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GENDER SPECIALIST

GENDER SPECIALIST

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Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP)

JOB DESCRIPTION

GENDER SPECIALIST

 

The Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP)

 

BRIEF OF PARTNER ORGANIZATION:

 

Brief of TRDP: Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP) is a not-for-profit integrated rural development programme. TRDP works with poor and vulnerable segments of society particularly women in the most deprived and remote areas of Sindh Province. TRDP is an implementing partner for the GRASP Project in four districts of Sindh (Matiari, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar, and Tharparkar), For a complete profile, please visit our website at https://thardeep.org/

 

BRIEF OF PPAF: Within the GRASP project, the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is mandated to lead the monitoring and evaluation of the project. PPAF is the lead apex institution for community-driven development in the country. PPAF was registered in February 1997 under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 (now Companies Act 2017) as a not-for-profit company. PPAF’s mission is to transform the lives of the poor to create a more equitable and prosperous Pakistan. It has outreach in 147 districts across all four provinces and regions of the country, supporting communities to access improved infrastructure, energy, health, education, livelihoods, and finance, and develop resilience to disasters. It serves the poorest and most marginalized rural households and communities across the country providing them with an array of financial and non-financial services. PPAF aims to ensure that its core values of social inclusion, participation, accountability, transparency, and stewardship are built into all processes and programs. For a complete profile, please visit our website at http://www.ppaf.org.pk

 

BRIEF OF GRASP: The Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP) is a six-year Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by the International Trade Centre (ITC), including the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) as implementing partners. GRASP’s overall objective is to support poverty reduction and sustainable and inclusive economic growth in rural areas of Pakistan. The project’s specific objective is to support gender-inclusive income and employment generation, enhanced productivity, and profitability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in primary production, service provision, and value addition in and around selected clusters of value chains. The project is being implemented in 96 Union Councils (UCs) from 22 selected districts of Balochistan (Quetta, Kech, Kharan, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Musakhel, Nushki, Panjgur, Pishin, and Zhob) and Sindh (Karachi, Hyderabad, Sajawal, Thatta, Tando Mohammad Khan, Matiari, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allah Yar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Khairpur, and Tharparker). Targeted value chains are Onion, Dates, Olives, Grapes, Livestock: Sheep (live animals, wool, and meat), Goat (live animals and meat), backyard poultry (and related products) in Balochistan, and Onions, Dates, Tomatoes, Mangoes, Banana, Livestock; Cattle (live animals, milk and meat), Goat (live animals and meat) in Sindh province. PPAF has engaged seven Partner Organizations (POs), three in Balochistan and four in Sindh to facilitate rural /business mobilization across 22 districts.

 

As such, the GRASP contributes directly to the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

 

THE POSITION: Gender Specialist mid-management level position to be based AT TRDP Regional Office Hyderabad, with frequent travel to target districts of GRASP and reports to the Project Manager.

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE POSITION: The significance of a gender specialist position within an organization lies in its commitment to promoting gender mainstreaming and inclusion and addressing the unique needs and challenges faced by diverse genders in SMEs development GRASP project. By addressing gender disparities, promoting inclusivity, and fostering gender's participation, the specialist contributes to more equitable societies, improved socio-economic outcomes, and sustainable development. This role ensures that gender considerations are integrated into various aspects of the PPAF GRASP and POs activities, policies, and programs along with awareness programs.

 

THE POSITION ENSURES: The role involves overseeing the integration of gender mainstreaming considerations into the GRASP project under the guidance of the Project Manager and PPAF Gender Specialist. The position, reporting to the Project Manager and overall supervision of CEO at TRDP, requires providing expert advice to field offices and addressing issues related to the inclusion of MSMEs within the EU-GRASP project. The responsibilities include ensuring that both TRDP, and PPAF adhere to project design, reporting, communication, visibility, and other guidelines outlined by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the European Union (EU). This comprehensive approach aims to MSMEs' compliance with gender mainstreaming principles and project requirements, contributing to the success and alignment of GRASP initiatives with broader development goals.

 

MORE SPECIFICALLY:                                                                             

  1. Follow the gender mainstreaming strategy of PPAF throughout the project implementation process.
  2. Provide advice and support to the Project Managers and the other team members in the Implementation of the key gender components across the GRASP.
  3. Provide advice and support concerning gender issues to the staff working within the respective field offices.
  4. Adhere to the checklist on gender mainstreaming provided by the ITC and PPAF and consult for compliance issues.
  5. Analyse and ensure the interventions are sensitive to issues of inclusion of women led MSMEs, Persons with Disabilities and Transgender.
  6. Support in updating and sharing with staff recent developments and knowledge tools for gender mainstreaming and gender responsiveness.
  7. Supervise, monitor, and report on the project related gender issues in the districts.
  8. Share any gender related issue within the project office or in the project area with the Project Manager. Liaise with key District, Provincial, and International stakeholders, key domestic political and civic actors, civil society organizations, international NGOs, UN partners, and donors in the province/district to inform, facilitate and enhance contribution towards the implementation of the gender mainstreaming and responsive agenda.
  9. Attend conferences and seminars as directed by the supervisors.
  10. Represent TRDP GRASP in the gender working group.
  11. Participate in local gender networks.
  12. Provide brief updates on the development of gender-related issues in the Districts/Province.
  13. Assist and ensure sex-disaggregated data collection, compile lessons learned, and establish indicators to support knowledge sharing with a special focus on gender and inclusion.
  14. Assist in the development of concept notes, project documents, and policy frameworks.
  15. Support in conducting research on gender issues to gather best practices as directed by the supervisor and or Senior Management of TRDP.
  16.  Regularly compile and share positive examples of gender and inclusion related to program and project development with the communication and media unit of TRDP.
  17. Ensure that the project staff are aware of Anti Sexual Harassment Policy at the workplace and inform them about the complaint process.
  18. Assist in organizing gender related seminars, dialogues, trainings and events on gender and inclusion linking them to the relevant International days.
  19. Identify and communicate relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating TRDP mandate.
  20. Formulate written information clearly and persuasively.
  21. Ensure that periodic project reports highlight progress against gender indicators.
  22. Contribute to results through primary research and analysis with a focus on gender and inclusion.
  23. Advocate for gender and inclusion as a prerequisite for sustainable development.
  24. Maintain an established network of contacts for general information sharing and to remain up to date.
  25. Generate new ideas and approaches, research best practices and propose new and effective ways of doing things.
  26. Establish effective client PPAF and ITC relationships.
  27. Proactive, Problem solving, and result-oriented attitude.
  28. Share information openly with co-workers and partners while using discretion to protect confidence.
  29. Perform other work-related outputs as requested by the supervisor.

 

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL INTERACTION:

  1. Internal Interaction: all functional departments of TRDP.
  2. External Interaction: PPAF, ITC, FAO, SMEDA, Financial Institutions, Partner Organizations (POs), Consulting Firms, Consultants, SMEs/communities, and any other stakeholders, etc.

 

 

 

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND SKILLS:

  1. Master’s degree in Gender studies, Law, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, or related field with five (5) years of relevant experience at the national or international level in the field of gender related projects with an additional understanding of small and medium enterprises and or economic growth and development. Previous work experience with UN agencies is considered an advantage.
  2. Good reporting and writing skills.
  3. Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages.
  4. Fluency in written and spoken English and Urdu and Provincial Languages will be assets.

 

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIS):

  1. Engage and collaborate with ITC and external communities on gender-related issues.
  2. Conduct gender sensitization training sessions for MSMEs, TRDP staff.
  3. Ensure that gender related deliverables of the project are achieved.
  4. Ensure TRDP GRASP projects and initiatives are gender responsive.
  5. Maintain accurate records and reports on gender-related activities.
  6. Gather feedback on gender-related initiatives through surveys and FGDs.
  7. Identify change agents for supporting gender and inclusion in the project area to ensure sustainability.