Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
In the wake of increased demand for digitalization of the agriculture sector and use of data for decision making, FAO Kenya has been at the forefront in supporting the Government of Kenya to fully realize this goal. Consequently, FAO Kenya is seeking to strengthen its internal technical capacity by employing a qualified and competent Gender and Youth Specialist in a position located within the FAO Representation in Kenya.

Reporting Lines

The Gender and Youth Specialist will work under overall guidance of the FAO Representative in Kenya and direct supervision of the National Programme Coordinator.

Technical Focus

The Gender and youth specialist will play a critical role in ensuring that the project is implemented in a socially inclusive and environmentally responsible manner, adhering to both national regulations and GCF standards. The Gender and youth Specialist will ensure that the project is planned, implemented, monitored and reported in line with FAO’s gender policy, the GCF Gender Policy and Action Plan, and develop Project’s Gender Action Plan (GAP) along the Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) instruments. The specialist will work closely with the project team, county governments and implementing partners to translate gender commitments into practical actions across all components and value chains.

Tasks and responsibilities

•     Provide technical and coordination support to integrate gender equality and social inclusion across all project components (climate-resilient value chains, ecosystem restoration, governance and capacity development).
•     Lead or coordinate the implementation, periodic updating and operationalization of the Project Gender Action Plan (GAP), ensuring alignment with FAO and GCF requirements.
•     Conduct or coordinate gender analyses and gender-sensitive/context analyses at county, value chain and community levels, and ensure findings are incorporated into workplans, site selection, cooperative support, CSA packages and restoration activities.
•     Support implementing partners, counties, cooperatives and service providers to design and implement gender-responsive and youth-inclusive activities, including training, enterprise development, climate services, and access to finance and inputs.
•     Provide hands-on support for gender and youth-responsive trainings and multi-stakeholder workshops, including development of training materials and facilitation at county/community level.
•     Work with project team to ensure that risk mitigation measures related to gender-based violence (GBV), sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) and other gender-related risks are integrated into field activities and partner agreements.
•     Provide technical advice to the project team, implementing partners and county partners on national and county-level policy frameworks related to gender equality, youth, social protection and climate-resilient agriculture, and support their integration into FP255 interventions.
•     Support county governments and relevant institutions to strengthen gender-responsive policies and strategies in areas such as cooperatives, natural resource governance, extension and climate responses.
•     Contribute gender inputs to annual workplans, budgets, procurement documents, ToRs and partner agreements, ensuring they reflect project gender commitments.
•     Work closely with the M&E team to ensure sex- and age-disaggregated data (SADD) is systematically collected and analysed for all relevant indicators, in line with the IRMF and project logframe.
•     Support the development and use of gender-sensitive indicators and qualitative measures to capture changes in women’s and youth’s participation, decision-making, access to resources, workloads, benefits and resilience.
•     Provide consolidated gender and social inclusion inputs for key project reports, including GCF APRs (Annual Performance Reports), semi-annual/annual progress reports, missions and supervision reports.
•     Ensure that GRM (Grievance Redress Mechanism) processes are gender-responsive and accessible, and that project teams understand and apply appropriate referral pathways for GBV/SEAH cases in line with FAO protocols.
•     Maintain an updated record of gender-related achievements, challenges and lessons, and contribute to risk registers and adaptive management discussions.
•     Develop or adapt knowledge products and tools on gender, youth and social inclusion in climate-resilient agriculture, value chains, cooperatives and ecosystem restoration (briefs, case studies, training modules, checklists).
•     Document and disseminate good practices, success stories and lessons learned on gender-transformative and youth-inclusive approaches within the project, for use at county, national and global levels.
•     Lead or support capacity-building for project team, county teams and partners on gender equality, GBV/SEAH risk mitigation, gender-responsive value chain development and participatory approaches.
•     Facilitate or contribute to communities of practice/networks on gender and climate-resilient agriculture within FAO and with external partners in Kenya and the region.
•     Collaborate with FAO communications staff to ensure visibility and messaging on gender and social inclusion aspects of the project across FAO and partner platforms.
•     Liaise regularly with FAO Country Office Gender Focal Point and relevant regional/HQ gender officers to ensure consistency with FAO corporate guidance and to share project experiences.
•     Participate in project coordination meetings, technical working groups and field missions as required.
•     Perform any other gender and social inclusion-related tasks required to support effective implementation and reporting.

FAO Standards and guidelines:

•     Liaison with OCC will be maintained, either directly or through an agreed focal point/coordinator, to ensure compliance with OCC standards, aligned messaging, and appropriate review and clearance processes. 
•     All communication materials will follow FAO clearance processes and comply with FAO standards, including: 
FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: https://www.fao.org/strategic-framework/en    
FAO social media policy and guidelines: https://www.fao.org/2/socialmedia    
Social Media Branding Guidelines: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb5044en   
FAOSTYLE https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cb8081en    
FAO terminology http://www.fao.org/faoterm    
FAO Names of Countries https://www.fao.org/nocs/en       
Story guidelines, Story template, UN map standards, FAO logo policy and related branding guidelines (available to staff). 
•     Further guidance regarding FAO communications, policies and procedures can be found through the FAO intranet, OCC section.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•     Bachelor’s Degree in Gender Studies, Law, Development Studies, Sociology, Social Sciences, Rural Development, or a related field from a recognized university is required, with demonstrated specialization in gender equality and women’s empowerment.
•     A minimum of five (5) years of progressive work experience in gender and social inclusion programming, ideally in the context of agriculture, climate change, natural resource management or rural livelihoods
•     Working knowledge (level C) of English and Swahili
•     National of Kenya

FAO Core Competencies

•     Results Focus
•     Teamwork
•     Communication
•     Building Effective Relationships
•     Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

•     Experience in gender analysis, development and implementation of Gender Action Plans, and mainstreaming gender in project cycles (design, implementation, M&E and reporting).
•     Strong understanding of gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, youth inclusion and GBV/SEAH risk mitigation, particularly in agricultural value chains and rural settings.
•     Familiarity with results-based management, gender-responsive M&E and handling sex- and age-disaggregated data.
•     Strong analytical and report-writing skills; ability to translate field realities into clear, actionable recommendations.
•     Excellent interpersonal communication and facilitation skills, with demonstrated ability to work cross-culturally, with sensitivity and diplomacy.
•     Ability and willingness to travel frequently within the 14 counties and to work with diverse stakeholders in rural settings.
•     Commitment to FAO values and to advancing gender equality, social inclusion and human rights within climate-resilient development.
•     Proficiency in using excel
•     Proficiency in using at least one statistical software e.g. SPSS, STATA
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION