Gender Specialist at Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)

Location: Niger State, Nigeria
Duration: 12 Months

Job Purpose

• The Gender Advisor will serve as the lead advisor in identifying gender-based constraints facing women in the targeted communities and steering program activities to directly address these issues. S/he will be expected to engage with all areas of program implementation to ensure gender mainstreaming practices are being utilized.

Role Overview

• Improving Market Access for the Poor project IMA4P aims to increase income and income security for the poor and marginalized through more equitable participation in soybean and maize value chains.
• Under the direction of the Project Coordinator, the Gender Specialist will be responsible for positioning farmer collectives to maximize the benefits sourcing inputs, farming, selling, negotiating and advocating as a group and ensure that the most marginalized are not left behind.

Responsibilites
The volunteer will have a range of tasks and activities:

• Identify gender-based constraints to women’s access to and control over information, inputs and resources in targeted areas, and in strategizing solutions to be implemented through program activities
• Advise partner NGO staff on ways to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality through program interventions, and advise on how to tailor each intervention to ensure that women are able to attend and participate fully
• Provide gender sensitization training to partner NGO staff and CBO leaders
• Support in the M&E collection and interpretation for gender specific indicators
• Serve as the program resource for gender based questions and engage with stakeholders on gender issues being addressed by the project.
• The Gender Advisor will be responsible for implementing gender assessments and reviewing gender data in monitoring reports.
• This position reports to the Project Coordinator and coordinates with the IMA4P Global Team and Secure Livelihoods Team at VSO

Key Performance Indicators
The Key performance indicators of this placement are that:

• Target beneficiaries are able to sustain their livelihoods and the livelihoods of their families. This includes managing their own businesses, supply their produce to the markets and are always able to meet the market demands by having adequate produce for identified markets.

Below includes other indicators:

• Number of laws, policies, or procedures drafted, proposed or adopted to promote gender equality at the local or regional level
• Proportion of female participants in the IMA4P Project trainings designed to increase access to productive economic resources (assets, credit, income or employment)
• Proportion of  female population reporting increased agreement with the concept that males and females should have equal access to economic opportunities

Skills, Qualifications and Experience
Essential:

• A university degree in Gender Studies, Development Studies or similar degree required
• 8 years’ work experience with gender development project
• Additional experience with value chains, food security, nutrition, climate change, access to rural finance, and agribusiness development preferred.
• High level of interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity to effectively interact with, local communities, partner staff, and policy makers
• The ideal appilcant has a good overview of farmer collectives,cooperative management, agronomy and agribusiness systems and challenges, people centered security and peace and conflict prevention issues and an active interest in the workings of civil society networks.
• Flexibility and willingness to travel to difficult environments to complete program assignments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills required
• Ability to work well in a team
• Fluency in English is required

Desirable:

• Ability to speak Hausa
• Previous work experience in West Africa would be an added advantage

Competencies:
Building and Sustaining working relationships:

• The social skills to build and actively maintain working relationships that foster teamwork and collaboration with others for the benefit of a common goal.

Open Minded and Respectful:

• A non-judgemental approach that values other people and culture.

Seeking and Sharing Knowledge:

• Recognition that learning is a two-way and continuous process.

Facilitating Positive Change:

• The ability to analyse problems and develop lasting solutions in line with VSO approaches.

Adaptability:

• A flexible approach and the ability to adapt behaviour to different situations.

Resilience:

• The self-confidence to work with a variety of situations, diverse people and ambiguity

Allowance

• All volunteers have an allowance paid in local currency.
• The allowance meets reasonable living expenses in country, but will not be enough to send money home.
• VSO works with some of the poorest communities in the world which means accommodation varies and will be basic.

Interview/Assessment date(s)
TBC

Start Date
1st September, 2017.