Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.
Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 75 countries.
ROLE PROFILE
| Title | Gender and Influencing Specialist | ||
| Functional Area | Programs Department | ||
| Reports to | Programme Support Manager (Strategic) | ||
| Location | Country Office | Travel required | 30% |
| Effective Date | 01-02-2020 | Grade | D1 |
role PURPOSE
To play a key role in strategic planning and implementation regarding Plan’s policy work on gender.
To manage and be accountable for all gender-related activities in the country:
To contribute to and lead aspects of Plan Ghana’s policy development, research and advocacy work, and to provide technical support to country programming activities on gender;
Dimensions of the Role
- Leads the implementation of Plan’s Gender Equality Strategy which aims to ensure Plan staff and offices have the tools, skills and capacities to fulfil core gender standards across the country programmes
- Coordinates the preparation and submission of progress reports relating to the implementation of the Gender strategy,
- Leads the Gender Equality Self-Assessment at Country level,
- Rolls out Plan’s Gender Equality Capacity Building Programme at country level,
- Collaborates to the development, implementation and review of the country strategic plan,
- Coordinates or collaborates to the implementation of the Because I Am A Girl (BIAAG) Campaign
Accountabilities
Define Performance on Gender Equality
A self-assessment of Plan offices is done,
A follow up Action Plan for gender mainstreaming exists (following the GESA process) and is regularly monitored,
Plan’s Gender Equality Policy and Standards are known by all staff,
Country Strategic Plan, annual plans, PULTP, Programmes, projects and research reports are gender sensitive,
The Country Office implements Plan’s Strategy for Gender Equality
The Country Office submits to the Regional Office a quarterly report progress on gender mainstreaming within the organization.
The Country Office implements Plan’s 5 gender standards
Support performance on Gender Equality
The Country Office has a Gender training/induction plan,
All staff are trained on Gender Programming,
All staff know and utilize Plan’s gender analysis tools,
The country office identifies and shares experiences on gender programming,
Supports staff in defining SMART gender performance objectives for the purpose of gender sensitivity assessment.
Gender Network
The Country Office actively participates in the regional gender network,
The CO documents gender programming and shares lessons learnt,
The Country Office is part of, and participates and is known in the national gender networks that are pertinent.
Because I’Am A Girl
BIAAG Campaign is part of the country programme
Dealing with problems:
Strategic thinking, listening and negotiation,
Informs, motivates and advises staff on gender issues,
Be a champion for gender equality practice and effective programming among staff
Communication and Working relationships
Internal
- The Gender Advisor reports directly to the Programme Support Manager (Strategic);
- S/He works closely with :
- other Advisors in Programme department,
- Communications department,
- Human Resource department,
- other departments’ managers.
- S/He will represent the CO in all Plan Gender related network
External
- Partners at national level: Gender Advisors/points persons within other INGOs,
- Governmental structures mainly Ministry of Gender to share best practices and to identify/implement opportunities for collaboration e.g. advocacy, research, etc.
- National technical networks
Dealing with Problems:
Complexity of problems handled & the degree of investigation, analysis, & creative thinking required to solve them.
- Exhibit a good sense of judgment and responsibility in performance of duties
- Works with minimum supervision
- Ensure the principles and guidelines on the new Global Policy on Prevention of Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse is fully embedded and in your area work.
- Ensure all concerned person, Child, member of a community where Plan International works and/or Programme Participant knows how to and feels safe and empowered to report any concerns, allegations or suspicions of Sexual Harassment, Exploitation or Abuse and the report is taking seriously.
- Create and strengthening the capacity of all staff, Associates and visitors to prevent and respond in a timely, effective, safe, comprehensive and confidential manner to all complaints, allegations and incidents on Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse.
Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.
Key relationships
.]
- High contact with media partners to ensure Plan communications and Gender activities meet the required standards of the organisation
- Low contact with Gender related service providers for the provision of communication/PR items that would ensure Plan receives value for money.
- Has high contact with all country office and program unit line managers and technical staff to support effective timely and quality communications and PR activities
- Maintains high contact with other staff from the program unit and country offices to offer support for understanding, informing, influencing or reasoning on administrative related activities
Technical expertise, skills and knowledge
Essential
Qualification and Experience
Qualification and Experience
- A Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Development Studies, Sociology
- Ideally minimum of 5 years solid experience in gender issues in the NGO/voluntary sector
- Experience of developing and implementing Gender strategies
- Experience in advocacy
- Understanding of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other human rights instruments.
Knowledge
Good knowledge of women rights issues at country level and globally, and instruments
Good knowledge of children rights, the CRC and other relating right instruments,
Knowledge and Understanding of the links between gender equality and children rights
Knowledge of Gender analysis programme frameworks and their applications to child rights programming
Skills
- Good training and presentation skills
- Technical and research skills in gender equality with a focus on girls human rights,
- Good gender analysis skills,
- Ability to provide guidance to research and policy development
- Good English and French, written and verbal skills
- Ability to build internal and external networks
- Good organisational and project management skills
Behaviours
- Provides strategic leadership in the country
- Promotes innovation and learning
- Communicates effectively and enthusiastically
- Behaves consistently in his/her approach to work and decision-making
Plan International’s Values in Practice
We are open and accountable
- Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
- Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
- Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
- Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
- Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people
We strive for lasting impact
- Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
- Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
- Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
- Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.
We work well together
- Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
- Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
- Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
- Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.
We are inclusive and empowering
- We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential
- We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace
- We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.
Physical Environment
Travel requirements
This position entails a minimum of 60% travel both within and outside the country
Level of Contact with Children:
Low contact: No contact or very low frequency of interaction
Mid contact: Occasional interaction with children
High level contact: Frequent interaction with children
High level contact: the job responsibilities of this position require frequent contact with children and it is expected that children shall be protected at all times.
Signature of Employee:
Date:
Signature of Line Manager:
Dare
Location: Country Office- Accra
Type of Role: Gender
Reports to: Head of Programs and Influencing
Grade: D1
Closing Date: 8th August, 2022
Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.
We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.
We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.
Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.
A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.
Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates.
