Overseas Volunteer Opportunity: Kenya

Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Advisor

Contribute. Discover. Grow. Volunteer with CDF Canada.

Eligibility criteria:   Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

Location:   Nairobi, Kilifi, Machakos, Kericho, Kakamega, Homabay, Makueni, Kajiado and Narok

Start Date:   Exact timing will be negotiated with the successful candidate.

Duration:   6-9 months, in-country and online support

Language Requirement:   English (Mandatory)

Reporting to:   Country Program Officer

The Program – VOICE for Women and Girls

The VOICE for Women and Girls program is a seven-year initiative (2020 – 2027) aimed at strengthening the performance of developing country partner organizations to advance gender equality and economic empowerment of 50,000 women and men from marginalised communities, in particular young women in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Malawi with a focus on action areas of the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), namely:

• Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls, and
• Growth that Works for Everyone.

The Program responds to the needs identified by women and men of co-operatives and the entire members in the countries of operation and is designed to increase the capacities of individual producers and primary co-operatives to support more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth. Supporting institutions, including apex co-operatives, co-operative colleges, and government/regulatory institutions will also be engaged to increase the capacity and prioritization of vulnerable groups.

The Partners you will work with

The African Confederation of Co-operative Savings and Credit Association (ACCOSCA) is a Pan-African confederation of national associations of savings and credit cooperatives societies. Having been established in Kenya by Co-operative leaders from across the continent in 1968, ACCOSCA has worked with various stakeholders in promoting the usage of the Co-operative Business model in a manner that would organically contribute towards the stimulating economic growth and development of a Country. Since its revitalization program at the Malawi General assembly in 2007, ACCOSCA has been leading the continent toward promoting financial inclusion in the local communities.

Currently, ACCOSCA has developed programs aimed at empowering and promoting cooperatives in Africa and is collaborating with various government bodies, development agencies and research institution in her service delivery to promote financial inclusion in Africa. Overall ACCOSCA aims at: Promoting the establishment of an institutional framework for mobilizing personal saving and credit cooperatives, Capacity Building, Technical Assistance, Information exchange, and Research on topical issues and addressing them amicably.

Cooperative University of Kenya (CUK)

Cooperative University of Kenya (CUK) is a public institution that provides education and training with an emphasis on Cooperative development. The mission of the college was defined and stated as, a national training institute involved in the training personnel of co-operative societies and unions as well as middle cadre government officers who help in the supervision of activities of the movement on behalf of the Ministry in charge of Co-operative Development (COCK Annual Report, 1983). CUK also works with small and medium entrepreneurs Co-operative Enterprises in Kenya to build their capacities and enhance their sustainability.

What you will do – Activities and deliverables

The Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) advisor will be reporting directly to the Country Program Officer, who is coordinating all program activities at the country level. He/She is also expected to work hand in hand with the local partner ACCOSCA, the board of directors (BOD) and management of SACCOs and co-operatives on regular basis. The GESI advisor is expected to host meetings and sessions with the partner, the BOD, and branch managers of the co-ops to interact and collaborate to get program goals accomplished.

The GESI advisor will be working with SACCOs and co-operatives to support them to identify any new challenges and opportunities for leaders to create sustainable, inclusive growth by implementing GESI strategies that will enhance gender integration and gender transformative programming and ensure their application in results measurement processes.

Objectives

The SACCOs and co-operatives would like to improve their services and develop innovative services that will enable them to serve their members satisfactorily. This calls for the co-operatives to be supported to look at their policies and revise them to meet their expectations. The volunteer is expected to play a lead role in gathering the needed information, analyzing the information, and advising the co-ops on best practices to support their co-op members.

The advisor will also work with other volunteers to ensure that all their activities have incorporated the VOICE GES. The VOICE for Women and Girls is working in 9 sub-counties in Kenya. The program interest is to improve women access and control over productive resources to ensure an economic growth that works for all. The aim is to have and implement a gender strategy that will enable the women and men in the co-ops to collaborate for women in general to improve on their economic circumstances.

Deliverables

Co-op support

• Provide technical support in the integration of gender equity and social inclusion (GESI) into the VOICE program.
• Collaborate with project managers, SACCOs, and partners to review and ensure integration of GESI in the VOICE and Strategic Innovation Funds (SIF) projects.
• Undertake research and analysis, maintain progress trackers and databases, and contribute to reporting and capacity-building activities.
• Assist in the development of and support ACCOSCA to implement and monitor the integration of the gender strategy across her projects.
• Design and facilitate GESI and Gender model family training modules for partners, co-operatives and their members.
• Support the identification of new community ideas and the development of concept notes and SIF proposals.

Training and development of training materials

• Will be required to provide technical support in the preparation of session plans on the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion for co-op and women thematic areas as captured on the capacity building plan or use available learning material to provide training for the co-ops.
• Develop training assessment tool, use the tool to collect information about the training and use the information to revise the session plans.

Your qualifications

Education:

• Degree (or equivalent) in social work, development studies, gender, or related humanities field.

Experience:

• Experience and expertise in supporting integration of GESI in development programs across a range of sectoral areas.
• Well-developed presentation, proposal, and report writing, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to carry out training and capacity building sessions at the community level.

Support package

This is a voluntary assignment. CDF Canada supports volunteers through the provision of a comprehensive package designed to cover a modest and healthy lifestyle, while allowing for effectiveness in the placement:

• Monthly living allowance.
• Return-trip international and/or domestic airfare.
• Visa-related costs (if needed).
• International health insurance.
• Vaccination and health-related costs (if needed).
• Interpreter and/or translator (if needed and depending on the position and duration of the assignment).
• Pre-departure support and orientation.
• Support and orientation during the assignment.
• Debriefing upon completion of the assignment.

E-volunteering

Depending on the nature of the placement, volunteers are encouraged to provide e-volunteering support to our local partners before or after their placement.

Engaging Canadians

CDF Canada provides technical and logistical support to young and experienced professionals through volunteer assignments to apply and acquire new skills and knowledge in international co-operative development. We ask each volunteer, regardless of the duration of their mandate, to share their experience in the country of assignment and in Canada. The experience can be shared by providing stories of human interest and photographs that can be used for social media outreach; Participate in events/conferences or other public engagement activities to share their experience to motivate others.

Application Process

Please submit a cover letter and CV/resume, by applying directly on our recruitment webpage. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Successful candidates will be required to obtain a police-check from their local police or RCMP detachment. All applicants are thanked for their interest in CDF Canada; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.