Overseas Volunteer Opportunity: GHANA

Environment Advisor

Contribute. Discover. Grow. Volunteer with CDF Canada.

Eligibility criteria:   Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

Location:   This position is in the field (Salaga)

Start Date:   As soon as possible.

Duration:   3 months

Language Requirement:   English (Mandatory)

Reporting to:   Country Program Officer

The Program – VOICE for Women and Girls

VOICE for Women and Girls, funded by the government of Canada, is a volunteer cooperation program (2020 – 2028) that aims to strengthen the performance of country partner organizations to advance gender equality and economic empowerment of 50,000 co-operative and credit union members from marginalized communities in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.

The program, supported by volunteers, strives to address the challenges and barriers that adversely affect the economic and social well-being of vulnerable groups, with particular emphasis on women and girls. VOICE aims to respond to the needs identified by these groups and to increase the capacities of individual producers and primary co-operatives, to support more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient growth. Supporting institutions such as apex co-operatives, co-operative colleges, and government/regulatory bodies will also be engaged to increase the capacity and prioritization of vulnerable groups.

The Partner you will work with

SEND Ghana has previously implemented the ACCESS and Fostering project and in some initiatives including 4R-NSP in partnership with CDF with funding from GAC. SEND Ghana focuses on research and advocacy to increase good governance practices of accountability, transparency, equity and participation in pro-poor policies and social services as well as empowers resource poor women and men to expand their small enterprises to improve income and farmers to increase food and nutrition security

What you will do – Activities and deliverables

Your assignment

VOICE has completed data collection and analysis on the environment from the coop members and determined the focus areas for the environmental strategy. There is a great gap between the effort co-op members put into farm productive activities, the impact they make on the environment and the yields that accrue from their labor. Women are those affected the most. They have access to lands on the fringes which are often barren and lack nutrient to support any cash crop production.

VOICE Ghana has developed its Environmental Sustainability Strategy in consultation with key government institutions to ensure alignment and avoid duplication of efforts. The strategy outlines the implementation plan in detail, clearly defining the roles of volunteers, partner organizations, and government stakeholders collaborating with VOICE.

We are currently seeking a volunteer with the relevant background and capacity to support the rollout of these activities.

There are 3 credit union co-ops covering 5 districts with over 15 branches working with the VOICE for women and girl's project. The focus is to help the coops, especially women in these districts and branches to gain the needed information that will enhance the preservation of the environment to ensure that the environment continue to yield its benefit to support their livelihood and other activities that they are engaged in within the branches and communities where they live.

Deliverables

The desired Environment Advisor Volunteer is expected to carry out the following key duties and responsibilities.

·        Meet with the relevant government institutions to validate and finalize the environmental strategy for the VOICE program  

·        Provide training and guidance on best environmental practices to volunteers, the co-op development facilitators, co-op managers and the institutions that support co-op development to enhance farmer income and economic circumstance  

·        Have an exceptionally good understanding of proposal writing and development to support the cooperatives identify and apply for financial support. 

·        Share knowledge with the partner to help to improve the technical understanding of environmental issues of co-op operations to provide innovative services to the co-ops.

·       Coordinate with the co-op development facilitators to ensure that co-op development training activities are appropriately down streamed  

Continuously provide technical support to the coops regularly to understand their challenges and discuss facilitate participatory solutions including discussions with coop supporting institutions and partner

Your qualifications

Education:

·        Minimum of bachelor's degree in environmental policy, integrated development studies, climate change or environmental science or other equivalent qualifications.

Experience:

·        Experience and knowledge in environmental strategy development, understanding of integrated environmental strategy supporting agriculture, soil quality and water conservation or climate change.

·        Knowledge and skills in facilitation with understanding in adult learning methodologies

·        Formal training in one of the following: environmental impact assessment, environmental studies, environmental science, development studies is necessary.

·        Strong proposal writing to support the coops to access the SIF

·        Experience on training material development

·        Strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills to engage varied stakeholders.

·        Strong oral and written communication skills in the English language. Other local languages are an asset.

·        Should be a proactive self-starter with the ability to work independently; need strong ability to set priorities, solve problems, and be resourceful under pressure.

·        Strong skills in writing small proposals

·        Experience and knowledge of co-operative development in a developing country will be an asset.

·        Experience in developing concept notes and proposals for small grants.  

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:

·        Return-trip international and/or domestic airfare.

·        Visa-related costs (if needed).

·        Police record check.

·        International health insurance.

·        Vaccination and health-related costs (covered by the insurance if needed).

·        Interpreter and/or translator (if needed and depending on the assignment).

·        Modest monthly living allowance.

·        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 assignment, volunteers are encouraged to provide e-volunteering support to our local partners before or after their assignment.

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 assignment, to share their experience during and upon return to 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 other Canadians to volunteer.