Gender and Youth Engagement Officer – GOD for People Relief and Development Organization, Ethiopia

God for People Relief and Development Organization (GPRDO) is a national civil society organization established in 1999 by a group of dedicated and voluntary Ethiopians. It is re-registered and licensed by Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSOs) in July 2019 in accordance with the civil society proclamation number 1113/2019. GPRDO is committed to assist women, young people, children and other people in difficult situations in enhancing their social, educational, health and economic standards to help them play their rightful roles in self and national building through ensuring their active participation in development.

 JOB SUMMARY

Gender and Youth Engagement Officer at GPRDO’s operational areas, will provide technical assistance and capacity building on gender and youth engagement strategies to the field office staff, youth groups, volunteers and stakeholder staffs in the operational areas. The Officer will support and coordinate gender analysis and support youth engagement strategies under “Fostering Youth Voicing and Civic Engagement for Securing Democratic Rights” project. The Officer will identify gaps, consolidate best practices in the field and share lessons to all concerned bodies. The Officer will ensure that standard quality training, guidelines and tools are adopted and implemented to build the capacity of grassroots youth organizations and youth networks. The Officer will ensure gender and youth priorities are integrated into the works of GPRDO and that of relevant government offices in the project operational areas. The Officer will support and contribute to research in implementation areas to identify key issues (economic, social and political), barriers to youth meaningful participation, and to make recommendations on how to address gender and youth related concerns and challenges. S/he will assist grassroots youth organizations and networks on building their capacity to play leading role in their development issues.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Job Responsibility #1: Strategy design, planning, monitoring and implementation (35%)

• Supports the development and implementation of effective gender, youth organizing, youth engagement strategies, collective empowerment, and youth advocacy with government and other decision makers.
• Support and collaborate with relevant zone and woreda level government offices to ensure the proper implementation of Gender and Youth Engagement activities throughout the life of the project.
• Ensure that proper records are available to respond to the project result framework indicators in areas of gender equality, strengthened youth functional structures, youth engagement intervention and youth dialogue with policy makers.
• Produce and keep regular monitoring and suggest ways to improve the nature and depth of gender equality and youth engagement activities in the implementation area.

Job Responsibility #2:  Capacity building training and coaching (25%)

• Provides capacity building training and ongoing coaching on Gender Equality and Youth Engagement to GPRDO field staff, volunteers, youth functional structures and stakeholders including government staff at zone and woreda levels.
• Plans and follow-up youth community conversations on Social and Gender Norms, Intergenerational Youth dialogue on Substance abuse and other Youth focused initiative programs such as SRHR, and conflict engagement.
• Develops and implements follow-up, engagement, and coaching plans to build the capacity of youth institutions to increase knowledge and voice for gender equity and Youth inclusions so as to increase their level of expertise, skills and their commitment to apply strategies.
• Works with the relevant government structures to facilitate Gender and Youth Engagement related activities are designed, planned, budgeted, implemented and monitored in the GPRDO’s operational areas.
• Participate in the designs of Gender and Youth assessments, analyze results, and write reports at the field office level.
• Designs and supports the community volunteers to promote appropriate community mobilization strategies around gender and youth engagement.
• Documents and shares lessons/results of Gender Equity and Youth Engagement activities and strategies in GPRDO’s operational areas.
• Produce weekly, quarterly, and annual activity reports and submit timely.

 Job Responsibility #3:  Networking, advocacy, policy influencing and learning, (25%)

• Establishes all necessary relationships with actors working on gender equality and youth programs and government stakeholders to ensure that gender and youth issues and priorities are tabled, addressed and lessons are shared.
• Jointly organize and implement campaigning events to influence decisions as needed.
•  Participate on the preparation of joint action plan and activities among different actors in the operational areas to address gender and youth issues.
• Explores networks and participate in gender and youth related task forces, review meetings, workshops at Zonal/Woreda level.
• Supports the documentation and dissemination of Gender and Youth Engagement initiative learnings and best practices.
• Disseminates learning and ensures youth functional structures and stakeholders in the project operational areas are updated on gender and youth priorities.

 Job Responsibility #4: Safeguarding and Accountability (10%)

• Ensure the maximum protection of project’s participants from exploitation and abuse by working on the adherence of GPRDO’s Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct (CoC).
• Ensure project’s participants protections by adhering standards of the safeguarding policy when the participants be in contact with GPRDO during different trainings, meetings, workshops and contractual works.
• Promote awareness of the project’s participants about GPRDO’s Safeguarding policy by using different meeting, workshop and training organized for the project’s purpose.
• Follow up and monitor Safeguarding Concerns in collaborating with Designated Safeguarding Officer.
• Actively promote meaningful community participation and consultation at all stages of the project cycle (planning, implementation, M&E).
• Work to ensure that the Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM) is functional and accessible, that feedback and complaints are welcomed and addressed.
• Work to ensure that information about CRM, safeguarding and expected staff behavior is disseminated among project’s participants and communities.

 Job Responsibility #5:  Others (5%)

• Participates in all major activities of the GPRDO’s project in the assigned project area.
• Responds to requests for additional capacity building support within GPRDO.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Responsible to: Project Coordinator

Number of positions: 1

Work Station: Debre Birhan

Duration: Short-term Contract (4 months)

Qualifications and Experience:

• MA/BA degree in Social Science (such as Sociology, Social Work, Political Science), Gender Studies Developmental Studies, Development Management, and other relevant fields of studies with over three years of experience for BA and more than 1 year for MA in gender, social inclusion, social accountability, citizen-state engagement, youth voice, conversant with adult learning and training of trainer’s methodologies, practical experience in gender and youth programming.
• Experience in gender analysis, training, and mainstreaming, advocacy, and negotiation.
• Excellent facilitation and communication skills in multi-stakeholder environment.
• Experience of working with local partners, including government agencies, development partners, civil society organizations and youth functional structures.
• Gender and youth engagement related work experience in an NGO setting is desirable.

 Technical Skill Required:

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Amharic.
• Analytical, training/facilitation skills.
• Sensitivity to different aspects of diversity (cultural, religious, disability)
• Computer skills (word, Excel).

 Additional Skills

• Understanding and demonstrated commitment to the importance of gender, youth, and social inclusion issues.
• Demonstrated commitment to principles of Gender Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Safeguarding.