Local Gender Specialist, Gender and Inclusive Development Analysis, Advancing Women’s Empowerment Activity At EnCompass

Position Description

EnCompass LLC is seeking a Gender Specialist to support a Gender and Inclusive Development Analysis of agriculture activities for USAID Bangladesh. This gender analysis will be implemented under the USAID Feed the Future Advancing Women’s Empowerment (AWE) Activity. AWE is a five-year Activity that supports USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security through conducting research, developing tools, and providing technical assistance. AWE is designed to help staff from USAID Bureaus, Missions, and implementers scale-up activities, understand best practices, and conduct analysis to ultimately increase empowerment of women working in agriculture.​​

This gender and inclusive development analysis will examine ongoing Feed the Future activities in areas such as livestock, aquaculture, horticulture, mechanization, and nutrition to assess gender gaps, challenges, opportunities, and gender integration in USAID Bangladesh’s Feed the Future portfolio. The analysis will seek to also consult other related experts and actors in Dhaka and in other regions of Bangladesh. The gender and inclusive development analysis will use USAID’s five domains (ADS 205) framework. In addition, the analysis will give special attention to understanding the prevalence and forms of gender-based violence (GBV) in society and how GBV limits people’s rights to determine their own lives and influence their community’s or country’s development. The Gender Specialist will primarily support design, data collection, and reporting for this gender analysis with management and oversight from a Team Lead and the AWE Activity team.

The position will be based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Anticipated number of work days for this role is 25 days between January-April 2023.

Position Duties and Responsibilities

Essential functions:

• Provide input to a gender analysis design, including a detailed methodology, work plan, and schedule, including local context, background, and potential stakeholders for data collection
• Meet with the respective Mission representatives to have a clear understanding of USAID requirements, priorities, geographic focus, etc.
• Liaise with other activity stakeholders (e.g. USAID mission and its implementing partners) to coordinate community engagement in relation to the study and data collection
• Provide input to developing specific tools (e.g. survey questionnaires, focus group discussion guides, key informant interview guides) using relevant domains of USAID’s gender analysis framework
• Coordinate all data collection activities to take place in Bangladesh, including scheduling, data collection prep, note-taking, and other related tasks
• Conduct field visits, focus group discussions, and interviews with related stakeholders in Dhaka and other regions
• Provide input to a slide deck to present findings and recommendations to Mission staff and participate in a validation session
• Provide input to a final gender and inclusive development analysis report, including in-depth country context and background, findings, conclusions, and actionable recommendations for future programs
• Liaise regularly with the AWE project team to provide updates
• Other relevant duties as assigned

Position Requirements

Qualifications

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and minimum 12 years of experience; Master’s degree and minimum of 10 years of experience; or PhD and minimum of 6 years of experience in social science, anthropology, sociology, demography, geography, development studies, or closely related discipline

Experience and Skills

• Minimum of 10 years of demonstrated professional experience in the areas of gender analysis and programming in the areas of agricultural value chains, market systems, and private sector development required
• Minimum of 3 years of experience participating in and/or leading qualitative data collection activities, including conducting interviews, note-taking, transcription, coordination, etc., strongly preferred
• Experience of working with international donor projects in Bangladesh required, USAID experience preferred
• Demonstrated knowledge of ADS 205, Integrating Gender Equality and Female Empowerment in USAID’s Program Cycle required
• In-depth experience in gender and social inclusion analysis approaches required
• Research experience related to gender-based violence prevention and response is strongly preferred
• Ability to produce well written reports demonstrating analytical ability and communication skills
• Strong communication skills to effectively collaborate with clients and stakeholders and maintain strong relationships with them
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite programs and common virtual calling platforms
• Fluency in English is required