Gender Specialist at Save the Children Nigeria

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Gender Specialist - ECW MYRP

Ref No: 220000JS
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Employee Status: Permanent
Team / Programme: ECW-MYRP
Reports to: Education Consortium Manager
Staff directly reporting to this post: None
Budget responsibility:  None
Post Type: National
Grade: 3

Child Safeguarding

• Level 3 - The responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have occasional  contact with or access to children or young people.

Overview

• Save the Children with funding from Education Cannot Wait(ECW) is implementing a Multi-Year Resilience program in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe(BAY) State, for a period of 3 years. The ECW project is an innovative model for education in emergencies programming.
• The project is aimed at improving the capacity of children affected by conflict, particularly girls, in the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states to manage their emotions, solve problems, critically analyse situations and improve upon the soft skills elements of engaging productively within their families, cohorts and communities.
• The overall project objectives are an” Increased access to quality and inclusive basic education, MHPSS, and vocational opportunities for crisis-affected girls and boys within a safe learning environment in BAY State”.
• The funding for MYRP is ensured that out of school children (OOSC) in priority areas have flexible, responsive routes into learning opportunities, that support their transition into further levels of education and that support their holistic wellbeing and development.

Role Purpose

• The Gender Specialist will support the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) Multi-Year Resilience Program  (ECW-MYRP) to provide technical support to guide and inform gender based programming through  “integrated approach” in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, Northeast Nigeria.
• The Gender Specialist will support the ECW-MYRP project being implemented by grantees consortium like UNICEF, Save the Children and NRC to provide technical support to mainstream gender as cross cutting theme for all the programmatic activities in the ECW-MYRP.
• She/he will ensure gender is integrated into the results based management frameworks, strengthening and supporting gender equality strategies and facilitating gender equality capacity strengthening for field teams and partner organizations of SCI via training and tool development.
• She/he will not only ensure ECW-funded education programmes are gender sensitive but aim to provide support to make such programmes become gender transformative.

Key Areas of Accountability
Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support the ECW-MYRP consortium grantees, SCI partners and SCI Field teams in the BAY States to develop a gender mainstreaming strategy for increasing inclusive and holistic education for crisis-affected girls and boys in the BAY states.
• Contribute to the development of gender-responsive approaches for mainstreaming crisis-affected girls and boys into formal education from alternative learning/none formal education and improve continuous education opportunities;
• With support from ECW-MYRP Project Manager and Education Consortium Manager, contribute to the development initiatives make existing learning environment gender-responsive and inclusive for girls, boys and other marginalized children;
• Lead capacity building for ECW-MYRP staff, partner organizations and grantee consortium members on gender to establish safe and protective learning environment for girls and boys in the BAY states
• Collaborate with ECW-MYRP Project Manager and Education Consortium Manager to address the educational needs for girls – including adolescent girls to improve enrolment rates and learning outcomes for girls.
• Lead capacity building of national stakeholders to facilitate and manage transition from non-formal to formal education in a gender-responsive manner
• Ensure gender-sensitive and disability-accessible WASH facilities are provided in supported formal and alternative education institution across all project intervention locations.
• Guided by gender analysis, the Specialist will support in advocacy to identify and address policy and system barriers to girls’ education;
• Support the review of existing key teaching and education management practices to improve gender-responsive and inclusive education in ECW-MYRP in the BAY states
• Conduct regular gender analysis, community mapping and safety audits to identify and address access and financial barriers to girls’ education in the BAY states
• Collaborate with ECW-MYRP Project Manager and Education Consortium Manager to develop positive discrimination recruitment strategies to increase proportion of female teachers in alternative and formal education in the BAY states
• With support from the Project Manager and Education Consortium Manager, formulate key gender messages and targets from lessons learned, assessments, research and evidence gained through project implementation.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of ECW-MYRP objectives and initiatives, both short and long term, encompassing a wide range of issues with a gender lens.
• Acquire information and understanding of key gender issues in the country particularly in the north east focusing on boys and girls (e.g GBV, Early Child Marriage, SRH etc.) and adapt strategies as necessary.
• Develop and maintain a network of external contacts with key individuals in the government, NGO sector, civil society and the media particularly working on gender issues and participate in gender working group meetings, which may include providing oversight.
• Perform other tasks, as required, to ensure the smooth running of the organisation.

Qualifications and Experience
Essential Criteria:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Social Science, Development Studies, Gender & Development or equivalent combination of relevant training and experience.
• Advanced degree will be an added advantage.
• 5 years post NYSC experience.
• Proven experience working on normative change for gender equality and adolescent sexual and reproductive health in sensitive contexts.
• Proven experience in supporting the designing, implementing and evaluating gender-transformative social and behaviour change communication interventions.
• Experience in supporting the implementation of gender-transformative approaches in humanitarian context.
• Experience working in the North-East context, is an added advantage.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team setting with minimal supervision
• Specific knowledge of international development and gender equality issues; experience engaging children and other community members on gender equality issues desirable.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills with the ability to multi-task in a fast-paced work environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Fluent in English.
• Computer literate.

Desirable:

• Experience building capacity and trainings especially on gender related issues.
• Prior work experience in communities across Nigeria.
• Knowledge of the policies, functions, structures and decision-making processes of key national institutions with regard to Gender.
• Team player with strong leadership skills.
• Local language skills (Ability to communicate in Hausa and Kanuri will be an advantage).

Skills and Behaviours (Our Values in Practice)
Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values.
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same.
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others.
• Future orientated, thinks strategically.

Collaboration:

• Actively listens to different perspectives and experiences of stakeholders.
• Actively participates in networks to access and contribute to good practice.
• Establishes and maintains clear communication and dialogue with disaster and conflict affected people and other stakeholders.
• Establishes clear objectives with partners.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions.
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency.
• Commitment to Save the Children Values.

Understanding Humanitarian Contexts and Application of Humanitarian Principles:

• Ensure that programme goals and activities uphold the principles of the key national and international humanitarian frameworks, codes and commitments
• Integrates beneficiary accountability principles into the approach
• Participates in disaster coordination mechanisms and interagency cooperation mechanisms.

Leadership: Action; Thinking; Self; Inspiring; Developing Others:

• Demonstrates approachability and trust by listening carefully to others and valuing their contribution, and making others feel comfortable by being open and honest about their thoughts and feelings.
• Demonstrates self-development and management by taking responsibility for own development, and actively seeking out feedback to better understand their own strengths and weaknesses.
• Makes positive statements about work.
• Effectively influences others by understanding their interests and showing how they will be met by own preferred solution.
• Gives constructive feedback to enhance capabilities and responsibilities to partners and others.

Application Closing Date
7th February, 2022.