The Position:
Scope of work:
As the lead UN agency mandated to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled, UNFPA recognizes that strengthening the regulatory environment for midwives is essential to delivering high-quality, autonomous Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Adolescent Health (SRMNAH) services. Guided by UNFPA’s commitment to bodily autonomy and gender equality, global evidence shows that well-regulated, autonomous midwives—integrated into strong health systems—can safely meet up to 90% of essential sexual and reproductive healthcare needs and drive progress toward zero preventable maternal deaths.
In Lebanon, however, the legal governance of midwifery relies on outdated statutory decrees and restrictive policies—such as Decree 2154 of 1979 and Law 249 of 2014 establishing the Order of Midwives—which fail to align with modern clinical capabilities, expanded scopes of practice, or contemporary national healthcare priorities. Overlapping institutional jurisdictions and legal ambiguities continue to restrict clinical autonomy across primary, secondary, and community care levels. Fostering strong, profession-led ownership among Lebanese midwives and navigating these systemic barriers are critical to drafting modernized statutory laws and an expanded scope of practice. Evaluating existing legislative texts against the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Global Standards for Midwifery Regulation, World Health Organization (WHO) benchmarks, and local realities will establish a clear advocacy roadmap to achieve official parliamentary approval and governmental enforcement.
The aim of this consultancy is to enhance the quality, safety, clinical autonomy, and legal governance of midwifery practice in Lebanon by reviewing the existing regulatory and legislative frameworks, developing evidence-based statutory recommendations and a modern scope of practice, and creating a targeted advocacy roadmap to support official governmental adoption and policy implementation. Key activities within this consultancy include:
The consultant will work closely with UNFPA, MOPH and LOM to carry out the following tasks:
Inception phase (5 days)
Desk Review phase (5 days)
Formulation of Revised Text & Scope of Practice (6 days)
Duration and working schedule:
The consultancy entails 30 working days extending from October 19th, 2026 till December 28th, 2026.
Place where services are to be delivered:
Lebanon
Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):
Delivery Date: December 28, 2026. All deliverables will be submitted electronically
| Milestone | Deliverables | Timeline | Payment |
| Inception meeting Desk review Consultation of key actors | Progress report of consultancy Legal & Regulatory Assessment Report. | November 15th, 2026 | 40% |
| Draft Legislative Proposals & Scope of Practice Conduct round table finalize the legal text proposals, Scope of Practice, and Advocacy Roadmap. | Final legal text proposals, Scope of Practice, and Advocacy Roadmap. Final consultancy report (English) submitted. | December 28th, 2026 | 60% |
Supervisory arrangements:
The consultant will closely work with the SRH programme specialist and Lebanese Order of Midwives
Expected travel:
N/A
Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:
The consultancy will be led by an SRHR Policy & Regulatory Expert. If needed, the consultant can get support from legal and policy specialists, midwives’ experts and public health officers to bridge international technical standards with Lebanese statutory frameworks.
Main qualifications of the consultant
Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:
Support to be provided by UNFPA
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 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
Compensation and Benefits:
The consultant will be paid a lumpsum ranging between 15,000 and 20,000 USD based on the final agreement with UNFPA
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.
Application process and deadline
Interested candidates may apply online by providing:
The above documents must be sent by no later than Monday, October 12, 2026
Candidates who fail to submit the required documents above will not be considered for review. UNFPA Lebanon will only be responsible for responding to those applicants submitting the required documents above and for whom there is further interest. ONLY National Individual consultants, not companies, are eligible to apply.
Candidates assessed by the panel and considered to be eligible for the appointment but who are not selected for this vacant post may be offered an assignment to another position at the same/lower grade, provided that they meet the minimum qualifications required.
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