Program Officer & Gender Focal Point at World University Service of Canada

Contract term: 1 year contract renewable, starting as soon as possible

Application deadline: 8th September 2018

WUSC and its partner organization, Windle International Kenya (WIK), are implementing the Strengthening inclusive learning environments (Shule) Project, with funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM). The goal of the Shule Project is to strengthen the quality of education provision for refugee girls in Northern Kenya to improve transition outcomes, particularly for girls with special needs and over-aged learners. In order to achieve this objective, the project will:

• Increase access to extracurricular academic support programs for vulnerable refugee girls in upper primary, particularly girls with special needs and over-aged learners
• Enhance ability of teachers to deliver high-quality education using gender-responsive pedagogy and inclusive teaching methods
• Improve the accessibility of digital teaching and learning materials for secondary school students and teachers

The project will be implemented from October 2018 to September 2019, with the possibility for renewal in Kakuma and Dadaab Refugee Camps and the surrounding host communities.

KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Program Officer & Gender Focal Point (PO) will play an important dual role to support the implementation of the Shule Project from an overall project management perspective, as well as to support the mainstreaming and integration of gender equality and equity outcomes across the project. The PO will be a core member of the Shule Project team, working closely with the WUSC Kenya Country Director, the WUSC Education Program Manager, the WUSC M&E team, the WUSC Ottawa Gender Equality and Empowerment Advisor, the WIK Head of Programs and WIK colleagues in the field. The PO will not only be the WUSC program management lead on this initiative, but will also work as a technical resource for integrating gender equality into the project. The PO will develop tools, resources and conduct training and coaching to the project staff, and partners to enable them to contribute to the project’s gender equality and empowerment goals. Below are some of the key responsibilities of the PO:

Project Management

• Provide support to project teams on the technical direction and implementation of projects including preparation of inception plans and annual workplans;
• Designing and implementing workplans as per set project proposal outcomes and outputs with constant tracking on budgets
• Participate in the effective management of relationship with consortium partners, including MOUs, convening the consortium management committee and day-to-day operations;
• Act as a coordinator with various functional units within WUSC’s team (e.g. communications, IT, human resources, etc.) for the effective implementation of the project;
• In conjunction with the M&E team, provide technical guidance for M&E to the partners and other stakeholders;
• Support the preparation and timely submission of program technical reports, which capture results and lessons learned;
• Contribute to the management of project document library, ensuring that accurate and complete program systems, records and files are maintained;
• Participate in budget control and manage project procurement and expenses in accordance with contractual obligations and in consultation with the Finance Team;
• Work with the WUSC Kenya Financial Team to monitor budgets and provide financial analysis; and
• Participate in resolving any contractual and/or budget issues with the donor, including providing any updates, requests for approval and supporting the documentation of such requirements.

Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI)

• Provide cross-cutting support to the WUSC Kenya team on GESI issues, including:
• Creating GESI resources and tools that to assist all WUSC Kenya and WIK staff in effectively prioritizing and integrating GESI in their work;
• Providing technical advice to the WUSC Kenya team to ensure effective integration of GESI issues across all projects.
• Ensure WUSC’s Gender Equality, Age, and Diversity Policy is applied and support gender mainstreaming in projects, including development of project-specific gender strategies and providing coaching to staff in gender equality;
• Build knowledge and evidence within the project team on best practices related to educational access for children with disabilities and be an advocate within the project team for meaningful inclusion of girls with disabilities;
• Build partnerships with relevant organizations to support the effective integration of girls with disabilities into the Shule Project;
• Assist project staff and partners in integrating GESI into project planning and management approaches (including results based management tools) and propose strategies to increase project impact on GESI;
• Facilitate the use of GESI data to promote evidence-based learning, reflection and decision making within the project;
• Contribute to the development of the annual work plans and annual reports, and
• Liaise regularly with the Ottawa-based WUSC Gender Equality Advisor to share best practices, tools, and organizational approaches to GE;
• Participate in GE-related working groups and maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other relevant international NGOs.
• Seek opportunities to increase the awareness, commitment and involvement of the Project stakeholders in GESI.
• Supporting the linkage with disability organisations and advocating for girls education

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education and Experience:

• Masters Degree or equivalent in gender, social sciences, international development or a related field required; coursework on gender and disabilities themes is an asset;
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in donor-funded project management with a strong gender focus is required.
• Experience with a range of institutional donors such as DFID, U.S. State Department, and USAID is preferred.
• Experience in the education sector, and specifically on girls’ education or refugee education projects, is preferred
• Experience working on or supporting gender equality and empowerment, projects is preferred

Competencies:

• Knowledge of gender equality, working with children with disabilities, child protection and safeguarding, and best practices in girls’ education projects;
• Strong analytical and research skills;
• Proven ability to work productively with a variety of stakeholders to run participatory processes with an emphasis on producing quality products;
• Effective interpersonal skills, including the ability to build relationships, network, communicate and represent at a senior level are essential;
• Flexibility, with a strong work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit to accommodate high levels of responsibility and multiple priorities;
• Commitment to capacity building and the ability to engage local stakeholders in policy design and implementation;
• Passion and commitment to gender equality and youth empowerment;
• Complete fluency (oral and written) in English is essential, and Swahili preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in gender analysis and program design tools