Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) Specialist at Rhizome Consulting

Summary

• The GESI Specialist will provide technical leadership to integrate gender equality and social inclusion across all programmes and projects. The role will ensure that interventions address systemic barriers, promote inclusive participation, and deliver transformative outcomes for women, girls, persons with disabilities, youth, and other marginalised groups.
• The Specialist will contribute to programme design, policy advocacy, capacity strengthening, and knowledge generation. They will also support donor engagement and proposal development to ensure programmes are gender-responsive and socially inclusive.

Job Responsibilities
Programme & Project Development

• Provide technical guidance and resources for mainstreaming gender and inclusion in programme design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Conduct gender and social analyses to identify gaps and barriers and propose strategies to address them.
• Develop and adapt frameworks, tools, and indicators for GESI integration across projects.
• Support proposal development by ensuring inclusion is embedded in project design, log frames, and donor reporting.

Capacity Strengthening

• Design and deliver training, workshops, and mentoring to strengthen staff and partner capacity on gender and inclusion.
• Develop and disseminate technical guides, briefs, and practical resources for programme teams.
• Provide ongoing technical backstopping to ensure field teams apply GESI principles in day-to-day activities.

Policy, Advocacy & Sector Engagement

• Engage with policymakers, government agencies, civil society, and donors to advocate for gender-transformative and inclusive programming.
• Represent the organisation in national and sectoral forums, working groups, and networks on GESI.
• Support cross-sectoral linkages between gender equality, inclusion, WASH, climate resilience, health, and governance.

Learning, Evidence & Knowledge Sharing

• Lead documentation of best practices, innovations, and case studies related to GESI.
• Develop gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess programme impact.
• Contribute to organisational learning by generating evidence, lessons learned, and knowledge products on gender equality and inclusion.

Planning & Budgeting

• Ensure financial and human resources are effectively allocated for GESI components in programme budgets.
• Track budgets and expenditures on gender and inclusion activities, ensuring donor compliance.
• Contribute to fundraising by aligning donor priorities with GESI strategies and approaches.

Safeguarding & Accountability

• Promote safeguarding standards and inclusive practices in all activities.
• Ensure that interventions uphold organisational values of respect, accountability, courage, collaboration, integrity, and innovation.
• Uphold a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, harassment, and exploitation.

Educational Requirements

• Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Sociology, Development Studies, Social Policy, or a related field.

Essential
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of 7 years’ experience in gender equality, social inclusion, or related fields in Nigeria or West Africa.
• Demonstrated expertise in embedding gender and inclusion within programmes, policies, and systems.
• Strong understanding of intersectional issues such as disability, youth, and marginalised populations.
• Proven track record in donor-funded programming (USAID, FCDO, EU, or equivalent).
• Strong technical writing and communication skills, including experience developing reports, proposals, and policy briefs.
• Skilled facilitator with experience in training, mentoring, and organisational capacity development.
• Effective stakeholder engagement and advocacy skills with government, CSOs, and donors.
• Experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning of GESI interventions.

Desirable

• Experience linking gender equality and inclusion to WASH, health, climate resilience, or governance.
• Understanding of gender-sensitive budgeting and resource planning.
• Demonstrated ability to influence policy and contribute to sector reforms.
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative gender research.