Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion Officer( Maternity Cover) - Samburu at Mercy Corps

General Position Summary

The Gender & Social Change officer (Maternity cover) will be responsible for supporting USAID Nawiri community engagement process, effective and efficient design and roll out of male engagement strategy, Building Resilience through Integrated Gender Empowerment (BRIGE) household dialogue approach and Girls Improving Resilience through Livelihood and Health (GIRL-H), support gender equality and social inclusion mainstreaming in roll out of USAID Nawiri Phase II to address malnutrition, food security and resilience.

Essential Job Responsibilities

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Support the Gender, Youth and Social dynamics lead in contextually translating the vision for NAWIRI’s approach when it comes to the integration of gender, youth and social dynamics.
• Support the implementation and mainstreaming of NAWIRI’s Gender Strategy with a view to strengthen gender responsiveness and gender transformational approaches in all programmatic interventions, with a nutrition lens.
• Ensure high quality and timeliness on deliverables against intended objectives and targets.
• Ensure broad-based county co-creation mechanism towards design of interventions in close collaboration with key sectors such as nutrition, health, water systems, and governance – throughout the program’s cycle.
• Contribute to and support the development of detailed implementation plans of Gender and social change interventions in Samburu County. .
• Support development of learning agendas for gender and youth.
• Support the adoption of mechanisms and approaches that enhance agency and leadership of adolescents and youth with a view to challenge intergenerational cycles of poverty and persistent acute malnutrition. 
• Provide oversight to the Gender/social inclusion program components at the Sub county level, including undertaking field visits to oversee implementation and generate field visit reports.
• Support in the monitoring of project activities to ensure they are inclusive and support reflection and adaptation to improve inclusion as required.
• Work with the MEL team to ensure effective gender differentiated data is both captured and documented.
• Other duties, as required.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Create and maintain a work environment where mutual respect among team members prevails and where the pursuit of individual and collective excellence is valued.
• Promote individual accountability and commitment by clearly and regularly communicating and providing constructive feedback.
• Support field level collaborative efforts and Learning to drive overall effectiveness and coherence of program operational strategies.
• Work collaboratively with all consortium partner staff in delivering a cohesive, integrated, gender and youth responsive program.
• Effectively communicate the program’s best practices and learning to the County and development stakeholders

SECURITY

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO PARTICIPANTS

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Minimum Qualifications and Transferable Skills

• Degree in Social Sciences, Gender and development studies or other relevant discipline.
• At least a minimum of three years of experience in designing, implementing gender integration interventions, including a focus on youth and adolescents
• Training in gender and youth responsive interventions.
• Demonstrated in-depth understanding and application of technical principles and concepts in gender integration that ensure proper cross-sectoral/integrated approach.
• Familiarity with principles and approaches in gender transformative approaches and understanding of programs addressing persistent acute malnutrition
• Demonstrated coordination, teamwork and planning skills with proven ability to function effectively programs/projects in both the public and NGO sectors.

Success Factors

The ideal candidate will have a strong curiosity for understanding and working effectively within the complex cultural, political, security and social environment of the County. S/He will be an excellent communicator and be able to work in ambiguous situations. S/He must be able to demonstrate a commitment to promoting a culture of critical inquiry and learning while exercising tolerance and flexibility. The successful candidate will ensure the gender and social dimensions of food security and resilience are effectively addressed across all activities and components in the county through teamwork and collaboration.