Gender Specialist, HAPPY
Location: Accra, Ghana
Reports to: Senior Gender & Youth Manager
Grade: 7
Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.
The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing…when incomes increase and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.
Job Summary:
TechnoServe seeks a Gender Specialist for the HAPPY Activity in Ghana, which will focus mainly on poultry, soybean, tomato, and rice value chains.
Reporting to the Senior Gender and Youth Manager, the Gender Specialist will support the delivery of gender integration activities in the HAPPY program. This will include technical support to program staff, staff capacity development, direct management of gender integration activities, support to monitoring, reporting, and knowledge management activities, participation in the Gender Champions Network, and overall support to advance TechnoServe’s Gender Equality Policy.
Program Overview:
Harnessing Agriculture Productivity and Prosperity for Youth (HAPPY) aims to drive shared prosperity in Ghana by creating, sustaining, or improving dignified jobs and increasing agricultural productivity across the poultry, rice, soy, and tomato value chains. HAPPY will bridge the productivity gaps in these four value chains by building resilient youth-led and women-led food systems. The program will harness the power of young women and men to enhance the sourcing and business models of off-takers, pursue innovative entrepreneurial ventures, support the adoption of improved practices and inputs, and influence the enabling environment by making their voices heard. The result will be a more prosperous and inclusive agricultural sector that propels growth across the country.
Primary Functions & Responsibilities:
- Provide technical oversight and technical assistance to a portfolio of activities across the HAPPY program
- Identify, develop, and support deployment of gender-responsive activities to meet the needs of clients
- Build local capacity for gender integration, and facilitate gender-related training for staff and partners
- Support the development and adoption of gender analysis tools including gender action plans which assist with the design and implementation of activities and continuously improve technical excellence
- Conduct assessments and facilitate meetings, as needed, with key stakeholders and clients to identify measures to improve inclusiveness, especially for women within the project scopes
- Provide strategic guidance and counsel to program leadership and staff on gender integration approaches, priorities and compatibility with program aims and resource constraints
- Support monitoring of gender integration in activities and inclusion in program reports
- Contribute to reporting on gender-related topics
- Support the development of key knowledge products (e.g., case studies, lessons-learned documents, etc.) that facilitate program development, program implementation, internal knowledge sharing and the influencing agenda
- Support staff recruitment and hiring processes
- Participate in regular meetings with the Global Gender Practice and the program leadership
- Participate in the Gender Champions Network
Basic Qualifications
- A Bachelor’s degree with 3 years of experience or a Master’s degree in development economics, sociology, anthropology, gender or another relevant discipline with at least 1 years’ experience eK3OQRR BIpnb
- Demonstrable experience implementing practical approaches to advance gender equality in agriculture programs; experience working with gender equality and youth programming in agriculture programs highly preferred, familiarity with [insert other topics as applicable]
- Experience in adult learning techniques, excellent in-person and virtual facilitation skills
- Must be able to work across teams to influence behavior and build capacity.
- Ability to work both persuasively and diplomatically in a team-based environment with a high degree of complexity and ambiguity.
- Ability to communicate complex gender issues with clarity and precision
- Demonstrated success in leading tasks, activities, or initiatives requiring a combination of strong analytical, writing, social and management skills
- A deep, demonstrable commitment to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
- Experience implementing approaches to mitigate and reduce gender-based violence in economic growth programs, a plus
- High standards of personal integrity and a flexible, laid back personality with an excellent sense of humor required
Required Languages: Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills, including fluency in English (equivalent to R4/S4)
Travel: Up to 30% travel to field offices and project sites
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Ability to work both persuasively and diplomatically in a team-based environment with a high degree of complexity and ambiguity.
- Ability to communicate complex youth and gender issues with clarity and precision
- Must be able to work across teams to influence behavior and build capacity.
- Experience in adult learning techniques, excellent in-person and virtual facilitation skills
- A deep, demonstrable commitment to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
- High standards of personal integrity and a flexible, laid back personality with an excellent sense of humor required.
We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe’s vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.
With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.
We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.
If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at [email protected] or call +1 202 785 4515.