Gender Equality and Women's Economic Empowerment Specialist

TERMS OF REFERENCE – Gender Equality and Women's Economic Empowerment Specialist

Job Title: Gender Equality and Women's Economic Empowerment Specialist

Duration: Full-time

Reports to: Deputy Team Leader

Position Location: Hanoi, Vietnam

SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT 

Cowater is seeking to hire Gender Equality and Women's Economic Empowerment Specialists to support programs in Vietnam working to improve the socio-economic well being of ethnic minority women (EMW) working in the agricultural sector by elevating their economic status, leadership and agency including through the promotion of clean growth. Programs will implement a series of interventions designed to strengthen the performance of EMW led MSMEs, cooperatives and producer groups in select value chains. The primary beneficiaries are women, while an overarching emphasis is placed on the inclusion of women from ethnic minority communities.

Based in Hanoi and reporting to the Deputy Team Leader, the Gender Equality and Women's Economic Empowerment Specialist will lead and provide technical guidance to the program teams in ensuring the integration of gender equality considerations throughout planning, budgeting, implementation, reporting and knowledge management activities. The position holder will also extend support to the teams in the implementation of the environmental strategy and Renewable Energy interventions. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES  

Accountabilities and deliverables

• Participate in the research and development of an intersectional gender analysis.
• Participate in the development and lead the implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy (GES), and ensure updates are applied annually.
• Ensure a women’s economic empowerment approach is streamlined and adhered to throughout the design and implementation of the project activities, implementation, planning, and reporting.
• Work closely with Agri-business and Renewable Energy Lead and Deputy Team Leader, and MERL Manager to ensure appropriate data collection and synthesize lessons learnt for reporting purposes.
• Advise on gender targets and indicators for the project’s monitoring and evaluation.
• Provide input into all key project publications and studies to ensure gender is integrated and clearly reflected.
• Provide Gender Equality (GE) training to staff and partners.
• Contribute to the project’s regular progress reporting and any other reports as required.  

Knowledge Development and Communication Products

• Identify key gender insights based on monitoring visits and project level surveys and contribute to knowledge management and communications products.
• Participate in the Program’s and Partner’s workplan development and provide expert knowledge and guide/facilitate partners ‘discussion on gender and women’s economic empowerment issues.
• Document lessons learned and good practices regarding gender mainstreaming for dissemination, including written and other forms of visuals such as infographics, social media updates and videos.

GE/WEE Programming and Policy

• Contribute to the design and update of the GE strategy, WEE/GE frameworks, tools, and approaches.
• Delineate GE advocacy and capacity-building initiatives for government stakeholders at the central and provincial level, as well as with the private sector.
• Identify and shape solutions for the program to systematically and comprehensively address GE issues within the ecosystem in which the project operates. This includes working across households, local communities, target market sectors, businesses, and government and policy levels.
• Support the delivery of intended outcomes by GE partners.  
• Provide advice during the design or updating of gender sector studies, activities and initiatives to ensure that the constraints faced by ethnic minority women, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are identified and solutions are gender-responsive.
• Identify relevant targeting and mainstreaming approaches for the program to be inclusive of people with different intersectional identity factors such as gender identity, sexual orientation, education, ethnicity, disability, age, and socio-economic status, etc. 
• Support partners in their annual work planning and progress reporting to ensure WEE is effectively integrated into planning and results are easily captured and reported for consolidation at the program level.
• Advise the project team on issues of intersectionality (e.g., intersecting forms of disadvantage and/for discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, disability, age, location, etc) as well as gender-based violence (GBV), including drawing on UNFPA’s expertise.

Other

• Coordinate with relevant line ministries and donor funded projects that are being implemented in the region – ensuring effective collaboration and efficiency of operations, collaboration of lessons learned and effective technical approaches.  
• Take responsibility for own continuous professional development by proactively identifying and participating in formal/informal learning opportunities.  
• Support the team in winding down and close out activities.
• Upon the request from the Team Leader, provide other support, as required.

JOB REQUIREMENTS 

The team member will have the following qualifications, skills, knowledge, and experience: 

• Demonstrated skills in leveraging gender and WEE evaluations, research and case studies to advocate for evidence-based solutions by policymakers, leaders and decision-makers.
• Comprehensive understanding and application of gender equality-related concepts, intersectionality, and human rights-based approaches.
• Proven analytical skills, particularly in gender analysis.
• Proven ability to connect market sectoral issues and programmatic approaches to gender.
• Master’s Degree in a relevant field preferred, including development, gender, inclusion.
• At least five (5) years of experience working on private sector development programs, in a role of GE or WEE specialist.
• Experience working with GAC on planning, reporting and communications would be highly appreciated.
• Experience with Results-Based Monitoring frameworks.
• Experience developing and delivering training related to gender equality and WEE.
• Familiarity with GAC’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP).
• Deep experience and understanding of the particular vulnerabilities faced by ethnic minority women and demonstrating cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Open to Vietnamese nationals only.
• Fluency in English and Vietnamese would be an asset.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please apply through Cowater’s website at below link:

Cowater International Career Opportunities - Cowater International

Candidates are encouraged to apply by 14 July 2023/as soon as possible.

For your application to be considered, please upload your documents as followed: Candidate Last Name, First Name, date, Title of the Position.