Justification and context

The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) is starting a new seed sector development project in South Sudan in December 2020. The “Accelerating Agriculture and Agribusiness in South Sudan for Enhanced Economic Development Project” (A3-SEED) will provide market-oriented interventions to support the establishment of a commercial, sustainable, and adaptive agriculture sector in South Sudan. The project will ensure the availability of improved seed down to the last-mile through agri-entrepreneurship and support existing private sector seed companies to improve seed and input marketing, distribution and production practices. A3-SEED seeks to reach more than 100,000 farming households, double incomes from marketable surpluses, increase farmer yields by 20-50% on target commodities, facilitate the development of 100 agro-dealers as well as 200 women-owned and 200 youth-led businesses, and bring 42,000 ha of farmland under agroecological production. The project will support the emergence of individual commercial seed producers, who produce for the local market, as outgrower for a seed company, or both. The anticipated project will be implemented in collaboration with KIT, Royal Tropical Institute with funding from the Netherlands Embassy.

The project will support commercialization of the seed sector through the following four Result Areas (RAs):

• Commercial Quality Seed Production focuses on ensuring efficient, high quality and economically viable seed production, sales and distribution tailored for market-oriented smallholder farmers;
• Quality Seed Use, Good Agricultural Practices and climate resilient farming practices among smallholder farmers results from tailored sales and distribution strategies provided by seed companies and commercial seed producers;
• Quality Seed, Input and Output Marketing and Distribution through the establishment of last-mile input distribution and effective seed, input and output market relationships which improve local competitiveness through agribusiness development, women empowerment, and youth employment;
• Learning and Capacity Development supports the above result areas together with targeted research to address bottlenecks, support adaptive project management and advance knowledge on seed sector development.

IFDC is seeking recruitment for an A3-SEED Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion (GYSI) Advisor (Juba) to be based in Juba and will lead the integration of gender and youth transformative and socially inclusive programming elements in accordance with global best practice, donor and IDFC’s requirements. The Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion Advisor participates in strategy, program implementation, program monitoring, and evaluation in relation to gender, youth and social inclusion integration in all project activities. This includes capacity building and technical assistance to government, civil society and community stakeholders.

This position works closely with the Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion specialists at KIT and provides leadership, guidance and technical support to the A3-SEED, in designing, implementing and documenting GYSI focused programming.

Functions and Responsibilities of the Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion (GYSI) Advisor

Planning and Implementation:

• Elaborate a gender and youth strategy for the A3-SEED project based on finding from the gender, youth assessments conducted during inception phase, oversee the implementation of these strategies and adapt and improve them as needed.
• Develop specific, actionable gender and youth strategies for each result area in the four result areas.
• Work closely with Project and Deputy Project Managers in integrating the findings from the gender/youth assessment into the project’s work plan and milestones.
• Conduct gender-based violence risk analysis and incorporate findings into program implementation plan.
• Collaborate with management and field teams to integrate gender and youth throughout the
• Lead in development and refinement of a project gender and youth strategy and integration plan.
• Assess gender and youth dynamics in the selected value chains in coordination with project staff and sector specialists, addressing barriers to improving participation of youth and women.
• Provide support in the development of operational manuals to ensure gender and youth equity and sensitivity in manual content and presentation.
• Oversee the implementation of the Gender Action Plan at field level with the various value chain actors including Farmer Groups, Farmer Business Groups,
• Collaborate with local women’s groups, gender-focused organizations, youth-focused organizations and other groups implementing similar gender- and youth-related activities in similar areas
• Participate in gender-related meetings with the donor, stakeholders, government officials, and implementing partners.
• Work closely with technical staff to design and implement activities that strengthen women’s and youth access to finance, training and other resources, such as land.
• Formulate strategies, activities, and messages for communicating the business case for investing in women and youth enterprises.
• Propose indicators and data collection methods for tracking changes in women’s and youth’s empowerment, gender dynamics, and gender inequality gaps that integrate into the projects MIS.

Coordination

• Develop relationships and linkages with organizations implementing other donor-funded programs focused on gender and youth in South Sudan
• Conduct regular community consultations to ensure the project adaptively remains gender and youth sensitive and on-track.
• Collect and share learnings and best practices
• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, donor, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall GYSI project targets and donor obligations are continuously met.

Training & Events

• Develop targeted gender and youth capacity building interventions to promote integration with project staff.
• Support project team in the development and delivery of training and capacity building on key gender and youth topics to project participants. Any additional duties related to training

Human Resources

Reporting Relationships

• Reports to the A3-SEED Project Manager on all aspects related to the A3-SEED Project in South Sudan.

Required Skills

Requirements

• MA/S or equivalent experience in international development, political science, women’s studies, economics, sociology, social sciences or other relevant field.
• 4 years’ experience in gender and youth development work including experience developing planning and implementation, conducting gender training, gender/youth mainstreaming and engaging in gender advocacy.
• Familiarity with Women’s Economic and Opportunities for Youth Empowerment (WEE/OYE) or similar frameworks.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead the collection, analysis and utilization of information from a broad range of sources to ensure effective integration of gender and youth concerns throughout the project’s duration.
• In-depth understanding of gender, age and other socio-cultural factors in the context of Agri business programming.
• Ability to foster commitment and build capacity among project staff and in-country actors around gender and youth integration.
• Previous experience in the development of gender strategies and gender action plans
• Significant field level experience in the both implementation and monitoring of gender mainstreaming techniques focusing on behavior change such as community dialogues, household approach etc.
• Prior experience successfully working in societies with low gender and development indicators.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills with ability to express ideas clearly, logically and effectively.
• Excellent attention to detail, strong project management skills and ability to meet deadlines
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple complex tasks, take initiatives and maintain composure under demanding conditions.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with donors, private sector and other stakeholders
• Strong computer skills with experience in MS office software and internet;
• Fluency in spoken and good written English is mandatory and ability to communicate in a second/third national language would be an advantage;
• Ability to work and travel in South Sudan and the region;
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary and international environment;
• This position is open to qualified South Sudanese nationals only.

Apply at: https://jobs.silkroad.com/IFDC/Careers/Apply/MultiForm/650