

The UNDP Tax for SDGs Initiative has a particular emphasis on linking tax administration and tax and fiscal policies with the broader SDGs. Building on UNDP Country Office portfolios and already existing engagements with Ministries, UNDP will bring a stronger focus on the role of tax and fiscal policy in achieving Agenda 2030. The project places a particular focus on reducing gender and social inequalities in tax and fiscal policy as well as taking forward climate action and environmental goals, and health outcomes. Representing the views of developing countries in the global normative tax discussions is critical and to this effect the UNDP Tax for SDGs Initiative will also work to bring evidence and perspectives from developing countries into the regional and international discussions on taxation.

Health taxes can alter both production and consumption behaviours. WHO estimates that a tax on sugary drinks at a rate of 20 percent could effectively reduce the consumption of the drinks by 20 percent. Likewise each 10 percent increase in tobacco prices reduces consumption levels in LMICs an average of 5 percent. Depending on how the tax revenues raised are spent, health taxes have the potential to bring about a “win-win” situation between the citizens and the government. By discouraging people from consuming products that are harmful to health, the taxes further play a role in relieving healthcare pressures, saving public expenditure, and creating additional tax revenues.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and mental ill-health, are the world’s leading source of premature death, disease and disability. Responding to NCDs requires significant engagement of sectors beyond health, which can address underlying drivers that shape people’s exposure to risk factors for NCDs – tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and pollution – as well as access to prevention, treatment and management services in line with universal health coverage.

UNDP, in partnership with other international and bilateral organizations, is responding to Member States’ demands to support increased investments in NCD prevention and control, and to facilitate stronger planning, evidence-based policy making, enforcement and coordination for these issues across government sectors. Core components of this work include supporting countries to develop national investment cases for action and developing audience-specific messages and capacity building materials to engage sectors within and outside of the health sector as well as parliamentarians. Taxation is an important tool to raise domestic resources for health financing as well as to direct behaviour towards desired health-related decisions. UNDP is supporting member states to coordinate and develop optimal approaches to taxation and health. The programmatic and policy focus of these efforts is on their integration and alignment, recognizing that both require whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches.

Duties and Responsibilities

UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) is seeking a Technical Specialist in Health Taxation and Financing to work with UNDP’s HIV, Health and Development Team and UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub’s Tax for SDGs Team to develop, pioneer and mobilize additional partnerships and resources for an integrated service offering to strengthen the consideration of health issues when designing tax policies and system reforms with the objective to finance Agenda 2030 and achieve Sustainable Development Goals. The Technical Specialist will act as a full member of the HIV, Health and Development Team as well as Sustainable Finance Hub’s Tax for SDGs Team and is expected to attend regular team meetings.

1) Policy and Technical Support

• Develop a new service offering to support countries in leveraging evidence based health tax policies as a means of financing and achieving SDGs. This will include building capacity to conduct economic modelling scenarios and institutional and context analyses and by supporting inter-ministerial dialogues.
• Support the integration of health taxes scenario projections and return on investment calibrations into national financing plans and SDG Taxation Frameworks
• Provide advice to align taxation system’s design, fiscal policies and practise with policies and objectives of promoting health.
• Perform global, regional and country specific examinations of tax avoidance and evasion by industries affecting health including pharmaceutical, tobacco and alcohol, describing the scope and patterns of the problem, and support in implementing counter-measures.
• Support national tax administrations with tax audits of health and pharmaceutical companies and tackling health-relevant tax crime as well as illicit financial flows under the Tax Inspectors Without Borders programme’s “learning by doing” approach.
• Design a capacity development module for national fiscal policy units and revenue administrations to support more effective national implementation of health taxes, incorporating national academic institutions and regional bodies where relevant.

2) Programmatic Support

• Provide training through a capacity development module for national fiscal policy units and national revenue administrations to support more effective national design and implementation of health sensitive tax policies and systems reforms, incorporating input from national academic institutions and regional bodies where relevant.
• Organize and coordinate meetings, workshops, missions, conferences and side events to strengthen UNDP’s work on taxation and health.
• Provide support to UNDP Tax for SDGs and HIV, Health and Development team in implementing tax and health aspects of the Tax for SDGs Initiative.
• Support senior level managers in developing countries, Ministries of Finance, National Tax Administrations, and other relevant agencies with design and implementation of Taxation and Health strategies, as well as with mobilizing additional resources and partnerships for scaling up support UNDP’s services on tax and health.

3) Knowledge Management

• Develop briefing presentations on the Taxation and Health service offer.
• Develop knowledge products for senior policy officials in developing countries to embed the Taxation and Health service offer.
• Engage with other agencies and capture good practices that may have been developed on the taxation and health in achieving the SDGs.

4) Communication and Outreach

• Facilitate South-South and triangular sharing of good practices in advocating, developing, implementing, monitoring, reporting and increasing effectiveness for health considerations in taxation policies and systems reforms.

Perform other duties and responsibilities related to this position as assigned by Supervisor.

Institutional Arrangement

• The Technical Specialist will jointly report to the Head of Tax SDGs, SFH and Health Specialist, HIV Health and Development.
• Throughout the project, collaboration and coordination with the rest of the UNDP Tax for SDGs and HIV, Health and Development team will be required.
• The IPSA Hire will use his or her own equipment (e.g. laptop) to perform the work

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results:

LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact

Think Innovatively:

LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems

Learn Continuously:

LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility:

LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands

Act with Determination:

LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner:

LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

People Management

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Thematic Area

Name

Definition

Programme and Policy

SDG Finance

Public Sector Finance (Tax and domestic resource mobilization, public financial management and public expenditure)

Programme and Policy

Governance

Public Sector Reform

Programme and Policy

Health

National Strategic Plan / Policy for health

Programme and Policy

Health

Universal Health Coverage, including NCDs

Programme and Policy

Inclusive Growth

Fiscal and SDG financing policy support in view of the socio-economic impact of COVID 19

Business Management

Working wit h Evidence and Data

Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions and supporting decision- making

Business Management

Change Management

Ability to prepare, support, and help individuals and teams in designing and implementing organizational change

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Academic Education

Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Social Science, Economics, Public Finance, Public Health, Public Administration, Law, International Development or another relevant field.

Minimum years of relevant work experience

At least 7 years of experience related to public financing and health issues.

Desired additional skills and competencies

• Knowledge of fiscal, tax policy and tax administration processes.
• Experience with applied research related to the intersection of public finance and health
• Experience with modelling techniques and health services.
• Experience in writing reports for different audiences, including policy-makers.
• Experience working in different world regions, including developing countries.
• Experience working with UN, partners, governments and/or civil society on multisectoral action for tax or public health.

Language(s) at working level

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.

• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org