Gender Lead /Specialist at Palm Valley Nigeria Ltd (PVNL)

Role Summary:

The PVNL Gender Specialist will be responsible for providing technical expertise and leadership in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment across all PVNL’s programs and initiatives. The Gender Specialist will play a pivotal role in the development of a gender and socio-inclusion framework for mainstreaming gender throughout the PVNL’s project cycle, from design to implementation and evaluation, ensuring that gender perspectives are effectively integrated into all organization's development interventions. The Gender Specialist will report to the programs director and work closely with other project leads.

Key Responsibilities

Gender Strategy and Mainstreaming

• The Gender Specialist will provide technical support in developing and implementing women-specific projects and ensuring that principles of gender equality and social inclusion are integrated into all aspects of project design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
• She will provide technical support to the project team, project partners, and community stakeholders on the effective integration of Gender and Socio-Inclusion strategies, specifically for marginalized groups such as women, youths, and People Living with Disabilities (PLWD’s). 
• Support the programs director in developing and implementing the PVNL’s Gender and Socio-Inclusion (GSI) strategy and action plan to guide the organizations gender programming.
• Lead all gender assessments and conduct gender analysis to identify gender gaps, constraints, and opportunities for specific projects within target communities or sectors.
• Ensure that PVNL’s program activities and interventions are gender-responsive and promote women's empowerment.

Capacity Building and Training

• Design and deliver gender-related training and capacity-building programs for PVNL staff, partners, and stakeholders.
• Foster a culture of gender awareness and sensitivity within the organization and among implementing partners
• Develop toolkits, guidelines, and resource materials to support gender mainstreaming efforts.

Partnership Communication and Advocacy

• Establish and maintain partnerships with gender-focused organizations, networks, and stakeholders.
• Working closely with the Program Director in the development of knowledge products, publications, and thought leadership pieces on gender-related topics.
• Lead in planning and share support for commemoration of global gender related events and stay abreast of the latest developments, methodologies, and approaches in the field of gender and development.
• Represent PVNL in relevant forums, conferences, and events related to gender and development.
• Support the PVNL Senior Management Team (SMT) in advocating for gender, socio-inclusion and women's empowerment at high-levels through influencing policies and practices where applicable.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

• Support the M&E team to develop gender-sensitive indicators and tools for monitoring and evaluating the impact of gender mainstreamed programs.
• Support the program team to analyze data and prepare reports on gender-related outcomes and lessons learned.
• Facilitate learning and knowledge-sharing activities to promote continuous improvement in gender mainstreaming.

Desired Qualification Skills and Experience

• Bachelors and Master's degree in Gender Studies, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or any related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in gender mainstreaming, programming and women's empowerment related works in development programs.
• Proven expertise in gender analysis, gender-responsive programming, gender monitoring and evaluation methodologies, Social Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC), gender equality principles, frameworks, and best practices.
• Excellent training and capacity-building skills, excellent research, analytical, and report writing abilities.
• Knowledge of gender-related policies, frameworks, and international commitments (e.g., SDGs)
• Proficiency in stakeholder engagement, partnership building, community advocacy and ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Effective communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex gender concepts to diverse audiences.
• Excellent computer/technical skills with advanced proficiency in MS Office Suite (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). Experience with the use of project management software.
• Fluency in Hausa language and strong understanding of rural community context in northern Nigeria is key for this position.