Gender Lens Network Lead at Plan International

Plan International Kenya’s Strategy

Plan International Kenya’s strategic goal in the next five years is to end both teenage pregnancies and sexual and gender-based violence. We aim to help create an enabling environment where girls, adolescent girls, and young women are safe, valued, equally cared for, and have equal opportunities. PIK will contribute to the global strategy by aiming to reach directly approximately 3 million girls and young women over the period of the strategy 2021-2025 and to reach additional beneficiaries through its interventions. Plan Kenya’s redefined strategy represents a strategic shift in focus.

The Impact Lab

Plan International’s ambitions – both at a global level and in Kenya - require that we work in new ways and unleash our full creative potential. To this end, Plan International has established the Impact Lab, a global team working to develop and grow the organisation’s social finance approach through the pursuit of innovative financing and impact investing opportunities, as well as supporting gender transformative enterprises in line with the principles of gender lens investing. One of the Impact Lab’s three workstreams is Gender Lens Ventures which will focuses on defining, designing and implementing Plan International’s value proposition for gender lens investing. The Impact Lab has selected Kenya as its pilot country where the team will establish how Plan International can work with gender transformative social enterprises to deliver greater impact for women and girls.

Plan International is seeking a dynamic and skilled individual to join the Impact Lab’s growing team to lead the design and implementation of its Gender Lens Ventures pilot in Kenya, developing Plan International’s network in the gender lens investing ecosystem in Kenya.

Management Scope, Reporting Lines, key relationships

The Gender Lens Network Lead will be part of the Impact Lab, a global team leading Plan International’s work in social finance and gender lens investing. This role will work as part of a team of three based in Kenya who will collectively be developing the Impact Lab’s Gender Lens Ventures approach. This role will report to the Impact Lead and collaborate closely with Plan Kenya, the wider Impact Lab team and Plan International’s Global Hub. This role has no direct reports but will independently own and deliver projects in the Gender Lens Ventures workstream.

The Gender Lens Network Lead will work extensively with external stakeholders to build Plan International’s network within in the gender lens investing ecosystem in Kenya and East Africa. This role will be critical in sourcing and managing partnerships and projects with external stakeholders to ensure the successful delivery of Plan International’s Gender Lens Ventures work in Kenya.

ACCOUNTABILITIES AND MAIN WORK ACTIVITIES

The Gender Lens Network Lead will be critical in working with internal and external partners in the design and implementation of Plan International’s Gender Lens Ventures pilot in Kenya. As this role will be an integral team member leading a new project, the key activities are likely to change as learnings at each phase inform the direction of the project. The Gender Lens Network Lead must be an individual who thrives in ambiguity and is able to pivot and iterate based on new findings.

Examples of key activities:

Discover Phase

• Develop long-term relationships with external stakeholders including social enterprises, gender lens investors, intermediaries, advisors, thought leaders, and sector and functional experts to provide support across the project
• Network extensively across the gender lens investing ecosystem in Kenya, identifying key players and potential partners for future work
• Support in identifying and assessing key research partners to collaborate with on the market research
• Support in drawing key insights from the market research to inform the Define phase

Define Phase

• Support in ideating potential value propositions for Plan International’s role in the gender lens investing market in Kenya using insights drawn from the Discover phase
• Work with key internal teams and stakeholders – including the Innovation team, Plan Kenya, the Social Finance Taskforce and the Social Finance Community of Practice – to test the hypotheses

Develop Phase

• Support in designing solutions for Plan International to tackle key challenges in the gender lens investing market in Kenya
• Identify and select external partners for project delivery
• Work with Plan Kenya’s business development team and National Organisations to mobilise resources and fundraising for the projects, identifying key sources of funding for these projects
• Support in the design and implementation of the solutions, working with closely partners

Deliver Phase

• Support in defining Plan International’s value proposition based on learnings from the Develop phase
• Identify global partners to support in scaling the selected solutions nationally and internationally
• Working with the Gender Lens Enterprise Lead, continue to lead the ongoing implementation of the selected solution in Kenya

Indicative breakdown of responsibilities:

• Programme and project design (40%) 
• Planning and strategy development (20%) 
• Capability building and people management (15%) 
• Working in partnership and resource mobilisation (10%) 
• Quality improvement and standards (5%)
• Risk management (5%)

Across all phases: Safeguarding Children and Young People (Safeguarding) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI)

• Understands and puts into practice the responsibilities under Safeguarding and GEI policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), ensuring that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.
• Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in project design, during implementation and as principles applied in day-to-day work of Programme team;
• Ensures that Plan Kenya contributes to Plan International’s global efforts to ensure safeguarding and GEI, including making sure that relevant reporting and data are submitted.  

Technical expertise, skills and Behaviours

Qualifications and experience

• Educated to at least Degree level in social entrepreneurship, business management or similar
• 5+ years of experience working in social entrepreneurship, venture capital, impact investing, management consulting or similar in Kenya
• Deep understanding of and experience working in the gender lens investing ecosystem in Kenya
• Experience or interest in social finance and impact investing in the international development context
• Experience of working in an international team and proven ability to deliver in a complex environment with multiple, divergent stakeholder interests 

Skills

• Exceptional relationship building skills – networking, influencing and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to identify, analyse and monitor diverse, relevant external actors to work with and understand the purpose and implications of working with them
• Experience in developing strong, equal and robust partnership contracts with diverse organisations from across the public and private sectors
• Experience leading high-level stakeholder engagement and strategic partnerships
• Strong project management skills, with the demonstrated ability to lead the delivery of complex projects that create significant social impact
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Excellent organisational abilities, able to prioritise tasks and deliver to tight deadlines
• Understanding of human-centred design and experience adapting it and applying it for social impact

     Behaviours

• Entrepreneurial personality and capacity to achieve significant results with limited resources
• Pro-active team player with a flexible and dynamic approach
• Self-starter and ability to work independently in a fast-paced, often ambiguous environment
• Ability to build collaborative working relationships with internal and external partners
• Highly creative individual with the ability to find innovative solutions to problems
• Logical and structured in approach
• Holds a high-quality standard and helps others meet standards
• Highly collaborative and excels working in diverse teams
• Highly motivated, focused, creative, flexible, organized, and able to balance multiple priorities
• Passion for equality, including gender equality, inclusion and girls’ and women’s economic empowerment
• Passion for social entrepreneurship and international development
• Ability to create climates of trust inside and outside the organisation by being open, honest and transparent, holding his/herself and others to account for decisions and impact on others

Languages required

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English