Gender Equity, Youth, and Social Inclusion (GEYSI) Specialist at DAI Kenya - Development Alternatives, Inc.

Objectives of the assignment

The main objective of the assignment is to promote inclusive activities that engage women, youth, people with disabilities, internally displaced people, and other disadvantaged populations thoughtfully and effectively. S/he will be responsible for coordinating across technical areas to incorporate best practices and strategies for inclusion of vulnerable groups. S/he will also lead outreach campaigns to sensitize the public, civil society, and targeted public and private sector actors with regards to inclusion and gender rights.

Specifically, the GEYSI Lead will lead the development and support implementation of the GEYSI Action Plan and ensure that gender and youth considerations are mainstreamed throughout all activities. S/he will work closely with the four technical leads during activity planning and implementation to support increased involvement and empowerment of women and youth, developing tailored tools, protocols, and interventions. S/he will also support the Director of Finance and Operations in integrating GEYSI into internal hiring practices.

Tasks & Responsibilities

1. Lead the development, and support the implementation, of the GEYSI Action Plan.
2. Support technical leads to carefully monitor progress toward GEYSI targets, adapting approaches if progress lags.
3. Collaborate with the monitoring, evaluation and learning team to ensure that performance in gender and inclusion mainstreaming is assessed through target indicators that measure participation of women and youth, and area-consistent disaggregation of data by gender and other inclusion factors.
4. Ensure that activity deliverables such as work plans, quarterly and annual performance reports include planning for and reporting on gender and inclusion initiatives.
5. Interface regularly with youth and women’s organizations and organizations that represent other vulnerable populations at the national and local levels, and maintain positive, productive relationships with the representatives and their constituents.
6. Provide training and technical assistance to activity staff and to partners on issues related to gender and inclusion.
7. Ensure strong coordination and collaboration with other USAID funded activities working with vulnerable populations.
8. Organize gender, youth, and vulnerable groups pause and reflect sessions.
9. Write gender results analysis for quarterly and annual reports.
10. Spearhead production of success stories related to women and vulnerable populations including writing and taking high quality photos at events that show women actively/productively engaged.
11. Ensure alignment with USAID/KEA’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy, USAID’s Do No Harm policy, USG National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, and the Government of Kenya’s priorities and commitments to shift harmful gender norms, address teenage pregnancies and prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
12. Engage technical teams to ensure that gender is mainstreamed into all activities and that inclusive practices to engage all citizens in STAWI target counties are in place. Examples of support to technical teams may entail:
13. Support technical leads as they work with different employers, such as WASCOs and rural water enterprises, to explore tailored interventions to increase the representation of women or youth as new professional water service employees
14. Advise technical leads as they support rural water service providers to proactively identify women- and youth-led businesses, cooperatives, and associations for capacity development support, work with county governments to ensure that contracting arrangements address barriers to women and youth-led enterprises, and partner with universities and training institutes to link youth to new employment opportunities.
15. Support technical leads to work with WASCOs to conduct gender inclusion training for staff, develop inclusive recruitment strategies, and review and revise policies to create a more-inclusive working environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (social work, sociology, gender studies etc.)
• Minimum 5 years of experience in gender mainstreaming working with civil society and the public and private sectors.
• Experience implementing activities for the prevention and inclusion of women and vulnerable groups.
• Prior experience working on USAID-funded activities and knowledge of USAID policies, strategies and regulations preferred.
• Must have a clear understanding and prior success employing USAID/KEA’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy in a program setting.
• Ability to work as a member of a collaborative team to design inclusive activity implementation strategies in an array of technical fields.
• Excellent communication skills both verbally and writing
• Excellent interpersonal relationships with national and international staff, in a multicultural environment and with multidisciplinary teams
• Preference for individuals that have worked extensively in northern and southeastern Kenya, especially Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana, Wajir, Kitui, Makueni, and Taita Taveta.
• Preference for individuals that have worked on programs with a focus in water, sanitation, agriculture or sustainable livelihoods.