Gender and Influencing Specialist at Plan International

Gender Transformative Analysis and Programming: Lead the delivery of robust gender equality assessments to further define and validate the project’s strategy to deliver gender transformative programming and results. A strong understanding of project cycle management and women’s economic empowerment are essential to provide relevant technical guidance.

• Lead and coordinate the project’s gender equality strategy which combines high quality programmes and bold, credible influencing to catalyse large-scale transformative change for women in the project locations.
• Lead the implementation of WISE project gender equality strategy which aims to ensure Plan staff and key partners have the tools, skills and capacities to fulfil core WISE gender standards relevant to the needs of the beneficiaries and operating context. This includes providing training, mentorship and ongoing capacity development for staff and partners.
• Coordinate a gender-integrated market assessment of women-friendly entrepreneurial, value chains and emerging “green businesses / sectors” in the five target districts.
• Provide technical guidance on the community and policy side interventions which aim to support women to develop their entrepreneurial roles and expand perceptions and attitudes of male family members and community leaders around the productive capacities of women.
• Provide technical guidance on service and institutional side interventions, aiming to facilitate a suite of gender-responsive business services and products through women-friendly business hubs (HerHubs), which will serve as a ‘one-stop shop’ for women to access gender-responsive services to start and grow small enterprises.
• Coordinate gender-responsiveness audit for HerHubs and train staff and stakeholders on gender equality, gender-responsive service delivery, protection and women’s economic empowerment.
• Contribute to regular project narrative reports and communication materials in a timely manner, ensuring that implementation of gender transformative programming is clearly articulated and supported with high quality data, results and lessons.
• Project cycle management processes and tools (including detailed implementation plans) effectively implemented to achieve project results and comply with donor requirements, government, and partnership agreements.
• Work with program staff and technical advisors to identify the technical support needs of the project and ensure this support is provided.
• Performs any other duties that may be assigned from time to time.
• Social Behaviour Communication Change and Public Mobilisation: Recognizing the agency and technical expertise of women entrepreneurs, lead the development and technical review of training and capacity building, behaviour change communication, and community outreach activities.
• Scale up gender equality actions on the WISE project from local to national levels and build on strong community engagement which will ensure the WISE project delivers the political analysis, robust evidence, grassroots support, and high-level engagement needed to change gender behaviours, systems and structures for the benefit of women and girls.
• Provide technical guidance on the design, development and roll-out of training for women entrepreneurs who will be mobilized and sensitized through Village Saving and Loans (VSLA) groups and receive foundational skills in business management, life skills, gender equality, sexual reproductive health and rights, and prevention of sexual gender-based violence and child, early forced marriage.
• Lead the roll out of targeted awareness interventions to engage male family members by establishing ‘male champions’ groups, also inclusive of traditional and religious leaders, to promote principles of gender equality, address the root causes of inequality and harmful traditional practices, and foster a supportive environment for women entrepreneurs at the family and community level.
• Provide technical guidance of the project’s Social Behaviour Change Communication efforts to promote gender equality and positive masculinities supportive of women’s economic empowerment.
• Identify how the general public, including women and young women especially girls with whom we work, can be mobilised effectively to contribute to gender objectives of the project
• Develop, review and implement training programs as relevant to project’s gender equality strategy.
• Partnerships, Communication, Coordination and Influencing Policy: Foster and maintain productive and professional relationships with and between all project stakeholders (women entrepreneurs, government, private sector and non-profit). Leverage partnerships and evidence produced under the project to inform policy, advocacy and influencing efforts.

Expected Outcomes:

• Engage multiple partners and stakeholders to facilitate the delivery of gender-responsive services and products across the five main services areas of HerHubs.
• Facilitate the provision of services, improve linkages and build the capacity, particularly of local actors, to offer gender-responsive, sustainable support to women entrepreneurs
• Foster strong coordination and collaboration with women entrepreneurs through open and transparent communication, participation and joint decision-making, and respect for their agency and technical expertise.
• Work closely with Local NGOs, CSOs, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Association of Ghana Industries and others to analyse internal and external evidence and data to build WISE thought leadership, establish clear policy positions and use these to identify opportunities to challenge and strengthen policy and legal frameworks at national and regional levels.
• Lead the analysis of political environments and stakeholders in order to identify the most strategic targets who can bring about the change, including the private sector, government, civil society, and local/religious leaders.
• Lead the identification of strategic communications channels and outlets that can best influence WISE targets and bring wider attention to chosen issues.
• Work with WISE team to use Plan International’s expert voice, evidence-based positions, and illustrations of successful programme interventions to inform and engage policy makers via key media and social media outlets.
• Best practices and lessons learned are documented, shared, and integrated into programming and used to inform policy and advocacy efforts.