Community Midwife

Host entity: UNFPA

Volunteer type: National

Areas of expertise: Community development

Application deadline: 01/11/2026

Mission and objectives

UNFPA has been working in Yemen since early 1970s. UNFPA’s 5th Country Programe for Yemen from 2012-2015 has been extended since 2016. The current country programme has been directed to a humanitarian response upon the activation of a Level 3 emergency response in Yemen on 1 July 2015.

UNFPA’s response in Yemen aims at meeting the reproductive health needs of women and girls and ensuring that they are protected from gender-based violence, working in close partnership with local authorities, non-governmental partners and UN agencies across the country.

Assignment context

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. In Yemen, prolonged conflict and health infrastructure collapse have exponentially heightened the vulnerability of pregnant women and newborns to preventable medical risks, structural isolation, and acute obstetric distress. In the Aden Governorate, localized community-level healthcare delivery frameworks are vital to bridge critical structural gaps between vulnerable host/displaced neighborhoods and centralized emergency medical care.
The National UN Volunteer Community tier recruits trusted local midwifery practitioners to operate directly within their native settings. This deployment ensures localized health mobilization, basic home-based clinical coverage, safe birth preparedness advocacy, and real-time medical referral pathway linkage to ensure safe, culturally aligned maternal care.

The UN Volunteers will work remotely from their respective locations in Aden, Lahj, Abyan, and Marib, as applicable, and will not be required to relocate to the host entity’s duty station.

Task description

Purpose of the assignment
The UN Volunteer Community Midwife will contribute to maintaining and expanding access to essential RH services among displaced and vulnerable women and girls from host communities affected by the latest conflict escalations in Yemen
The midwife will:
• provide skilled community-level RH and maternal/newborn services within her professional scope of practice;
• identify pregnancy and maternal/newborn complications at an early stage;
• facilitate timely referral to designated EmONC facilities;
• conduct community outreach and health education;
• support access to essential RH commodities and supplies;
• identify financial, geographic and other barriers to accessing RH services;
• facilitate referral to established Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) mechanisms where appropriate;
• contribute to community-level RH information and humanitarian needs monitoring; and
• support continuity of essential RH services during humanitarian shocks and displacement.

Key responsibilities
Frontline RH service delivery The UN Volunteer will support RH partners in provision of RH response to women most in need:
• Provide ANC, PNC and family planning counselling and services in accordance with national guidelines and the approved service package.
• Provide skilled care during normal childbirth within the midwife's professional competence and applicable national standards.
• Provide essential newborn care and counselling.
• Identify and manage uncomplicated conditions within the midwife's scope of practice.
• Identify maternal and neonatal danger signs and complications requiring higher-level care.
• Provide appropriate counselling on birth preparedness, complication readiness and care-seeking.
• Promote postpartum family planning and healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies.
• Provide or facilitate access to essential RH commodities in accordance with the approved service package.

The UN Volunteer will support and coordinate on the Emergency identification and referral
• Maintain a clear referral linkage with the designated BEmONC/CEmONC facility.
• Identify women and newborns requiring higher-level assessment or emergency care.
• timely referral in accordance with established clinical protocols.
• Support communication with the receiving facility where feasible.
• Follow up referred cases where appropriate and within confidentiality and data-protection requirements.
• Report referral barriers and recurring delays to the partner and UNFPA RH team.

The UN Volunteer will: support Community outreach and engagement
• Conduct regular outreach to underserved and displacement-affected communities.
• Identify pregnant women and promote early ANC attendance.
• Promote PNC and newborn care.
• Provide information on danger signs and appropriate care-seeking.
• Promote family planning and availability of RH services.
• Support community awareness on available referral services.
• Engage appropriately with community structures to improve access while maintaining confidentiality, dignity and informed choice.

The UN Volunteer will contribute to the identification of women facing financial or logistical barriers to accessing essential RH services CVA and removal of access barriers and this include:
• identifying transport or other access barriers affecting timely referral;
• informing eligible women about available assistance through established partner mechanisms;
• referring eligible clients to the designated CVA focal point/mechanism;
• supporting continuity between clinical referral and access assistance;
• documenting referral and access barriers through approved reporting mechanisms.

The UN Volunteer will:laise and support access to RH commodities and supplies in coordination with relevant authorities and partners and
• Monitor availability of essential RH commodities and supplies at the community service point.
• Maintain basic stock records in accordance with partner procedures.
• Report stock-outs, near-expiry commodities and emerging needs promptly.
• Support appropriate use and accountability of commodities.
• Contribute to early identification of commodity requirements affecting continuity of services.

The UN Volunteer will support the UNFPA and partners response surging RH capacity and responding to needs of displaced women, through
• Support continuity of RH services during displacement, conflict-related disruption and other humanitarian emergencies.
• Provide rapid information on emerging RH needs within the assigned catchment area.
• Support rapid identification of pregnant women and women requiring urgent RH services following displacement or other shocks.
• Participate, when requested and appropriate, in emergency outreach and humanitarian response activities.
• Support temporary or flexible service delivery arrangements when facility access is disrupted.

Data, reporting and accountability
• Maintain accurate and timely records of services provided.
• Report key RH service utilization and referral data through approved partner systems.
• Contribute to monitoring of pregnancies identified, ANC/PNC contacts, deliveries, FP services and referrals.
• Document service interruptions, access barriers and priority RH needs.
• Support reporting on community-level humanitarian RH indicators.
• Maintain confidentiality and comply with applicable data-protection requirements.

The UN Volunteer will support and adhere Quality, safeguarding and professional standards
• Provide services in accordance with national clinical protocols and UNFPA technical standards.
• Apply infection prevention and control measures.
• Respect confidentiality, informed consent, dignity and non-discrimination.
• Apply survivor-centred principles when identifying and referring protection/GBV concerns.
• Follow UNFPA and partner safeguarding, PSEA and code-of-conduct requirements.
• Immediately report safeguarding, PSEA or serious protection concerns through established mechanisms.

Expected outputs: During the assignment, the UN Volunteer is expected to contribute to:
1. Continuous frontline RH service delivery in the assigned humanitarian catchment area.
2. Improved access to skilled midwifery care for women and girls who face geographic or other barriers to facility-based services.
3. Early identification and timely referral of maternal and newborn complications to designated EmONC facilities.
4. Regular community outreach to promote ANC, PNC, family planning, birth preparedness and timely care-seeking.
5. Functional referral linkages between the community, the midwife, partner facility and designated EmONC facility.
6. Identification and referral of eligible women to CVA mechanisms where financial or transport barriers affect access to essential RH services.
7. Timely reporting of commodity and supply gaps affecting frontline RH service continuity.
8. Accurate and timely RH service and referral data contributing to humanitarian response monitoring.
9. Community-level identification of emerging RH needs and access barriers to inform partner and UNFPA response planning.
10. Maintenance of quality, safeguarding and confidentiality standards throughout service delivery.
Reporting and supervision


• Operational supervision: The UN Volunteer will report to UNFPA RH coordinator/Thematic team leader and will be designated as an implementing partner for daily operational matters, work planning, security, logistics and administrative arrangements.
• Technical supervision: The UN Volunteer will receive technical guidance from the UNFPA RH team and the designated technical supervisor.

Skills and experience

• Experience of localized community midwifery experience, public health volunteering, or grassroots medical mobilization.
• Experience in community outreach and health education.
• Prior hands-on clinical exposure or volunteer training with community health centres, reproductive clinics, or local maternal support groups in Aden.
• High level of emotional intelligence, interpersonal empathy, and a strict non-judgmental stance toward protection and maternal care concerns.
• Thorough understanding of the specific cultural layouts, neighborhood social structures, and localized security parameters within Aden.
• Demonstrated basic capabilities in organizing group health dialogues or community awareness events safely.
• High commitment to the principles of human rights, patient dignity, and standard humanitarian healthcare guidelines.
• Recognized qualification as a midwife and valid professional registration/licence in Yemen, as applicable.
• Relevant professional experience in maternal, newborn and reproductive health services.
• Demonstrated experience providing services in community, rural, underserved or humanitarian settings is desirable.
• Ability to identify maternal and newborn danger signs and initiate appropriate referral.
• Knowledge of national RH/midwifery protocols.
• Ability to maintain accurate clinical and programme records.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Commitment to confidentiality, dignity, safeguarding and non-discrimination.
• Ability to work effectively within a partner/UNFPA humanitarian team.

Competencies and values

Values:
• Exemplifying integrity
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system
• Embracing cultural diversity and patient equity
• Embracing operational resilience and context fluidity
Core Competencies:
• Achieving results with high professional standards
• Being thoroughly accountable for healthcare actions
• Developing professional grassroots medical acumen
• Thinking analytically and empathetically
• Working collaboratively in local community teams
• Communicating safely and transparently for impact
Functional Competencies:
• Localized community health engagement
• Managing basic field data securely
• Building community-level strategic alliances
• Grassroots health advocacy/advancing safe motherhood
• Support to clean delivery kit logistics planning

Living conditions

The four Community Midwife will work remotely from their respective locations in Aden, Lahj, Abyan, and Marib Yemen. They will not be required to relocate to the host entity’s duty station. Each volunteer is expected to have reliable internet access, appropriate equipment, and a suitable working environment to ensure effective delivery of tasks. Working arrangements will align with the host entity’s time zone and operational requirements, with flexibility agreed upon with the supervisor.

In line with the UN Volunteer Conditions of Service, the duty station for remote assignments is the volunteer’s location.

Benefits and allowances are as follows:

VLA: 100% category
Entry lump sum: 50$
Danger and hardship differential: If eligible as per ICSC duty station classification


The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.”You may check the full benefits and allowances applicable to the duty station using the UVP calculator. Please see the Conditions of Service for UN Volunteers for more information and details.”

Full eligibility requirements, conditions of service and application instructions are available on the official UNV platform.