Technical Advisor I, Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 99 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality and works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs.

Job Summary

The Technical Advisor I, Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) will provide technical support to Country Program (CP) teams on program design and implementation and operation issues related to GEDSI in line with CRS’ program quality standards, donor guidelines, and industry best practices to advance the delivery of high-quality programming to the poor and vulnerable populations. His/her advice, knowledge, and support will contribute to determining how effective, adaptive, and innovative CRS’ GEDSI is reflected across the CP. S/he will support alignment and advancement of GEDSI in CRS programming, operations, and workplace environment in line with CRS’ Global Strategies.
CRS Kenya conducted a gender audit and is keen on implementing the gender action resulting from the audit. S/he will also oversee the CP’s disability inclusion and responsiveness across operations and programmes and will coordinate the development and implementation of the CP’s disability and inclusion assessment and support development and implementation of the disability action plan. Additionally, s/he will coordinate and report on GEDSI related activities and provide technical guidance to staff and partners. His/her coordination and relationship management skills will ensure that programs and operations apply best practices and constantly works towards improving the impact of its benefits to CRS program participants and the promotion of gender equality and disability inclusion. S/he will provide leadership on the delivery of CRS’ GEDSI commitments as outlined in relevant strategies and Action Plans.

Job Responsibilities

Support implementation of CP gender action plan and CP-wide wide strategies, standards, tools, and GEDSI best practices that effectively engage partners, donors, and governments.
Coordinate partner gender assessments and support partners to develop and implement gender action plans.
Provide technical solutions to CP teams, remotely and on-site, on strategic planning and how to best apply standards, best practices, partnership principles, tools, and M&E, helping to ensure high-quality implementation.
Provide thought leadership and support in the design, development, and implementation of GEDSI-related and integrated activities across programs and operations as needed.
Support development of technical proposals/concepts as needed and advise relevant CP teams on integrating GEDSI donor strategies, priorities, and technical requirements into CRS approaches.
Lead staff and partner capacity-strengthening initiatives in gender, disability and social inclusion through design and development of learning strategies and resources.
Contribute to the GEDSI learning agenda and improved decision-making through collection and analysis of relevant data that capture key learnings and best practices.
Establish and maintain good working relationship with donors, peer organizations, and government, promote CRS’ work through participation in relevant GEDSI forums/platforms.
Undertake regular field visits to support implementation of the GEDSI strategies/action plan and to identify where adaptations and improvements might be needed.
Provide regular updates and reports on progress against key indicators and timelines to relevant CP staff to facilitate program/operation reviews, planning and learning events as applicable.
Participate in and provide technical leadership in the relevant CP forums, including the Gender Steering Committee and Disability Technical Working Group, and Senior Leadership Team .
Lead the CP Gender Focal Point Network, including leading meetings, providing oversight on the progress on action plans, sharing or developing tools/resources, and providing mentorship.
Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the supervisor.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

Strong relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision.
Ability to work with individuals in diverse geographical and cultural settings.
Analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills and ability to make sound judgment.
Good technical writing, presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills.
Knowledge of and ability to apply male engagement strategies.
Ability to use inclusive approaches and skillfully elevate the voices of underrepresented groups.
High degree of integrity and ability to manage sensitive situations and information confidentially and safely.
Proactive, resourceful and results oriented.
Demonstrated commitment to respect and diversity

Supervisory Responsibilities: None
Required Languages: English fluency.
Travel Required: Willingness to travel 30% of the time to field offices within the CP.
Work Environment: Normal office presence position and exposure to field office environments.
Key Working Relationships

Internal: Country Representative, Head of Programs, Head of Operations, Human Resources Manager, Project Managers, Heads of Offices, Safeguarding staff, Gender Focal Points, Program and Operations staff, Regional Technical Advisor for Gender, and Protection Mainstreaming.
External: Relevant donors(USAID, Hilton Foundation), INGOs implementing Gender, Equity and Disability Inclusion programming, county and national government and community members.
Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Qualifications
Education and Experience Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, International Development, or related fields with experience in GEDSI programming. Master’s degree would be a plus.
Minimum of five years relevant work experience with field-based experience in GEDSI in programs and operations.
Demonstrated understanding of barriers that persons with disabilities face and experience providing practical solutions to overcome those barriers, either through lived experience or through previous work experience
Good understanding of GEDSI, safe and dignified programming, and integration across diverse sectors and mainstreaming within the organization.
Demonstrated experience in capacity-strengthening and training of staff and partners.
Experience with program monitoring, evaluation, gender analysis, gender and inclusion audits, and other studies relevant to gender and social inclusion.
Demonstrated commitment to accountability to affected populations, and experience working with and meaningfully engaging diverse populations, including women, persons with disabilities, youth, vulnerable adults.
Experience in project design, skills in networking and relations with donors, peer organizations, faith-based and civil society partners. Understanding of partnership principles.
Experience developing gender and inclusion strategies, training materials, and evaluation tools.
Prior experience conducting gender and accessibility audits/assessments for workplace and humanitarian programs is an added advantage.