Gender Specialist - 2SCALE Kenya at International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC)

Background

The 2SCALE program[1] is designed to incubate and accelerate inclusive business development in African agri-food systems. 2SCALE works together with companies (African, Dutch, and other small and medium-sized enterprises - SMEs) and Producer Organizations (POs) to develop business and partnership models that promote inclusiveness, develop competitive edge, and have potential for scaling. These partnerships, also referred to as public-private partnerships (PPPs), are the core implementation modality to achieve the objectives of the program.

Specifically, 2SCALE supports partnerships in target agri-food industries with significant potential to:

• Improve food and nutrition security, both at grassroots level and at the consumer end of the value chain by serving local and regional markets (including Base-of-the-Pyramid - BoP - markets) with nutritious food products.
• Improve the terms of inclusion of smallholder farmers and other micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the value chains.
• Attract and employ the youth.
• Engage and empower women.

To strengthen PPPs, 2SCALE also collaborates with companies and organizations that provide specific expertise to support the target agri-food value chains or act as a major off-taker in the chain.

2SCALE is co-funded by the private sector and by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS). Building on a first phase (2012-18), the current phase of 2SCALE runs from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2023. It is awarded to a consortium led by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and comprising the Base-of-the-Pyramid Innovation Center (BoPInc) and the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV).

Gender Equity (GE) & Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) Strategy 2SCALE:

2SCALE’s general objective on GE & WEE is to support agribusiness models where women (as small holder farmers , processors, traders and other Entrepreneurs, and employees); enjoy full access to capacity building, support services, equipment, inputs and assets delivered by Business Support Services (BSSs), other service providers and suppliers (e.g. financial institutions, extension units, spray service providers and agro-input dealers, etc.); benefit from this support in the form of increased yields, incomes, jobs, time available, and are able to make/influence decisions at household, agribusiness cluster and value chain levels.

The program has set ambitious targets in terms of improving the terms of inclusion of female actors in focus value chain. Overall, 2SCALE program targets (in relation to gender)

• 750,000 small holder farmer groups (50% of them women)
• 250 SMEs (125 - female-led SMEs)
• 20,000 new non-farming jobs (10,000 Jobs for females)
• 5,000 MSMEs (2,500 female led MSMEs)
• 125,000 female smallholder farmers, 1,000 female-led MSMEs, and 62 female-led SMEs have access to additional financial services.

Moreover, it is necessary to look beyond the above numbers and understand how the role of women and their position in society has changed (or not) e.g.,

• How did women gain self-confidence as farmers and entrepreneurs? How did inspiring role models emerge?
• How were women able to voice their concerns as farmers and advocate for better inclusion in value chains?
• How did women use time freed-up by labor/time-saving technologies?
• What gender-sensitive services did producer organizations, SMEs and BSSs develop and deliver

Specifically, The Gender Specialist(s) Will Support 2SCALE To Ensure The Following Objectives Are Met To Help Achieve The Above Targets

In support of these efforts 2SCALE proposes to recruit a Gender Specialist(s).

• Inclusion of women in private businesses and organizations (MSMEs, POs)
• Foster women’s access to productive resources (land, capital, inputs, time and labor-saving technologies, equipment, infrastructure)
• Strengthen gender-responsive services from private and public service providers (training, extension, coaching, finance, information)
• Improve women’s capacities to network and establish relations (with peers, in professional organizations, at agri-business cluster level, and in value chains)
• Strengthen women’s ability to influence decisions, negotiate and control a fair share of the benefits accruing from their activity within their household and along the value chain.

Position Summary

The Gender Specialist(s), in close collaboration with the gender team, is responsible for steering the GE & WEE agenda in the assigned countries. He/She is expected to provide required technical support to 2SCALE country teams by ensuring women’s (as small holder farmers, processors, traders and other Entrepreneurs, and employees) terms of inclusion are improved. She/he will stimulate country teams with innovative approaches and strategies to balance private sector business interest with GE & WEE goal. She/he is responsible for providing all demanded and needed support to the assigned country teams to reach the targets, planned results and impact.

Main tasks

Working in close cooperation with the 2SCALE Partnership Facilitators and the Business Champions (SME or PO) the Gender Specialist(s) will ensure GEE &WEE in the following 2SCALE thematic areas: BoP marketing, youth inclusion, financial inclusion, agribusiness cluster formation, business support services, coaching, loyalty and trust building and increased productivity. She/he will work closely with 2SCALE technical specialists in above mentioned thematic areas to facilitate the integration of the thematic-related strategies in the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).

In addition, the Gender specialist(s) will accomplish the following specific tasks:

• Ensure women inclusion in PPPs and participation in Agribusiness Clusters:
• Help build relevant technical skills for women to increase their production and income.
• Prepare training materials and work as trainer in areas related to agribusiness in all regular training topics of the champion.
• Support Partnership Facilitators and Agribusiness Cluster Coaches to deliver gender training and report on training activities.
• Support and facilitate women entrepreneurship and leadership development in 2SCALE partnerships.
• Support linkages with financial institutions and other actors targeting women in relevant value chains. Based on country context, support/promote savings and lending associations as a starting point to financial access and inclusion.
• Support private sector development and engagement with women entrepreneurs to promote and distribute products in BoP markets.
• Support women participation in governance meetings.
• Support the country portfolio and Partnership Facilitators (PFs) orientation on Gender & WEE.
• Advise country-based Partnership Facilitators on key issues and improvements on interventions and their implications on 2SCALE GEE & WEE agenda based on market dynamics and emerging trends.
• Support Partnership Facilitators on their relations with different actors in the respective countries and other thematic areas.
• Support 2SCALE teams to facilitate market relevant and female-friendly trainings on social and business development and technical skills; consistently identify further capacity gaps by the Business Champion and women that may hinder formation of concrete linkage, trusting and sustainable working relationship between women entrepreneurs and Business Champions.
• Ensure GE &WEE country specific activity plans are aligned with other 2SCALE thematic areas.
• Provide required support to Business Champion & stakeholder PPP:
• Promote good and strategic relationships between Business Champions, women agribusiness actors and 2SCALE in country consortium partners.
• Support 2SCALE teams in women identification and mobilization to join the program in coordination with the Business Champions and leverage on other ongoing in country GE &WEE programs and activities for scale and sustainability.
• Collaborate with the Communication Specialists to develop outreach materials frequently. Also, ensure the visibility of the GE &WEE Thematic Area and its development (achievements, challenges, lessons learned) and positioning of women as reliable partners in public private sector partnerships and the positive spinoffs of Business Champions providing opportunities for women.
• Provide technical support to Business Service Suppliers and Agribusiness Cluster Coaches for women Inclusion:
• GE &WEE thematic knowledge development, reporting and communication:
• Provide required technical support for capacity building of Agribusiness Cluster (ABC) coaches and other trainers to enable them to reach increased number of women.
• Support ABC capacity strengthening programs for women inclusion.
• Participate pro-actively in the industry team, respond to and seek advice from the 2SCALE management to improve women inclusion theme knowledge, forward-looking strategizing within the industry, and priority-setting within existing and new PPPs.
• Document lessons learned, good practices on women and Business Champion engagement/linkages; document case studies on concrete GE &WEE examples in 2SCALE Partnerships (PPPs) where women are excelling.; formulate GE and WEE annual learning agenda and make recommendations for improvements as the program evolves.
• Develop and disseminate relevant documentation on effective contributions to GE &WEE to local stakeholders including national governments that influence positive spinoffs to an enabling environment for female-led enterprises, in line with 2SCALE broader knowledge and learning agenda.
• Write and submit timely activity reports, as well as other GE & WEE Thematic technical reports, notes; ensure coordination of M&E of GE & WEE activities in the assigned countries and contribute inputs in partnership development.
• The Gender Specialist(s) may implement other tasks that the 2SCALE management deems necessary for the success of the program.

Supervision and team collaboration

The Gender Specialist(s) is supervised by and reports to the 2SCALE Deputy Program Director and works closely with 2SCALE Country Team Leader and in close collaboration with all 2SCALE colleagues in designated countries.

S/he will also collaborate closely with Partnership Facilitators and Thematic Specialists based in-country and in other 2SCALE focus countries.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree/Bachelor’s degree in Gender or Women Studies, Gender, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Business Studies, Economics Studies, Agricultural Sciences, Agribusiness, or Agricultural Economics.
• Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• At least 5 years work experience in entrepreneurship in agro processing and gender mainstreaming.
• Experience of leading, supporting, managing, inspiring and coaching staff with different disciplines and backgrounds.
• A good understanding of the cultural barriers affecting women efficacy and agency in developing countries.
• Strong interpersonal, leadership, planning and coordination skills.
• Project management cycle knowhow is an added advantage.
• Strong communication (written and oral), presentation and report writing skills.
• Fluency in English is mandatory, Fluency in French is an asse