Senior Gender Officer at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Position Summary

Reporting to the Head of Strategy & Analytics, the Senior Gender Officer, will be in charge of ensuring a gender strategy is in place and an understanding of the same by staff, grantees and all other partners at both regional and country levels. S/he will be the key resource in providing quality advisory services to AGRA management and to the country teams in regard to incorporating gender within all programs and activities at AGRA. S/He will be responsible for providing technical support and coordinating internal capacity building, as well as promoting the capacity of partners and grantees through integration of a gender approach in policies and programs, across AGRA. S/He will help position AGRA as a knowledge leader and technical leader in the Gender space with various stakeholders.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the development and refinement of AGRA’s gender strategy and approach
  • Lead in developing and adopting a gender policy with internal accountability and reporting mechanisms including promoting a good working atmosphere
  • Support the strengthening of AGRA’s country plans by incorporating strong gender governance and thinking
  • Be the gender focal person on all gender matters at AGRA in relation to policy priorities, programme development and donor funding
  • Identify and supervise the work of expert consultants providing substantive inputs to the work programme
  • Lead interdisciplinary work and initiatives with the donor community, government, public sector, AGRA countries, multilateral organisations and NGOs to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment at national, regional and global levels

• Advisory to AGRA staff and leadership on incorporating gender within all programs and activities at AGRA
  • Provide leadership, timely and high quality advisory services to AGRA management and to the country teams on Gender, ensuring that outputs are delivered in a timely manner according to budget
  • Develop and draft policy guidance, policy positions, issues papers and factsheets on gender, for a range of audiences
  • Lead in conducting evidence-based analysis, and policy dialogue within AGRA and with relevant stakeholders on Gender issues
  • Exercise quality control of policy guidance products and reports on gender;
  • Ensure capacity building of AGRA staff and teams to set and deliver against gender specific targets

• Technical support and capacity building for AGRA grantees
  • Develop guidelines for reference by potential grantees and staff during proposal solicitation and development
  • Support the design and development of proposals to ensure incorporation of a well laid out gender strategy
  • Consult with grantees to develop new grant ideas around gender in achieving sustainable productivity growth according to AGRA’s strategy
  • Conduct project visits and provide technical guidance on gender during monitoring and evaluation

• Knowledge management and thought leadership in gender
  • Driving the advancement of knowledge management and thought leadership in gender development activities
  • Write project reports, gender technical briefs, abstracts and document success stories
  • Develop and implement effective communication strategies for policy products to maximise their value, visibility and impact within AGRA and the food security and sustainable development community
  • Represent AGRA at designated international meetings and conferences, prepare briefing materials, speaking points and make presentations
  • Lead in convening meetings and workshops on gender capacity building

• Resource mobilization and partner engagement:
  • Lead fund-raising activities for AGRA’s programming from funding sources that specifically address gender advancement ensure the agreed work programme activities are supported by a sustainable funding base
  • Foster relationships and develop strategic partnerships with partner organizations, countries, multilateral organisations and NGOs, working on gender and development.

Key Qualifications and Experience required

• Minimum of 10 years’ relevant work experience working in similar organization or institutions e.g. a bilateral aid agency, a multilateral organization or with a partner government on gender issues in a developing country context (analytical, policy and operational). Excellent track record in leading evidence-based analysis in the field of development and gender-related issues;
• At least five (5) years’ Senior-Level experience designing and implementing programs and/or gender development policies and activities in developing countries;
• A Master’s degree in political sciences, public policy, international relations or other relevant discipline with a specialization in gender and development. Relevant work experience may be considered in lieu of this.
• An understanding of various African gender laws and devolution related legislations; Understanding of international conventions on gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Deep understanding of both the government and private sector policies and governance structures;
• Experience and proven capacity to communicate effectively with different counterparts (government authorities, heads of agencies, civil society, and the private sector) to align actors and build networks;
• Experience in managing complex initiatives with proven ability to develop high impact partnerships;
• Proven leadership ability to influence, develop and empower employees to achieve their best with a team approach;
• Excellent organizational, and problem solving/decision making skills;
• Intelligent, motivated self-starter with strong interpersonal skills and work ethics;
• Results and detail orientated with a very hands on approach;
• A working knowledge of French will be an advantage.