Are you a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada, you are invited to submit your job application for the position of Gender Advisor at CDF Canada. Related to current jobs in Ghana 2023

Overseas Volunteer Opportunity: Ghana

Gender Advisor (Co-operative development)

Contribute. Discover. Grow. Volunteer with CDF Canada.

Location: Salaga, Kpandai, Bimbila

Start Date: As soon as possible

Duration:   Six months to One Year

Language Requirement: English (Mandatory) 

Reporting to: Country Program Officer

The Project

The VOICE for Women and Girls project is a seven-year initiative (2020 – 2027) aimed at strengthening the performance of developing country partner (DCP) organizations to advance gender equality and economic empowerment of 50,000 women and men from marginalised communities, in particular young women (target: 60% women and girls), 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 Project responds to the needs identified by women and men of cooperatives 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.

 

Our Partner

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. 

Your Assignment

The Gender Volunteer will be reporting directly to the Country Program Officer, who is coordinating all project activities at the country level. He/She is also expected to work hand in hand with credit unions, DCP and relevant stakeholders that the VOICE project is working with.  On a regular basis the advisor is expected to host meetings and training sessions with the managers of the credit Unions in the branch or branches where he/she has been assigned. This mandate is estimated to last for one year and will consider only candidates who will be willing to commit a minimum of 6 months.

The VOICE project has conducted gender assessment for the project to elicit information on the major gender issues that needs to be addressed to enable the VOICE for women and girls project to achieve its objective and have the needed projected impact. The volunteer is expected to support development of a country gender equality strategy (GES) that is feasible and acceptable from the assessment and in consultation with the CDF gender specialist, the partner and the relevant stakeholders in the districts. This position requires someone who has theoretical and practical experience leading and managing gender strategy programs within the NGO and international development work. This position will be located outfield and will require frequent travel to meet with key gender stakeholders at the district and branch level.

Objectives

The credit union wants to improve their services and develop innovative services that will enable them to serve their members very well. This requires support in  reviewing of existing policies and revise them to meet their needs. The gender advisor 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 from a gender and inclusion perspective.

The advisor will also work with other volunteers in-country to ensure that all their activities have incorporated the VOICE GES in such a manner expected of the project output. The VOICE for women and girls project is working with 4 credit union co-ops in 5 districts of the Northern and Savannah regions of Ghana. These 4 credit union co-ops have 12 branches and an overall membership base of over 10,366. The project interest is to improve women access and control over productive resources to ensure an economic growth that works for everyone. The aim is to have and implement a gender strategy that will enable the men and women in the co-ops to collaborate and enhance the acceptance of women’ economic empowerment.

Deliverables

The desired gender advisor Volunteer is expected to carry out the following key duties and responsibilities.

• Liaise with the gender specialist in HQ to work on developing the VOICE gender equality strategy
• Facilitate a GES validation workshop in liaison with the local partner and the Country program officer
• Train the partner staff and managers on the VOICE gender equality strategy and other gender related thematic areas
• Provide technical support to other volunteers on their training session plans to ensure that they have incorporated the needed gender content in their session plans and training materials
• Work with the volunteers to support the gender model families with the needed information according to the response of the gender strategy
• Work with the country program officer to identify and establish the gender model families for the project
• Work with the other volunteers to collect the needed data, analyze and use the information to review the gender strategy from time to time with the assistance of the country program officer
• Track staff training needs and provide training to the staff to improve their capacities
• Review and update the gender equality policy for local partner and credit unions
• Develop a Gender Training and Facilitation Manual (GTFM) to guide gender trainings and field facilitations
• Organize materials for workshops on Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming for selected Credit unions
• Participate in knowledge management sessions with other volunteers across the project implementing countries
• Capture and share success stories for volunteer engagement and impact
• Compile activity, monthly and end of mandates reports as expected
• Participate in planning and review of project activities with other volunteers, partner and CDF staff

Qualifications

The applicant must possess the following skills, experiences, and personal characteristics: 

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in gender theories, approach and practical experience in gender field activities
• Experience and knowledge in gender strategy development, contemporary issues on gender, gender equality and social inclusion in developing country
• Knowledge and skills in collecting and analyzing data to update the gender strategy
• Formal gender studies are a must. 
• Experience and knowledge of co-operatives. Proven experience in co-operative development in a developing country context will be an asset. 
• Excellent facilitation and interpersonal skills
• Excellent capacity to analyze, develop recommendations and capture lessons learned
• Ability to travel to and live in remote locations where services are minimal 
• Ability to work autonomously, be flexible and analytical
• Knowledge in community participation methodologies.
• Experience facilitating group learning/training sessions or focus groups. 
• Demonstrated ability and interest in communicating and interacting effectively with people of a different culture. 
• Must be able to work alone as well as with the credit union
• Ability to transform complex concepts and information into plain language reports
• Demonstrated experience working internationally, including rural and remote contexts

 

Terms and Conditions

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 international and domestic airfare.
• Ground transportation.
• Accommodation.
• Meal and incidental allowance.
• Visa-related costs (if needed).
• Travel insurance.
• Vaccination-related costs (if needed).
• Dedicated interpreter/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 or CDF Canada before or after their placement. Volunteers also have the option of requesting support from an e-volunteer to help them with their work while they are in placement.

Engaging Canadians

CDF Canada provides technical and logistical support to young and experienced professional through volunteer assignments to apply and gain new skills and knowledge in international co-operative development.  We ask each volunteer, regardless of placement duration, to share her/his experience during and/or upon completion of their assignment either in the country of assignment and in Canada. Experience may be shared through providing human interest stories and photographs that can be used for social media outreach; participating in organized talks at universities or other public engagement activities to share and tell their experiences to motivate others.  

Application Process

Please submit a resume and letter of intent to [email protected]. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Successful candidates will be required to obtain a police check from their local police/RCMP detachment. All applicants are thanked for their interest in CDF Canada; however, only those selected for an interview