Gender, Protection, Youth & Social Dynamics Lead

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

The Program / Department / Team

USAID's Office of Food for Peace (FFP) awarded a Mercy Corps-led consortium of Kenyan and international partners with a five-year Development Food Security Activity (DFSA) in Turkana and Samburu Counties. Through a phased approach that emphasizes evidence gap analysis, as well as partnership, learning, and co-creation with government, civil society, communities, and the private sector, this program aims to drive sustained reductions in acute malnutrition in both counties.

The Mercy Corps’ NAWIRI consortium brings together the global leadership, research capacity, technical expertise, and implementation experience necessary to partner with local institutions to test, adapt, and scale evidence-based solutions. The program requires a robust county-centered design with government leadership, active engagement from communities, the private sector, and civil society. Gender inequalities and social dynamics are some of the key drivers of food insecurity and persistent acute malnutrition in the two counties and this program will implement evidence-based interventions to address these. Together we will sustainably reduce persistent acute malnutrition for vulnerable populations in Turkana and Samburu counties.

The Position Summary

The Gender, Protection, Youth & Social Dynamics (GPYSD) Lead will be responsible for providing leadership and technical oversight to ensure the gender, protection, and social dimensions (inclusive of such issues as age, ethnicity, and relationships) of malnutrition, food security, and resilience are effectively integrated across all programming. S/he will help define implementation strategies in coordination with the Deputy Chief of Party, technical, research and learning leads. The position will train and influence staff, providing them with the necessary technical support and ensuring that common strategies and approaches are adapted and implemented with consistent quality. S/he will work across sectors of NAWIRI, with consortium team members as well as counties to build capacity in gender, protection mainstreaming and youth sensitive programming in ways that contribute to the quality design and implementation of gender transformative and youth responsive initiatives. The GPYSD will be responsible for coordinating assessments, providing capacity building to county government, ensuring contextually appropriate social dynamics are incorporated into county policies, and making the appropriate connections between Research, Learning and M&E to ensure gender responsive results can be tracked, analyzed, and reported.

Essential Job Responsibilities

VISION AND STRATEGY

• Support the Deputy Chief of Party (DCoP) to create a strong vision for NAWIRI’s approach when it comes to the integration of gender, Protection, youth, and social dynamics.
• Develop and help operationalize NAWIRI’s Gender, Protection, Youth and Social Dynamics Strategy to guide effective integration of GPYSD in key sectors such as nutrition, health, water systems, and governance - throughout the program’s cycle.
• Forge strong, institutional linkages and maintain a productive working relationship with USAID, Government of Kenya, the NAWIRI consortium, PREG Partners, and other relevant partners in the youth & gender field; develop relationships and linkages with organizations implementing other donor-funded programs focused on GPYSD in Kenya
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed; promote and model a culture of learning and adaptive management.
• Ensure that cross-cutting aspects of gender equality, social inclusion, and youth responsiveness are included and well integrated into NAWIRI approach and activities.
• Contribute technical expertise that feeds into a dynamic community of practice of NAWIRI staff and partners; sharing best practices across all NAWIRI areas and work streams, while seeking opportunities to build NAWIRI staff’s motivation and capabilities in GPYSD.
• Collaborate with different program components including Research, Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and learning to drive overall effectiveness and coherence of program strategy.
• Represent NAWIRI at all relevant GPYSD related meetings/workshops and other stakeholder meetings as requested.

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP

• Lead the execution of the NAWIRI Gender Analysis. Support with data collection, analysis, and development of recommendations. Work closely with the NAWIRI team on the Gender Analysis, while mainstreaming youth vulnerability analysis, to ensure early level engagement and subsequent integration of findings into the project’s work-plan.
• Conduct a GBV risk analysis and ensure that recommendations for mitigation are integrated in the GPYSD strategy and the project’s work-plan. Ensure that all staff and partners are trained on safeguarding and understand their roles in protecting program participants from sexual exploitation and abuse.
• Support NAWIRI team, including partners, on GPYSD integration including conducting capacity building activities such as training, learning-by-doing, reflection process and field monitoring support.
• Contribute to research conducted in the program to ensure that relevant issues on GPYSD are well represented and applied across all sectors.
• Monitor the implementation of the NAWIRI’s GPYSD strategy and other gender related commitments in the project’s design and ensure that the project activities align with USAID’s gender equity and female empowerment policy.
• Ensure the integration of Positive Youth Development principles within NAWIRI.
• Work with field teams to conduct regular community consultations to ensure programming remains gender and age responsive and on-track. Support field teams with ensuring that gender diversity principles inform processes of community consultations.
• Provide leadership and technical support to local partners in developing effective gender and youth-focused project action plans that are in line with NAWIRI’s GPYSD strategy.
• Assist partner staff to communicate information from the field to the appropriate decision-making forum on the gender integration in activities undertaken in all components, processes, and impacts.
• Provide support, coaching, mentoring and technical guidance on gender mainstreaming and youth responsive interventions to county and partner GPYSD officers.
• Develop and lead the integration of social dynamics into all capacity-building efforts in support of Samburu and Turkana County governments.
• Routinely collect and share learnings and best practices on gender, protection, youth social inclusion with diverse project stakeholders.
• Share learning and best practices on gender, youth, and social inclusion among Mercy Corps’ global DFSA teams.
• Identify relevant training and learning opportunities for Mercy Corps and partner staff to advance knowledge and skills in gender mainstreaming and youth responsive programming; manage a gender and youth capacity building in alignment with NAWIRI Learning Agenda

PROTECTION

• Support and give technical assistance for gender and protection mainstreaming efforts within the organization’s programs/projects.
• Working closely with various organizations projects and programs, to establish and consolidate GBV coordination structure, including the provision of psychosocial support for survivors of violence of GBV, and establishing a service referral system.
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures for GBV and facilitate their roll-out and implementation in the field.
• Collaborate with the organization safeguarding team, to prepare and conduct capacity building trainings for the organizations staff in thematic topics and implementation of minimum standards and various SOPs (internal and external gender, gender-based violence and protection SOPs).
• Coordinate and provide technical support to the Organization, County Governments, and local implementing partners staffs on the implementation of protection activities.
• Support in the identification of resources to strengthen existing GBV prevention and response programmes; particularly to address gaps in access to safe shelter, psychosocial support, and income-generation projects for women at risk.
• Identify emerging protection issues within the organizations projects/programs and provide recommendations to organization projects/programs regarding strategies and initiatives to enhance the policies aimed at combating violence against women and children.
• Ensure gender sensitive approaches, gender-sensitive accountability mechanism for beneficiaries and the needs of women, girls, boys, and men have been clearly considered and included in the design and during the whole organization’s project/program cycle.
• Support partners NGOs in maintaining a safe and confidential record keeping system and making sure referral of cases are confidential, safe and in a timely manner.
• Ensuring that individuals and groups with specific needs are identified; and incorporate these approaches, policies and concerns into the design and implementation of programme and protection activities.

MANAGEMENT & COORDINATION

• Supervise and mentor Gender and Youth Officers involved in NAWIRI through technical visits, mentorship, and coaching sessions.
• Ensure that program and country staff understand and adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Minimum Standards.
• Liaise with key external stakeholders to provide guidance on gender and youth perspectives in all aspects of NAWIRI program activities.
• Ensure that NAWIRI and partners are in compliance with gender and youth related USAID/FFP requirements.
• Support programming team to integrate gender and youth into programming and assist in gender responsive participatory planning, resource allocation and support implementation.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT & REPORTING

• Work closely with the M&E team on GPYSD integration and provide technical backstopping in the collection and use of sex and age disaggregated data, gender indicators and gender sensitive data collection processes across sectors. Make recommendations based on regular monitoring to inform program strategies to better meet the needs of the program participants.
• Ensure NAWIRI is capturing required level of gender and youth disaggregated data and specific success stories on gender transformation and youth empowerment.
• Lead preparation of reports, issues-papers and case studies on gender and youth perspectives to promote gender and youth integration. Support the review of program reports and documents for gender and youth sensitive communication.
• Support in the setting of indicators for assessing progress with gender and youth integration, adapted to specific contexts of Samburu and Turkana.
• Work with Strategic Learning Lead to disseminate information regarding gender, Protection and youth achievements and impact.
• Represent the program’s gender strategy with external stakeholders at workshops, conferences, and annual learning events. Speak thoughtfully to the analysis, research and learning that NAWIRI is conducting.

Security

• Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to promote and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members. Ensure that gender specific needs and interests of program staff in relation to safety and security are identified and responded to appropriately.

 Supervisory Responsibility

No direct supervisory responsibility. The GPYSD Advisor directly supports NAWIRI-based gender staff and participates in the hiring and supervision either directly or indirectly of future gender staff. Additionally, s/he will provide support in mentoring all gender-focused staff across the consortium.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief of Party

Works Directly With: Strategic Learning Lead, Research Design Lead, Institutional Strengthening Lead, M&E team, partner agencies, local government, USAID, and support departments (Finance, HR, and Operations).  Coordinates with HQ Program Performance team and the Technical Support Unit (TSU)

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualifications & Transferrable skills

• Master’s degree in a relevant academic area – e.g., a social science discipline.
• Minimum of five years of experience at the community level is required.
• Minimum of five years of progressive management and technical responsibility, including supervising and mentoring multi-sectorial teams, for humanitarian and development assistance, preferably with an international NGO; preferred experience in gender mainstreaming, youth workforce development, youth entrepreneurship, or youth peacebuilding; USAID experience preferred.
• Must have experience in leading the Gender Strategy of a large program and have demonstrated technical experience leading gender responsive interventions and youth integration into food security programming.
• Experience in Kenya and an in-depth understanding of gender, age, and other locally significant socio-cultural factors in the context of food security programming preferred.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead the collection, analysis, and utilization of information from a broad range of sources.
• Experience working with major donors, USAID/FFP preferred.
• In-depth understanding of gender, age, and other locally significant socio-cultural factors in food security context, and demonstrated capacity to lead the collection, analysis, and utilization of information from a broad range of sources to ensure effective integration of innovative and context specific gender and youth concepts.
• Demonstrated ability to foster commitment and build capacity among activity staff and in-country stakeholders (including government) to gender and youth integration and empowerment.
• Demonstrated capacity to understand and advise on critical technical and operational issues related to gender transformative and youth responsive programming: education, job skills, employment creation, social cohesion, health, psycho-social wellbeing.
• Ability to self-manage and succeed in an integrated management model, with demonstrated proactive and flexible nature in resolving problems and finding innovative solutions.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members. Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with groups to produce high quality results.
• Cultural sensitivity, patience, flexibility, and ability to work well in a multi-sectoral and multi-cultural team and to work c
• Ability to travel for field missions for 30-50% level of effort as needed.

Success Factors

The successful Gender, Protection, Youth & Social Dynamic (GPYSD) Lead will have strong technical skills combined with strategic visioning and leadership. S/he will have an outstanding ability to inspire teams to deeply understand social dynamics and integrate this understanding into activities that enhance program impact and take the program to new levels. S/he will also have proven experience with cross-cultural teams and capacity building, individual staff development, and strong mentoring skills. S/he will have demonstrated ability to follow procedures and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. The GPYSD Lead will have proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take initiative and be accountable for results. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Turkana or Samburu County. This position requires frequent travel by road and air to field offices in less secure environments. This position is not eligible for hardship and/or R&R benefits.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today. 

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work. 

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply. Mercy Corps does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process.