Location: Dhangadhi
Division: International Development Division
Contract: Sajhedari-STF Project
Supervisor: GESI Advisor

Project Summary:

The goal of the USAID funded Sajedhari - Support to Federalism (STF) project, implemented by Abt Associates is to provide technical assistance to the Government of Nepal (GoN) in transitioning to a federation of provinces with more effective, accountable, responsive, and inclusive local governance. The key objectives of the Sajhedari-STF Project are the following:

•  The GoN creates and implements sound policies and legislation that are informed by evidence, and empower, finance, and regulate provincial and municipal governments;
• The targeted province and select municipal governments therein are more responsive, inclusive, accountable, transparent, and effective in decision making and delivering priority services to fulfilling core legal responsibilities; and
• Citizens and civil society organizations in targeted geographic areas, including the historically marginalized, actively participate local decision-making and oversight. 

General Position Summary

The GESI Specialist works closely with the Women Empowerment Specialist in Dhangadhi, and under the supervision of the GESI Advisor based in Kathmandu, as well as in close coordination with the Senior Provincial Manager and technical support team. S/he is responsible for managing GESI mainstreaming activities in the governance sector as required on Sajhedari, and as described in Abt Associates’ contract with USAID, and in the Project’s approved annual work plan. S/he is responsible for compliance to USAID and Abt Associates’ rules and regulations, and ensuring that related reporting, and monitoring requirements are met.   

This position is based in Dhangadhi, but requires some travel to the Kathmandu office. Frequent travel is required to partner provinces and municipalities for effective coordination and monitoring to assure quality implementation, focusing mentoring, timely reporting and, documentation of learnings and best practices. S/he will ensure that project partners and other stakeholders understand these rules and regulations, and reporting and monitoring requirements as well, and will hold them accountable.

Job Requirements:

• Oversee planning, implementation, supervision and monitoring of GESI mainstreaming across all project activities, including distilling the plan’s objectives and targets into actionable milestones, and designing activities at the provincial and field levels to ensure the plan’s success.
• Advise the GESI Advisor on GESI-sensitive approaches to project activities and provide inputs on GESI integration to the technical team as needed. 
• Backstop policy, governance, and citizen engagement specialists to help ensure provincial- and field-level activities are implemented with a GESI-sensitive lens.
• Provide support to strengthen Judiciary committee and mediation processes to prevent and peacefully manage local level disputes at the ward and municipality levels
• Support the project’s efforts to build the GESI capacity of key stakeholders in CSOs, government and the private sector involve in sub national governance process.
• Guide the monitoring evaluation and learning (MEL) team on data collection and analysis of GESI indicators, and provide technical expertise to help ensure that GESI activities are measured and evaluated for continuous learning and improvement.
• Work with the Senior Provincial Project Manager, Subcontracts and Grants Specialist and other relevant Sajhedari team members to ensure that subcontractors and partners comply with USAID GESI-related regulations and the project’s GESI policies and strategy.
• Contribute to reports, white papers, case studies, and success stories to document and showcase the project’s GESI achievements. 

Qualifications:

• A minimum of 6-8 years of progressive management experience in the development sector, with at least four years of relevant professional experience in gender and/or social inclusion mainstreaming, justice and mediation; experience with USAID-funded projects strongly preferred.
• A bachelor’s degree in gender studies, sociology, international development, economics, or a related field is required; an advanced degree (master’s or equivalent) is strongly preferred. Legal degree is considered as advantage.
• A proven track record of implementing GESI in line with both national and international best practices. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated success making connections with key stakeholders to enhance the adoption of GESI principles. 
• Demonstrated capacity to lead the collection, analysis and utilization of data and information from a broad range of sources to ensure effective integration of GESI in project programming.
• Professional verbal and written fluency in English, as well as strong writing skills.