Senior Gender Advisor, USAID Food for Peace DFSA

Established in 1915 with Helen Keller as a founding trustee, Helen Keller International (HKI) is dedicated to saving the sight and lives of the world’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Headquartered in New York City, HKI currently conducts programs in 21 countries in Africa and Asia, as well as in the United States. Renowned for its reliability, efficiency and high level of technical expertise, HKI promotes the development of sustainable, large-scale programs that deliver effective preventative and curative services for nutrition, eye health and neglected tropical diseases. The hallmark of the organization’s work is its proven success in developing, testing and scaling-up health interventions, and integrating them within government and community structures to support and build local capacity and sustainable solutions.

Background

HKI started its programs in Burkina Faso in 1986 and opened an operating office in 1999. Currently, HKI implements a large and complex program focusing on nutrition and the control of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). HKI supports the government’s efforts in the fight against malnutrition by implementing a wide range of activities including Vitamin A supplementation, food fortification, school health and nutrition, prevention and management of acute malnutrition, enhanced homestead food production, promotion of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes and development of strategies to promote essential nutrition actions.

HKI seeks a Senior Gender Advisor to be based in Burkina Faso to lead gender integration throughout the entire award period of an anticipated USAID Food for Peace (FFP) Development Food Security Activity (DFSA) program, as FFP considers attention to gender integration key to realizing intended outcomes.

Burkina Faso is one of two focus countries, along with Niger, for USAID’s resilience agenda in the Sahel. USAID builds the resilience of vulnerable rural residents by:

· Strengthening the institutions and governmental bodies meant to serve them;

· Improving their productive opportunities; and

· Helping increase the capacity and accessibility of social services while ensuring access to more nutritious foods; while

· Building on the many practices that Burkinabe have used to weather conflicts and natural shocks.

Functional Relationships

Reporting to the Chief of Party, the Senior Gender Advisor serves as the gender integration lead for the USAID Food for Peace (FFP) Development Food Security Activity (DFSA) program. The Senior Advisor will supervise gender integration in-country and work closely with other colleagues at HKI’s Africa regional office and headquarters. The position also requires close cooperation with the government of Burkina Faso, partner NGOs and key stakeholders, as well as with the donor.

HKI has a matrixed reporting structure that respects both the line management and authority within country office and regional hierarchies; and the accountability and oversight duties of subject matter experts at the regional and headquarters level. Regular communication and a spirit of team work among colleagues, both hierarchically and laterally are essential to make this structure thrive.

Scope of the Position:

The Senior Gender Advisor will assure that program activities reflect an in-depth understanding of gender, age, and other socio-cultural factors in the context of food security programming. The Advisor will lead the collection, analysis, and utilization of information from a broad range of sources utilizing participatory data collection. S/he will facilitate collaborative problem solving while fostering commitment and building capacity among activity staff and in-country actors to gender integration and empowerment. This position will be based in Ouagadougou, with frequent travel to project areas.

Qualifications:

· A bachelor’s degree in a relevant academic area plus a minimum of five years of field experience at the community level, including significant experience with gender-focused programs and activities is required, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

· Demonstrated capacity to write and speak compellingly about gender issues, age and other socio-cultural factors in the context of food security programming.

· Experience with two or more of the following types of programs is an advantage: WaSH, climate change/disaster risk reduction, livelihoods (farm and/or non-farm), maternal and child health and nutrition, or community resilience.

· Ability to design and implement workshops, seminars and trainings.

· Excellent interpersonal skills, including an ability to lead and motivate a team, build consensus and clearly communicate a vision and decisions made.

· Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host governments, donors, other stakeholders, local organizations, and partners.

· Fluency in English and French are required. This includes excellent oral and written English language skills, including the ability to quickly synthesize complex technical and programmatic issues into concise communications and develop high quality reports.

· Experience working within the Francophone West African/Sahel development context is an advantage.

· Computer literate in use of word-processing and spreadsheets; experience in statistical software, data analysis and interpretation.

· Ability to travel extensively within the country and internationally, as required and as security permits.

· An ability to work in challenging and changing environments, and to see through challenges to find solutions; an ability to maintain balance when under stress.

· Demonstrable respect for all persons regardless of religion, ethnicity, class or gender, with a high comfort level working in a diverse environment with a demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards.

To Apply:

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to HKI.Recruitment@hki.org noting the job title in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Employment is contingent upon USAID award. The initial contract is for two years with the possibility of renewal.

Helen Keller International is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.