GENDER AND LIVELIHOOD SPECIALIST 46 views

CARE is an international NGO with local staff and community partners in more than 90 countries. We create local solutions to poverty and inequality, and we seek dignity for everyone every day and during times of crisis.  These solutions have a broad range, from clean water to access to education; from microfinance to ensuring that everyone has nutritious food; from agriculture and climate change to disaster response. CARE puts women and girls at the center of everything we do because they have proven to be the best hope for creating lasting change in the world.  Our staff live where they work, which makes us effective at understanding the challenges they face. We’ve been doing this for over 70 years, since World War II. It started with the world’s first CARE Package® of food for the post-war hungry in Europe.  Our work today is as important as ever, we believe that poverty and inequality are historic injustices that we can end within a generation, for good. If you share our core beliefs: poverty is an injustice; poverty is solvable; and together, we have the power to end it, join us.

I JOB SUMMARY.

The purpose of the Specialist- Gender and Livelihoods position is to oversee the planning, implementation, monitoring, and documenting the Uplift Her project gender and livelihood intervention at the field office level. S/he will be responsible in building the local partner (Friendship Support Association) capacity in understanding and applying both gender equity and women’s empowerment approaches, tools, and best practices aligning with the national food and nutrition policies. S/he will also provide technical leadership to coordinate and facilitate the livelihood and financial services related to VSLAs, FFBS, MFIs, and other private business and financial service providers exist in the implementation area. S/he will use a hands-on approach that will require outstanding skills in planning and facilitation of training workshops, coaching, and mentoring, and an ability to influence and facilitate change through high-level interpersonal and communication skills. The position holder will also be responsible for providing relevant technical assistance to pertinent offices working in the program intervention area. The Specialist-Gender and livelihoods will report directly to the Project Manager and will work closely with other technical specialists and project staff to ensure program quality and impact in line with the UPLIFT HER program objectives.

II RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

Job Responsibility #1: Gender and Livelihood Component Planning, implementation, and Monitoring (40% of Time)

• Jointly prepares the project’s annual implementation plan and monitoring system for the gender and Livelihoods intervention of UPLIFT HER project.
• Lead the gender and livelihood program implementation at field office proceeds according to approved plans.
• Technical support to regular assessment and analysis of gender and social norms and relations UPLIFT HER operational areas to feed into project learning and strategy revisions.
• Contribute to the gender auditing to develop the gender integration guideline for key government partners.
• Technical leadership to the implementation of the gender integration guidelines closely working with the government partners and project stakeholders.
• Ensure the quality implementation of CARE approach in gender and livelihood; social analysis, and action (SAA), village saving and loan association (VSLA) and FFBS.
• Provide technical inputs for the project to undertakes/facilitates project baseline studies, annual reviews, and final evaluations.
• Monitors progress and provides ongoing feedback to UPLIFT HER team and partners’ proposing adjustments in annual implementation plans according to emerging needs and priorities.
• Facilitates linkage of target households with private sector to engage them in the appropriate livelihood pathways to ensure health diet and resilience.

Job Responsibility #2:  Capacity Building and technical assistance (30 % of Time )

• Organizes and coordinates needs assessment for the capacity building in relation to gender and livelihood project implementation strategies, methodologies, and activities;
• With the partners, develops a capacity building plan and contributes to the development of training material.
• Organize trainings, workshops, on-site mentoring, and coaching activities to ensure internalization and quality implementation of UPLIFT HER gender strategy, guidelines, and methodologies in program activities.
• Closely work with the relevant government structures to facilitate gender and nutrition-related activities and monitoring in the operational areas.
• Build the capacity of government partners, community, and project team in the gender strategy, guidelines, and methodologies identified to integrate and address gender issues as part of UPLIFT HER activities and national food and nutrition policies.
• Capacitate the government partners and project team for implementation of VSLAs, FFBS, agricultural marketing and value chain application initiated by UPLIFT HER program.
• Lead the scheduling and delivery to training to Farmer’s groups and Associations to build local level capacity in improved nutrition sensitive agricultural production and marketing practices for development.

Job Responsibility #3:  Learning, Policy implementation and Networking (25% of Time)

• Provide technical support to the government partners for implementation of food and nutrition policies, strategies, and guidelines.
• Keeps up to date with developments in gender and livelihood initiatives, including best practice in- regionally, zonally and woreda, and ensures ongoing personal development and learning.
• Aligning the implementation UPLIFT HER project interventions to national food and nutrition policies and strategies.
• Stakeholder meetings with government partners to strategize on institutionalization of gender integration guidelines, FFBS and VSLA.
• Supports the effort to measure impact and document lessons learned and best practices (gender, livelihood, agriculture, and nutrition focus)
• CARE operates VSLA on best practices in the operation and other financial services.
• Ensure the regional and zonal level communication of micro finance and Agricultural Marketing concepts and procedures within the organization, with partners and other stakeholders.
• Prepares required reports on time, and of high quality that convey the gender and livelihood program component’s progress towards achieving best practices and impact in the targeted communities.
• Organizes and participates in cross-visits to leverage lessons and best practices on gender equity and women’s empowerment activities.

Job Responsibility #4:  Perform other duties as assigned (5% of Time).

• Perform other duties, as assigned.
• The duties and responsibilities described above are subject to change, depending on CARE Ethiopian funding or programming.

III PROBLEM SOLVING (Thinking Environment)

• All the three levels of problem solving apply to the incumbent. But category numbers two and three are most applicable to this position because, the incumbent must use interpolative skills to pick and choose the right strategy to address a given problem and also has to deal with variable situations, which need analysis, problem definition and development of alternative solutions.

IV GENDER EQUALITY

• Understanding and demonstrated commitment to the importance of gender, youth and social inclusion issues.
• Demonstrated commitment to principles of Gender Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and PSEAH (safeguarding), as evidenced in previous positions / programming

IIV QUALIFICATIONS (KNOW HOW)

A EDUCATION

Required:

• BA degree in Gender, social sciences, livelihood, business, economics, nutrition, food security, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

Desired:

• MBA or MSC on the above discipline or related field related.

B EXPERIENCE

Required:

• 4 years of relevant experience with the first degree or 3 years of relevant experience plus post graduate degree of progressive responsibility relating to gender, livelihood, economic development;
• Experience with undertaking capacity building initiatives and partnership management.
• Experience with undertaking operational research related activities.

Desired:

• NGO experience
• Food and nutrition Policy advocacy

C TECHNICAL SKILLS 

Required:

• Livelihoods promotion program design and management;
• Computer skills (Word, excel);
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English Language;
• Effective interpersonal skills.  Maturity, initiative, tact and a high sense of responsibility.  Ability to work harmoniously with people of different educational and cultural backgrounds;
• Ability to analyze technical issues, to write clear and concise reports and make effective oral presentations;
• Strong organizational skills and ability to coach staff and partners in an empowering manner that encourages innovation and accountability;
• Solid knowledge of livelihood impact indicators;
• Firm belief in teamwork, gender equity, sensitivity to issues arising due to HIV/AIDS, participatory approach and sustainable development.

Desired:

• Proven training and facilitation skills;
• Computer skills in database management.

D COMPETENCIES

• Respect, accountability, courage, excellence, analytical ability, building partnership, facilitating change, managing performance for success, adaptability, building commitment, coaching, developing teams, communicating with impact, innovation, planning and organizing, pro-active problem solving.

V CONTACTS/KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• The job holder is expected to collaborate with Gender and Livelihood advisor,  Adolescent Sexual and reproductive Health specialists, Monitoring, and evaluation officers and subgrantee team (FSA team) and UPLIFT HER project management at field and head office.

VI. WORKING CONDITIONS AND LEVEL OF TRAVEL REQUIRED. 

• This position is based at Semera with frequently travel to the intervention woredas (Dulessa, Argoba, and Awash Fentale) of the project. The position requires 25 – 30% of travel to intervention Woredas and kebeles under her/his supervision.