Gender Specialist

Position

Gender Specialist (GS)– VNG International Palestinian Branch Office

Background of VNG International

VNG International (www.vng-international.nl) is the International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities. Our objective is to strengthen democratic local government, to support decentralization processes and to facilitate decentralized cooperation. We strengthen local governments, their associations, training institutes and decentralization task forces both in developing countries and in countries in transition.

VNG established a local office in Palestine to manage its activities.

The IDEAL Palestine programme aims to build the capacity to form and implement inclusive Local Economic Development projects and policies of staff and leaders of selected Palestinian municipalities and its supporting organizations, i.e. the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), the Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF), and the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA).

Specific tasks

The GS Will:

-Advice team members on a daily basis on gender mainstreaming, gender sensitization methods, and strategies on activities and policy.
-Provide policy options and high quality advisory inputs to VNG International offices that are responsive to national Palestinian policies, priorities and strategic plans, and to advance VNG International gender goals.
-Institute capacity development initiatives in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment within IDEAL project.
-Identify gender related trends and propose areas of improvement to ensure gender considerations are fully mainstreamed into all IDEAL relevant components.
-Incorporate the findings of the gender analysis into the project results framework: develop IDEAL gender-responsive outcomes.
-Draw and provide leadership on gender analysis, gender integration in Local Economic Development (LED) councils to assure proper balance in the composition of the council.
-Collaborate closely with partner organizations in the design adaptation and delivery of gender training materials.
Work with local partners to address women needs and identify barriers to women’s participation that may be encountered.
-Identify activities and strategies for addressing gender concerns throughout the LED process.
-Perform campaigns to raise awareness on how some practices within organizations and institutions can be detrimental to achieve gender equality.
-Ability to ensure gender integration in project design, implementation and ME.

Reporting requirements

The Gender Specialist will work in VNG International Palestine’s office to provide technical planning, coordination, and implementation of the project’s gender focused activities. S/he will also work closely with the Resident Programme Officer (RPO) and the Director of the Branch Office (DBO) to ensure gender integration across project activities.

The gender specialist will report on a day to day basis to the DBO and contribute upon the DBO’s instructions to the 3-monthly Branch Office progress report. The Gender Specialist will submit monthly timesheets, signed by the DBO, to the VNG office in The Hague.

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Minimum qualifications

-Advanced university degree (Bachelor's degree or equivalent) in gender, women studies, social sciences, Public Administration, governance or relevant academic discipline.
-Minimum of 3 years of relevant practical working experience in gender, women studies, social sciences, and local government sector in similar field in Palestine ; - Experience in supporting planning and budgeting process for Palestine is considered a strong asset.
-Proven experience combining formal expertise on gender mainstreaming and gender equality with experience of applying these concretely to specific humanitarian programme sectors, plans, policies and business processes.
-Relevant research experience and published materials in addition to proven education in gender related issues are an asset.
-Good understanding of Palestine decentralization process is an asset.
-Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice in gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment.

Skills:

Excellent command of both oral and writing in English & Arabic. Strong interactive facilitation skills. Good organizational skills; Excellent social, communication and networking skills, Pro-active, representative and flexible attitude. Correct in administration; Able to work both in a team and independently; Computer literate - excellent knowledge of Word and Excel is a must.

Period of the of the initial contract

1 year (first two months will be probation period).

Place of the assignment

Ramallah Palestine, and travel throughout Palestine as required by VNG International.

Apply Instructions

Qualified candidates should send the most recent CV including Three professional contacts as references, and a cover letter detailing their interest and qualifications for this position to the following email addresses:

[email protected]

Deadline for submitting applications: Thursday, February 8th, 2018 no later than 4:00pm.

Please indicate the position title (GS) in the email subject line. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview.

VNG International is an equal opportunities employer.