Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) Officer - WUSC Ghana

WUSC is a Canadian global development organization working to catalyze positive education and economic outcomes for young people. We bring together and collaborate with a diverse network of partners (including students, volunteers, schools, governments, not-for-profits, and businesses) who share this mission. Together, we influence systems change, and foster inclusive, youth-centered solutions that enable young people to thrive and belong. We work with all young people, with a focus on women and displaced populations. 

WUSC currently operates in 28 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Canada, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $65 million. Our global team includes over 100 staff in Canada and more than 250 staff internationally, implementing a diverse portfolio of development projects in collaboration with numerous multilateral and bilateral donors, and philanthropic foundations.

Job Description

Reports To: Project Coordinator (Ghana)

Contract Term: 10 Months 

Salary Level: PR01

Languages Required: English and Twi

Do you have proven experience in gender sensitive adult learning training approaches and methodologies? Are you experienced in gender analysis, capacity building of local partners and participatory approaches to local development? Do you have proven technical skills on gender equality approaches, methodologies and tools applied to the West African context? Do you have Knowledge of climate change adaptation issues, and Nature-based Solution approaches? 

WUSC is currently looking for a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Officer to provide capacity building, technical assistance and mentoring, advisory and policy engagement, monitoring, evaluation and learning. 

Project Brief Overview 

The Guinean forest of West Africa has been identified as a “global biodiversity hotspot” due to its high concentrations of endemic species and exceptional habitats. Major climate challenges in the region include rising temperatures and more erratic rainfall, both of which are expected to increase in the future. The direct consequences are a shortening and shifting of the average growing season and a reduction in the productive potential of ecosystems. Furthermore, the ecoregion’s contemporary landscapes have been greatly altered by human activities, in particular slash-and-burn agriculture, lumber extraction and the extension of plantations of key commodities, including cocoa, coffee and more.

This has been compounded by the negative impacts of biodiversity loss. Migration into these forest areas from northern regions of the Sahel, also severely impacted by climate change, is already creating population pressure on degraded forests and will likely continue in years to come. These challenges impact women and men differently, owing to their different roles and control over forest management and agricultural systems. Deforestation has increased the burdens on women in gathering firewood, medicine and other forest products, while decreasing women’s income potential and increasing time poverty.

Unequal gender roles in forest livelihoods, and the different adaptations available to men and women, are shaped by complex social, cultural and economic relationships and unequal power relations that require careful attention to context and broad inclusion of diverse voices.

The Nature-Based Climate Adaptation in the Guinean Forests of West Africa project funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is being implemented in Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana by the World University Service of Canada (EUMC) and the Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI), in close collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Center for International Forestry Research, the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and International Barcode of Life (IBOL).

The project aims to strengthen the uptake of gender-responsive and inclusive climate change adaptation (CCA) solutions among communities residing in the Guinean forest region of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Guinea. This will be accomplished by improving women's leadership in CCA planning processes, increasing the restoration of degraded forests and key habitats with biodiversity benefits, and increasing gender-sensitive investments that have a strong earning potential for women. The project will engage with a wide range of stakeholders including governmental institutions, women's organizations and local and national organizations to prioritize locally relevant solutions.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the supervision of the Project Coordinator for the NbS Guinean Forests Project in Ghana, the GESI Officer will be responsible for supporting the implementation of the project in Ghana. The Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Officer will be responsible for defining and implementing the GE capacity building strategies and activities for the project in Ghana in close consultation with the other gender advisors and technical specialists mobilized on the project, as well as with key project partners for IUCN, IBOL and CIFOR-ICRAF. 

With the technical support of CECI-Canada Gender, Rights and Diversity Advisor and Regional Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Coordinator of WUSC, the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Officer will assume the following main responsibilities and tasks:

Capacity Building, Technical Assistance and Mentoring

• Carry out participatory diagnoses with partners in the field of gender equality in regards to capacity building.
• Carry out advisory support to partners for effective gender mainstreaming in their activities;
• Organize and deliver training and coaching for CSOs, women’s organizations, private sector operators, and community stakeholders on women’s roles and leadership in NbS for climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation.
• Deliver and monitor generic TA to project’s challenge grants recipients in Ghana.

Planning and Assessment

• Conduct project landscape assessment on women's leadership in forest governance and biodiversity adaptation at the local and national levels in Ghana.
• Facilitate participatory reviews and updates of landscape, district, and community-level management plans, ensuring integration of gender and social inclusion considerations into NbS and climate adaptation actions.

Advisory and Policy Engagement 

• Provide ongoing TA and  mentoring support to local, national including peer women's organisations in implementing advocacy actions among policy makers on gender responsive climate adaptation and NbS.
• Facilitate consultations between women-led CSOs and policy makers during national budget planning and reporting processes, highlighting the importance of gender-responsive NbS livelihood models.
• Support the conduct of a gap analysis with policy makers and stakeholders on their ability to promote gender-responsive NbS livelihood models.
• Promote social cohesion and gender-responsive and inclusive participation through ongoing community dialogue processes, with attention to marginalized groups.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Document lessons learned and best practices in gender and social inclusion across project activities. 
• Contribute to project reports, highlighting progress on gender-responsive NbS and inclusive governance.
• Report the implementation of the GESI related activities at the national and landscape levels on a quarterly and yearly basis.
• Ensure the project's monitoring and evaluation methodology take full consideration of gender and social inclusion dimensions in collaboration with the project's MEL team.
• Undertake field monitoring visits to support GESI implementation efforts for the project.
• Contribute to the project’s knowledge-management through the documentation and dissemination of learnings and innovations from the project in regard to GESI within the context of CCA and the loss of biodiversity in Ghana.
• Perform other tasks inherent to the position, such as contributing to annual work plans preparation, narrative reports writing and analysis and other relevant project tasks.

Work environment

• Promote and maintain an organizational culture that advances gender equality, reduces power abuse and inequalities, and fosters trust, respect and safety.??
• Create a working environment is free from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH)
• Ensure high standards of prevention and response measures for SEAH are in place consistent with the?WUSC's safeguarding policies and WUSC's Code of Conduct.?

Required Skills or Experience

QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

Education

• University degree (preferably a Masters’ Degree) in gender equality studies, development studies, or other social sciences relevant field. 

Experience & Competencies

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in programme management, including in the design and dissemination of capacity building programmes focusing on gender equality;
• Proven experience in gender sensitive adult learning and training approaches and methodologies;
• Previous work experience with civil society organizations, agricultural producers’ organizations, economic interest groups and/or environmental organizations;
• Experience in gender analysis, capacity building of local partners and participatory approaches to local development.
• Proven technical skills on gender equality approaches, methodology and tools applied to the West African context required;
• Knowledge of climate change adaptation issues and Nature-based Solutions desirable;
• Knowledge of women’s rights and gender equality issues as they relate to the loss of biodiversity and climate change adaptation desirable; 
• Knowledge of women's entrepreneurship in rural farming, forestry and circular economy is desirable. 
• Strong understanding of Ghana’s policy and institutional context for gender equality, forest governance, land rights, and climate adaptation.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary and multicultural team;
• Mastery of information and computer technologies (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google and Microsoft environments);
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Curious, enthusiastic and willing to innovate and adapt.
• Languages
• Complete fluency in English and Twi is required. French is a strong asset.

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