GYSI Specialist for USAID Non-Revenue Water Management Project

The USAID-funded Non-Revenue Water Management project, implemented by Tetra Tech International Development (International Development Jobs – Tetra Tech), is currently accepting expressions of interest from qualified candidates for a Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion (GYSI) Specialist. This position will be located in the main office in Hebron.

The purpose of this activity is to improve Palestinians’ access to safe, reliable, sustainable, and climate resilient water services through: 1) the development and strengthening of the institutional capacity of the Hebron, Halhul, and Dura water utilities for sustainable, reliable, and climate-resilient water delivery service; 2) the implementation of strategic infrastructure works to support the objective of the activity; 3) the design and implementation of innovative solutions to expand the use of smart water management technologies for efficient, timely, and transparent water management; and 4) the design and implementation of innovative measures and public awareness campaigns to promote effective water governance at the utility and foster social behavioral change toward more efficient and responsible water use practices and trends. The GYSI Specialist will report to the Public Outreach Engagement Advisor and will have the primary responsibility of informing tasks focused on inclusion of women, youth, and marginalized groups. This is a full-time position based in Hebron.

Responsibilities:

The GYSI Specialist develops and implements a strategy to elevate the voices of women and youth in water governance and address equity and gaps in the water sector. S/he will work with other technical staff and administrative staff to ensure collaboration with donors and local counterparts and key stakeholders at the municipal levels. This includes but is not limited to the following:

· Develop GYSI strategy for the project to guide the water utilities in engaging women and youth as decision makers.

· Ensure GYSI integration into work planning and relevant trainings.

· Create linkages with local women-led and -focused civil society organizations to create a support network and lines of communication with service delivery improvement committee (SDIC) members.

· Assess equity and the gaps in the water sector that could be filled by female workers.

· Conduct professional development for female water utility staff members.

· Conduct professional development for private sector female workers.

· Conduct combined advocacy training for Youth Local Councils in Hebron, Halhul, and Dura.

· Conduct annual youth summits with water and wastewater departments (combined with local government unit meetings if possible).

· Support the participation of community groups in water utility governance structures, prioritizing women, vulnerable groups, and youth.

· Proactively address gender-related inequalities within the water utilities and in the communities, utilizing the Engendering Industries model developed on USAID’s Workplace Advancement for Gender Equality (WAGE) Activity

· Assess women’s needs and priorities and design formative activities that will support women in multiple domains: the water utilities, the communities, and the workforce.

· Conduct a rapid organizational gender equity assessment of the water utilities.

· Develop and implement a gender equity action plan. The gender equity action plan will include professional development for female WU staff as well as male-engagement workshops.

· Identify changemakers through exchanges with focus group members, civil society organizations, and women-led organizations. Conduct advocacy trainings to prepare female changemakers for effective participation on SDICs and organize quarterly workshops for the female SDIC members to interface with their constituencies to better amplify their voices.

· Employ Positive Youth Development principles to support youth participation in the Hebron, Halhul, and Dura water sector to promote sustainable water use practices and assume a larger role in water security in their communities.

· Work with youth local councils to increase their awareness of water and climate change issues.

· Identify youth advocates and build their capacity to participate as youth representatives on the SDICs while also supporting their capacity to interface with other youth in their communities and LGUs during their annual summits.

· Develop success stories resulting from direct project interventions and coordinate inputs from the team, including developing quarterly plans for ideas and timelines.

· Integrate capacity building efforts for the utilities into implementation of all aspects of programming, utilizing a co-design and co-implementation methodology.

· Perform other tasks defined by the Public Outreach and Engagement Advisor.

Qualifications:

* Bachelor’s degree in social science, Gender Studies, or other relevant field and minimum of three (3) years of relevant professional experience working in communications with USAID or other large donor-funded programs or

* Eight (8) years of relevant experience working in communications with USAID or other large donor-funded programs

* Eight (8) years of relevant experience working in communications with USAID or other large donor-funded programs

* Proficiency in Microsoft Office

* Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, stressful environment.

* Detail-oriented and ability to prioritize tasks and support activity implementation while ensuring adherence to required policies and protocols.

* Professional fluency in Arabic and proficiency in English is required.

Qualified applicants from Palestine are highly encouraged to apply.