JOB PURPOSE

The GPI Advisor will report to the Head of Programme Operations Unit in RBN, with technical support from HQ. The GPI Advisor will manage a small team including functional focal points on gender and protection / AAP.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

The GPI Advisor will be responsible for coordinating a small team and the below key duties:

Technical Support to Country Offices

• Analysis: The Advisor will provide technical guidance, advice, and where needed in-country support to COs in undertaking integrated gender, protection, and inclusion (GPI) analysis with a particular focus on aspects impacting food insecurity and vice-versa and arising from WFP operations and presence.
• Work on data protection and privacy and privacy impact assessments (PIAs) as necessary, in accordance with corporate policy and guidance. Guidance on IHL implications for operations will also be required where relevant, including on cross-border assistance and application of Security Council Resolution 2417.
• Provide support on risk analysis as part of corporate risk management should also be provided where relevant.
• Response: Provide technical guidance and advice on the integration of gender, protection, disability inclusion, conflict sensitivity, and AAP to COs in the region through remote support as well as in-country missions.
• Based on the GPI analysis, provide support to the country offices and partners to develop risk mitigation measures including programme adjustments, advocacy initiatives, partnership building and coordination enhancement activities, etc. The Advisor shall work closely with WFP field staff; protection / gender-mandated and non-mandated agencies; WFP Cooperating Partners; and other relevant interlocutors on the ground in this regard.
• Advise, guide, and steer RBN and Country Offices on the implementation of the corporate Gender Policy including the mainstreaming of gender equality and women’s empowerment within WFP operations and programmatic interventions at the regional level and at Country Office level.
• Monitoring: The Advisor will work with the Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM) teams and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Units in the region to integrate relevant GPI concerns into assessment and monitoring tools and support the roll-out of any updated monitoring mechanisms with WFP and partners at the CO and field level.
• Manage the effective application and use of relevant markers including the Gender and Age Marker (GaM) and Gender Equality and Accountability Marker / GPI Accountability Marker (GEAR / GPI-AR) through supervision of team members focusing on the area and/or by supporting country office teams to sustainably report on gender equality, women’s empowerment, protection, and inclusion outcomes, and mainstreamed gender equality objectives/goals in all WFP strategies, projects and programmes.
• Research and conceptual development: Where appropriate, support COs to develop and assess potential theories of change of how WFP’s programming may contribute to peace and to gender transformation and suggest means of measuring such contributions and engage /support research on the same where possible and relevant.

Global and Regional Collaboration

• Engagement with corporate policy and strategic framework: Provide feedback on the utility / effectiveness of existing corporate tools relating to gender, protection, conflict sensitivity, inclusion, and AAP, and provide input into the development of new corporate tools and policies, strategies, and guidance as relevant.
• Integration into existing tools and processes: Provide advice and technical support to integrate GPI considerations into WFP’s existing tools and processes as relevant at the regional level.
• Work with senior management in the RB and the COs to ensure strong institutional commitment and leadership (through active and visible champions) for GPI including Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, Protection, Disability Inclusion, AAP, and other programme and process objectives.
• Cross-functional engagement: The Advisor will ensure the team works with all other regional units at the Bureau as necessary, including programme units and sub-units, risk, tech, security, logistics, supply chain, and others, to ensure that GPI considerations are incorporated into other programme guidance where relevant, and that risk assessments for access and delivery take into account protection of civilians / beneficiaries and conflict sensitivity concerns as well as other GPI considerations where relevant.
• Support the establishment and coordination of the work, and strengthen the technical capacity, of the internal gender infrastructure including Regional Bureau Gender Results Team and the regional and CO Gender Results Network;
• Inter-agency coordination and representation in regional fora: Coordinate with other UN humanitarian agencies, NGO partners and other relevant interlocutors on assessments of current and emerging GPI issues, gender, protection, and conflict dynamics, and response planning. Specifically, the Advisor will assist WFP to strengthen its engagement with the relevant inter-agency gender and protection / inclusion coordination mechanisms and individual gender and protection actors to ensure complementarity with the respective overall strategies.

Capacity Building and Partnership Engagement

• Training and Information provision: Identify capacity strengthening needs and facilitate capacity building, including training, and develop and implement (including through supervision within the team) training across the region on GPI analysis, gender transformative programming, protection mainstreaming and risk mitigation, inclusion and accessibility, conflict sensitivity, peacebuilding, and AAP for WFP and cooperating partner staff across the region.
• Train and build the capacity of staff on GPI analysis, protection and GPI risk mitigation measures, gender awareness, mainstreaming, and gender programming, supporting improved ability by all WFP staff to integrate the key principles in WFP’s work throughout the programme cycle, including regular dissemination of new guidance, tools and approaches for this work, and link staff to available training and other opportunities in their country of operation and elsewhere.
• Partnership development and strengthening/ maintenance: Build links and forge partnerships with GPI, peacebuilding, and conflict sensitivity actors. Maintain and expand existing partnerships relevant to GPI and identify opportunities for collaboration with partner agencies and new partnership, including with Women-Led Organisations, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities, and other representative and local organisations including civil society organisations and grassroots groups;
• Represent WFP in relevant inter-agency gender, protection, inclusion, AAP, and other relevant fora, and will provide advice to WFP staff who participate in such meetings at the national or field levels;
• Strengthen strategic partnerships on GPI and, where relevant, support mobilization of resources required to effectively implement the relevant corporate GPI policies and guidance, along with associated regional strategies.

Community Feedback Mechanism and PSEA

• Community Feedback Mechanism: Work closely with the RBN Monitoring Team to provide any needed technical advice and support to COs on CFM implementation and enhancement, including achievement of the relevant benchmarks.  Provide support to ensuring an AAP and community engagement lens in all aspects of CFM including both policy and implementation as relevant. Ensure that gender, protection, and inclusion are mainstreamed in all aspects of CFM;
• Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Provide policy advice, technical guidance and implementation support to all teams to prevent and address SEA and engage with regional and country level work on PSEA as necessary. Facilitate and support the work of PSEA Focal Points in COs.

Other

• Perform other related duties as required.

DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:

• WFP regionally has an increasingly rationalized and streamlined approach for operationalizing its corporate crosscutting commitments, and can demonstrate tangible progress on key benchmarks through technical support and, where relevant, oversight to all country offices in the Region.
• Annual Country Reports (ACR) for the year have met minimum quality standards from the perspective of corporate cross-cutting issues.
• Capacity building provided to the country office staff on protection, accountability to affected populations, disability inclusion, gender transformative approaches and women’s empowerment, and / or other cross-cutting topics as relevant.
• Support to COs to finalise / update Gender Action Plans, GPI Action Plans, Community Engagement Action Plans, Protection Analysis, or other key foundational documents, with minimum 5 COs supported to finalise / update one or more during the consultancy
• Technical, policy and programmatic support provided as needed on the integration of gender, protection, disability inclusion, AAP, and other cross-cutting perspectives in the overall strategic planning and programming of WFP projects/programmes.
• Strengthened coordination mechanisms for gender mainstreaming and gender-transformative programming developed among gender advisors and gender results networks.
• Facilitated WFP engagement in regional interagency working groups and networks including on Gender in Humanitarian Action, Disability Inclusion, Accountability to Affected Populations / Community Engagement, Protection, Gender-Based Violence, PSEA, and/or others.
• Support provided to country offices as needed in mainstreaming gender, protection, AAP, conflict sensitivity, disability inclusion, and others into needs assessment and monitoring frameworks including adaptation of tools, collection, analysis and reporting processes

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

Advanced University degree in International Law, Development Studies, Gender, Social Sciences, or a related field relevant to international development and humanitarian assistance.

Experience:

• At least 5-10 years (majority of which at international and field level) of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in development projects or humanitarian assistance, including crisis and post-crisis contexts; experience in the Eastern Africa / Horn of Africa region is highly desirable.
• In-depth knowledge of gender, protection, and inclusion in humanitarian and development settings, especially in the areas of Protection, AAP, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, Gender-Based Violence, Disability Inclusion, humanitarian policy issues, and their linkage with food security, nutrition and climate change.
• Demonstrated experience working on humanitarian protection and/or international humanitarian law,human rights law and programming in a field setting.
• Experience of managing teams and projects.
• Experience in the design and delivery of training and other learning initiatives related to areas including gender transformative approaches, accountability to affected populations, protection and gender mainstreaming, disability inclusion, and conflict sensitivity.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Knowledge of UN system policies and functions of various agency mandates including those on gender and protection in particular.
• Experience working with WFP or a WFP cooperating partner in the field is a strong asset.
• Strong knowledge of food security and/or nutrition programme principles and practices in a variety of contexts.

Languages:

Excellent written and spoken English (level C) is a requirement; working knowledge of a second official UN language is an advantage.