Project Gender and Social Development Analyst

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. The Fiji multi-country office covers ten countries including Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu as well as provides support to regional initiatives.

UNDP in the Pacific has developed its multi-country programme document (MCPD, 2023-2027) to guide its interventions in the next five years in full alignment and directly to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF, 2023–27). The Office covers 10 countries in the Pacific with an extensive portfolio which has grown over time. The UNSDCF and UNDP MCPD are designed in full alignment with the 2030 agenda, Samoa Pathway, and 2050 Blue Content Strategy, which is endorsed by the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) among others. The UNDP Pacific Office next five-year plan strategic priorities are encapsulated under three outcome areas: (i) Planet, (ii) Prosperity, and (iii) Peace.

Resilience is one of UNDP’s six signature solutions – alongside poverty and inequality, environment, energy, governance, and gender equality – to support countries towards three directions of change: structural transformation, leaving no one behind and resilience. As per UNDP’s new Strategic Plan 2022- 2025, and the new MCPD (2023-2027), UNDP Pacific office aims to supporting countries and communities in building resilience to diverse shocks and crises, including conflict, climate change, disasters and epidemics.

Tuvalu, with a land area of 26km2, is the fourth smallest nation in the world with a population of about 10,000. Due to its geographical remoteness and relatively limited size of the economy, it is one of the least developed countries. It is also one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impact of climate change induced sea-level rise and intensifying storm events. Recent cyclones have already shown large scale population displacement, significant loss and damage of agriculture resources and infrastructure, contamination of water supplies, coastal erosion and scouring, impacting long term sustainable development of the country.

As such, in response to this climate challenge, the Government of Tuvalu has recently received funding confirmation from Government of Australia to fund an estimated 8ha of raised land protecting an additional estimated 800m of densely populated and exposed foreshore. The project will be known as Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project, Phase 2 (TCAP2). This project aims to reduce the vulnerability of the southern lagoon shoreline of Fogafale Island the urban capital of Tuvalu to the impacts of wave inundation, shoreline erosion and inundation due by sea level rise. It follows the successful demonstration of the infrastructure work under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) resourced TCAP Project, which has built 7.3ha of new raised safe land. TCAP2 follows closely TCAP I design, approach and established management and safeguards work and requirements. The foreshore that TCAP2 will protect and enhance is a continuation of the dysfunctional shoreline protected by TCAP and the Government of Tuvalu’s similar protection work (Queen Elizabeth II Park) and thus, the TCAP2 site starts only 50m to the south, as contiguous with TCAP and effectively an extension of TCAP project.

The project has the following 3 main outputs.

• Output 1: Construction of coastal protection infrastructure of the southern lagoon shoreline of Fongafale Island in Funafuti. This is expected to protect approximately 800 m of vulnerable shoreline on the capital as well as provide approximately 8 ha of new safe raised land (reclamation).
• Output 2: Building capacity of Tuvalu government and civil society organizations in aspects of coastal protection works, mitigation of impacts, and planning and implementation.
• Output 3: Undertake policy and strategic analytical studies that demonstrate the feasibility of vertical adaption (reclamation and land raising) for atoll nations like Tuvalu.

The project has an established Programme Management Unit (PMU) in Funafuti, Tuvalu with national and international professionals supporting the project and coordination with the relevant stakeholders.

The Project desires to recruit a Project Gender and Social Development Analyst who will work under the overall guidance of the International Project Manager and direct supervision of the National Project Manager and in close coordination with PMU staff.

The Project Gender and Social Development Analyst advises on gender and social development policies and trends and relevant linkages to the project for achieving the project outputs. He/she advocates for and represents the project and UNDP in the area of gender equality and women empowerment as required. He/she is expected to maintain a network with colleagues from UNDP, UN Agencies, Government officials, donors and civil society.

The Project Gender and Social Development Analyst is to provide advice and support to the project on gender equality and women empowerment/leadership (GEWE) and gender-based violence (GBV) issues; facilitation of knowledge building on GEWE/GBV issues; creation of strategic partnerships and support in supporting GEWE/GBV in climate change adaptation and advocacy/promotion of projects mandate and mission in GEWE/GBV in accordance with UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy guidelines/policy.

The successful candidate will work directly under the overall guidance of International Project Coordinator and direct supervision of the National Project Manager. The candidate will work with PMU staff and stakeholders at local and national levels

Duties and Responsibilities

• Update and refine the gender strategy and action plan developed for TCAP by making the required adjustments based on the lessons learned, the project deliverables, national laws and policies, DFAT/MFAT guidelines and strategies and UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy
• Ongoing analysis of gender and social inequality issues specific to the project’s proposed activities, such as barriers to women’s, girls and other vulnerable groups participation in decision making, capacity building and climate change adaptation planning and include measure/recommendations in gender action plan to address these barriers
• Implement and monitor the Gender Strategy/Action Plan in coordination with all stakeholders through a gender aware, participatory and inclusive approach in all phases and activities of the project
• Implement and monitor the social safeguards proposed in Environmental and Social Impact Assessment /Environmental and Social Management Plan and include any additional areas found during project implementation.
• Ensure the higher participation of women throughout project cycle, ensure the safe working environment for them and ensure that they can communicate any issues through the Grievance Redressal Mechanism established for the project
• Advise and support project staff, national project partners and contractors to identify and address internal capacity needs on gender mainstreaming, including organization or direct implementation of learning/training opportunities;
• Advise and support project stakeholders especially the contractor for construction to embed gender principles in planning and implementation of their respective action plans; and to and include gender indicators in designing, monitoring and evaluation of action plans;
• Develop the gender training and communication material
• Guide in developing gender sensitive indicators and its use for monitoring of project activities, outputs and outcomes and ensure collection of gender disaggregated data according to the monitoring and evaluation framework of the project for gender analysis and project reporting;
• Identify opportunities to address the gender related barriers;
• Conduct consultation meetings with the contractor, relevant public and private sectors, line ministries, women’s groups and NGOs, development partners and the local communities to improve gender equality and empowerment outcomes for the project.
• Implement awareness sessions on gender, disability and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse for all stakeholders including PMU staff, contractor staff, relevant government officials and target communities.
• Advocacy through appropriate means for gender and social inclusion including campaigns, use of the appropriate media platforms and events including Women’s day.
• Propose and provide inputs related to gender equality (visuals and written content, digital media campaigns and social media-related inputs) and participate in development and implementation of the gender equality activities.
• Prepare policy papers, briefing notes, thematic reviews, and speeches, as needed.
• Any other relevant responsibilities assigned by the Manager as per project requirements.
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Social Sciences, Gender or Women’s Studies, Law, Climate Change, Development Studies or other relevant field is required. Or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in the development/social sector, working in gender mainstreaming and/or climate change adaptation in similar role is required.
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is required.
• Experience in organizing capacity building trainings and knowledge sharing initiatives on gender and GBV.
• Demonstrated experience and good understanding of Gender issues in Tuvalu.
• Experience in drafting of SOPs and other legal/strategic frameworks
• Experience of leading the gender/GBV related project/programs.
• Experience in research and policy-level analysis.
• Experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of gender projects.
• Experience in multiple stakeholders’ engagement especially community and government
• Experience working with CSOs, UN and DFAT/MFAT funded      projects

Required Languages:

• Fluency in written and spoken English and Tuvaluan is required.

Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/requisitions/job/19535