Gender, Youth, and Social Dynamics Lead at Catholic Relief

CRS will be submitting a proposal in response to the 2019 USAID Food for Peace (FFP) Development Food Security Activities (DFSA) Request for Applications (RFA). CRS Kenya will serve as the prime on the application and will develop the proposal in consortium with other international non-governmental organizations, local implementing partners and international/national research institutions. The overarching goal of this multi-sectoral activity is to sustainably reduce levels of acute malnutrition in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), focusing on Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu and Turkana counties. The estimated timeframe for this program is October 1, 2019 — September 30, 2024. The activity will be implemented in two phases:

• Phase I (1.5-2 years) Research, test approaches and collaboratively design a context-sensitive, multi-sectoral activity that sustainably reduces acute malnutrition.
• Phase II (3- 3.5 years): Activity Implementation and System and Institutional Strengthening.

Job Summary

The Gender, Youth, and Social Dynamics (GYSD) Lead will ensure the social dimensions of malnutrition, food security, and community resilience are effectively addressed across all activity components, at all levels, throughout the entire award period. S/he will work across CRS and consortium staff to build the capacity of all project staff in gender and youth sensitive programming. S/he will contribute to the Country Program’s (CP) efforts toward quality design and implementation of gender and youth initiatives to promote right relationships among targeted families and communities. The GYSD Lead will coordinate assessments required for learning and adaptive management to address the changing and unique needs of men, women, boys and girls. S/he will also lead capacity building efforts of county governments to ensure contextually appropriate social dynamics are incorporated into county policy and practice.

Primary Responsibilities

Coordination

• Lead the DFSA strategic engagement of men, women, boys and girls to promote female empowerment and access to economic opportunities.
• Lead the execution of the DFSA Gender Analysis Plan.
• Liaise with key external stakeholders to provide guidance on gender and youth perspectives in all aspects of the CRS DFSA award.
• Lead preparation of reports, issues-papers and case studies on gender and youth perspectives to promote gender and youth integration.
• Ensure that CRS and partners are in compliance with gender and youth related USAID/FFP requirements.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL)

• Oversee the setting of indicators for assessing progress with gender and youth integration, adapted to specific contexts of Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana.
• Ensure DFSA captures required level of gender and youth disaggregated data and gender specific success stories.
• Support programming staff in incorporating gender and youth issues in project MEAL systems (performance questions, indicators, sampling methods, procedures, etc.); assist in gender sensitive participatory planning and support implementation.
• Arrange the dissemination of information from MEAL data on the degree to which gender and youth-related objectives are being achieved and the gender-differentiated impact of the project.

Partnership

• Provide leadership and technical support to local partners in developing effective gender and youth-focused project strategies.
• Assist partner staff to communicate information from the field to the appropriate decision-making forum on the gender integration in activities undertaken in all components, processes and impacts.
• Provide support, coaching, mentoring and technical guidance to partner gender officers.

Capacity Building and Supervision

• Develop and lead the integration of social dynamics into all capacity-building efforts in support of Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu and Turkana county governments.
• Identify relevant training and learning opportunities for CRS and partner staff to advance knowledge and skills in gender and youth; manage a gender and youth DFSA learning agenda in alignment with CRS Learning policies and procedures.
• Ensure inclusion of gender and youth learning agenda as part of CRS Kenya’s annual learning and development plans.
• Supervise and mentor project specific Gender and Youth Officers through a matrix management model, through shared project and partner visits, coaching sessions, and coordination with the Gender and Youth Officers’ direct line supervisors.
• Develop capacity building plans and strategies.
• Roll out agency-wide gender policies.

Representation

• Attend important and relevant events on gender and youth and the substantive areas covered by CRS to disseminate information on progress made in gender mainstreaming as necessary.
• Represent CRS at workshops and events on gender and/or youth integration.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Supervision and Coaching/mentoring Responsibilities

The DFSA Gender Technical Advisor directly supervises project-based gender staff and participates in the hiring and supervision either directly or indirectly of future gender staff. Additionally, s/he will provide support in mentoring all gender-focused staff across the consortium.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.