Gender Officer (Intl Consultant Level II), WFP Afghanistan

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WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

Are you interested in supporting the implementation and the roll-out of the resilience programme for Asia and the Pacific Region? Are you ready to change and save the lives of the world's most vulnerable people? If yes, this opportunity is for you!

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

JOB TITLE:                     Gender Officer
TYPE OF CONTRACT:   International Regular Consultancy Contract (Level II)
UNIT:                               Programme 
DUTY STATION:             Kabul, Afghanistan (Negotiable)
DURATION:                    11 months (November 2021- October 2022)

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need. WFP is known for its ability to deliver food assistance rapidly to people in need, especially in humanitarian crises caused by conflict, violence and natural hazards. WFP is increasingly shifting its focus to better support host governments and strengthen their capacities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and, in particular, Goal 2 (zero hunger) and ensuring the no one is left behind. 

WFP Afghanistan recognizes the importance of gender equality in achieving its mandate of ending hunger. WFP integrates gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) into all its activities, to ensure that the different food security and nutrition needs of women, men, girls and boys are addressed. It advocates a transformative approach to GEWE to address unequal gender relations and promote sharing of power, control of resources and decision making between women and men. Integrated gender, protection, inclusion and conflict sensitivity analysis is critical for the effective delivery of gender mainstreaming and targeted gender activities. WFP is concerned to ensure that the specific needs and capacities of individuals and groups are considered in program design and that barriers to access food assistance, including unintentional discrimination, as well as impediments to food security and an adequate diet because of violence, discrimination or other protection threats are identified and addressed. This requires in-depth contextual analysis, engagement with, and consideration of the specific needs and capacities of individuals and groups in programme design and delivery. 

1 in 3 Afghans, 14 million people, are hungry today, and two million boys and girls are malnourished. With drought, pandemic, and conflict, the food security situation may worsen. Despite security and logistical challenges, WFP maintains access to most of the country. In the first six months of 2021, WFP delivered food and nutrition assistance to 5.5 million people, including people newly displaced by fighting. 

A humanitarian crisis of considerable magnitude and complexity has developed since the Taliban authorities took control in August. At this critical time WFP continues to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance across the country. WFP field presence is throughout Afghanistan with staff and programme activities coordinated from six Area Offices: Faizabad, Mazar, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Kabul. Ensuring that WFP responses promote safety, dignity, and equality is essential. 

WFP is adapting its operations in response to the more complex and unpredictable context, reassessing assumptions and adjusting programmes.  Major constraints include maintaining access to women and men in need, changing security considerations, navigating internal and cross-border transport corridors, and overcoming expected critical supply challenges. Work is underway on how to adapt programmes in Afghanistan based on lessons and experiences from WFP operations in other conflict and insecure contexts. Integral to the continued delivery of assistance is ensuring that appropriate gender and inclusion and accountability to affected populations mechanisms and activities are in place, for the changed context.  

Afghanistan CO team has an established gender, protection, and accountability team. WFP is seeking an additional Gender Officer, with experience in emergency response, to work as part of this team, supporting the wider Programme colleagues to scale up delivery of life-saving relief assistance as well as nutrition, livelihoods, asset creation and school feeding programmes.  

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Reporting to the Head of Programme, and in close coordination with the Protection and Accountability colleagues, the Gender Officer will provide operational support for the mainstreaming of gender equality and women’s empowerment across WFP programmes in Afghanistan. 

Core Responsibilities

• Ensure robust mainstreaming of gender into WFP emergency response programming and operations.
• Provide technical assistance and programme advice on specific gender issues that impact on WFP operations.
• Develop staff capacities to integrate GEWE into their work.
• Strengthen WFP partners’ gender awareness, gender analysis capacities and ability to mainstream gender in programming and operations.
• Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships on GEWE.
• Mobilise resources to support implementation of the Gender Action Plan and related GEWE initiatives.
• Work with management to ensure strong institutional commitment and leadership for GEWE across programmes and operations.

Knowledge Management, Information and Analysis

• Evidence generation on the needs, capacities, and vulnerabilities for women, girls, men, and boys. 
• Ensure systematic collection, analysis and use of sex- and age- and ability- disaggregated data.
• Ensure that gender considerations are integrated in all data collection initiatives. 
• Mainstream gender into needs assessment frameworks, including adaptation of tools, collection, analysis and reporting processes. 
• Provide advice on the integration of gender in the formulation of country-level project projects/programmes.

Programme Support

• Facilitate and support the integration of gender equality in the planning, implementation,
• monitoring and evaluation of Country Office programmes, projects and related initiatives. 
• Support application of the Gender and Age Marker.
• Support Country Office teams in establishing or revising monitoring frameworks to measure
• progress in integrating gender in programme/project processes and outcomes.
• Assist in the development of gender equality training materials, adapted to the local context. 
• Provide training on gender awareness, gender analysis, gender-based violence prevention and mitigation, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) and other related subjects.

Coordination

• Support coordination mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in WFP’s programmes and operations. 
• Represent WFP in interagency working groups and facilitate WFP engagement in gender networks.
• Liaise with the regional gender adviser, Country Office Gender Results Network members, protection officer and PSEA focal point, as well as gender staff of other UN entities, NGOs, community-based organisations, including women’s rights organisations.

Advocacy & Partnership

• Provide technical support and identify opportunities for GEWE advocacy.
• Support the Country Office in producing regular updates and briefing materials to promote implementation of national, regional and international commitments to GEWE.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Educations:   Advanced university degree in social sciences, gender, human rights, international affairs, law or other field relevant to gender in the humanitarian context.

Required Experience: 

• At least 8 years of continuously progressive work experience in the field of humanitarian assistance or international development, with demonstrated field experience working on gender
• Operational experience in L2 and/or L3 emergency contexts
• In-depth knowledge of gender in humanitarian settings, gender-based violence, humanitarian policy issues and linkages with food security and nutrition
• Proven ability to produce outputs independently and within short timelines, under pressure, and managing multiple priorities simultaneously with minimum supervision
• Demonstrated strong analytical and writing skills, including the ability to write in an engaging and informative manner, and conceptualise and clearly synthesise information
• Capacity to engage in strategic conversations at senior levels
• Ability to engage effectively at field level with a wide range of actors including those in the international humanitarian community, governments actors, and affected populations
• Ability to establish effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds
• Fluency in English (oral and written)
• Flexibility to travel frequently and on short notice, when necessary. 

Desirable:

• Experience working in Afghanistan 
• Working knowledge of Dari, and/or Pashto

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Monday 04 October 2021, Midnight, Bangkok Time (GMT+7). 

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Female applicants, individuals with disabilities, and those from developing countries are encouraged to apply.

WFP is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organisation. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the selection & recruitment process, and for work-related needs upon joining the Programme. WFP has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority or discrimination. All selected candidates will, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. 

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.