Gender and Inclusion Advisor at Creative Associates International

Program Description

• Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the five-year Leveraging Education Assistance Resources in Nigeria (LEARN) project supports sustainable improvements in reading outcomes for first and second grade pupils. The goal of LEARN is to strengthen and scale early grade reading (EGR) best practices by ensuring that standards-based, context-appropriate assessment, materials, training, and administrative supports needed to improve literacy skills for P1-2 pupils are embedded within the federal policy, funding, and monitoring frameworks. LEARN works with state and local authorities to ensure they have the implementation protocols, capacity, and resources needed to carry out and sustain standards-based, data-driven EGR reform.
• LEARN strives to instill ownership in and build the capacity of school-community, local, state, and federal systems to establish a base for adequate, consistent data-driven funding, monitoring and performance to achieve sustained EGR gains. LEARN will therefore be building on lessons learned from prior reading programs in Nigeria to introduce a flexible, cost-efficient EGR intervention model that can be tailored to state contexts.

Position Summary

• The Gender & Inclusion Advisor will take the lead in improving the quality and relevance of GESI inputs and ensuring the effective integration of GESI into program activities. The Gender and inclusion Advisor will work closely with the COP, DCOP, and senior Technical Leads of the project, as well as the HQ Project Director and Project Manager.

Reporting & Supervision:

• The Gender and Inclusion Advisor will report to the Chief of Party.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and review GESI materials such as approaches, tools, training agenda, training manuals/presentations for activities at national and state levels as may be required.
• Maintain ongoing monitoring and evaluation of gender-focused initiatives and activities.
• Conduct staff and partner training sessions, organization of advocacy activities, and campaign events tailored to project objectives and results.
• Work with program staff to identify and engage relevant local stakeholders to support GESI work and assist in institutionalizing interventions.
• Develop/review GESI intervention reports such as technical briefs, capacity building reports, assessment reports and other related reports.
• Support the MERLA Team in planning and conducting periodic learning events of interventions especially on GESI related interventions for necessary scale up and/ adaptation by other partners and non-partners for priority governance reforms on Early Grade Reading.
• Ensure project’s gender equality and social inclusion strategy is implemented in compliance with project work plan and client expectations.
• Point of contact for the project on GESI and represent the project in related activities.
• Any other duties as may be assigned.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Social Sciences, Social Work, Education, Inclusive Education, or related field.
• At least eight years of experience relevant to this position is required, with at least five in donor-funded gender and inclusion programming.
• At least four years of direct supervisory experience required.
• Prior experience organizing, implementing, and reporting on GESI education indicators.
• Experience with GESI and education programs.
• Demonstrated excellence in communications and interpersonal skills. Political savvy to interact effectively with numerous ministry institutions and senior-level national and subnational-level government officials.
• Demonstrated ability to work in complex, politically charged environments, across different cultures and communities, and manage diverse teams to deliver impact within agreed-upon timelines.
• Fluency in written and spoken English required.
• Proficiency in Hausa, Igbo, or Yoruba is preferred.

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Previous experience in a similar role.
• Proven experience directly and indirectly supervising and managing staff and teams
• Experience with a USAID-funded or other international organization implementing a program operating in insecure areas is desired.
• Strong ability to deploy and use various forms of tracking tools.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills are required.
• Excellent record-keeping, and documentation skills are required.