Sr. Technical Advisor, Women’s Economic Empowerment

Overview

Global Communities works at the intersection of humanitarian assistance, sustainable development and financial inclusion to save lives, advance equity and secure strong futures. We support communities at the forefront of their own development in more than 35 countries, partnering with local leaders, governments, civil society and the private sector to achieve a shared vision of a more just, prosperous and equitable global community.

As a key member of Global Communities’ Gender Equality, Positive Youth Development and Social Inclusion (GEYSI) team, the Senior Technical Advisor (STA) will act as the organization’s technical lead on women’s social and economic empowerment (WEE) and savings groups, supporting the growth and technical excellence of Global Communities’ programs by (1) providing and /or supervising high-quality technical support to country programs and project-based staff working on WEE and related activities to ensure Global Communities’ WEE and related strategies and activities reflect state-of-the-art approaches; (2) leading the design and planning of technical approaches for women’s economic empowerment and savings and lending groups programming, including as part of new business development; and (3) working with project teams to capture and adapt effective tools, processes, and approaches for WEE.

The STA will collaborate with colleagues in Global Programs (both at international offices and in country offices); business development; and monitoring, evaluation and learning to design and implement new programs and integrated approaches.

Responsibilities

Responsibility Area: Management and Leadership

• Serve as primary technical lead for WEE and savings groups for Global Communities.
• Provide vision and strategic direction, technical leadership, and oversight to Global Communities’ WEE initiatives including the Women Empowered (WE) savings group initiative.
• Provide leadership, mentorship and support to direct reports, consultants, as well as to project-based staff supporting WEE activities.
• Provide strategic advice to the Senior Director, GEYSI to guide strategy, planning & delivery.
• Collaborate closely with technical colleagues and other teams at Global Communities including Global Operations; business development; and the communications team in supporting the integration and promotion of women’s economic empowerment in project design and implementation.
• Work closely with the GEYSI team to contribute meaningfully and positively to the team’s function and success (actively supporting planning of regular team meetings, trainings, and retreats; mentoring junior team members; and building connections among people working in WEE and GESI across the organization).

Responsibility Area: Program Excellence

• Direct and support HQ-managed WEE activities ensuring projects achieve deliverables and targets on schedule.
• Lead the development of WEE and savings groups strategies, quality standards, standard operating procedures, and guidelines in close collaboration with program teams, the STA for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, and the Senior Director, GEYSI.
• Provide and supervise provision of high-quality, remote and in-person direct technical support and to Global Communities’ WEE programming across the program life cycle through regular check ins; delivery of trainings; review of project plans; and review and analysis of program reports and data.
• Strengthen the technical capacity of project staff through trainings, standard operating procedures and technical assistance, and partner with project leadership to implement programs in line with the organization’s standards and global best practices.
• Collaborate with M&E and Knowledge Management colleagues to ensure organizational learning related to WEE through workshops and trainings; special evaluations; documenting and addressing lessons learned; and building the evidence-base for WEE.
• Partner with sector specific technical and MEL colleagues in development, maintenance, review, and improvement of key M&E systems required by WEE programs – ensuring high quality data is being analyzed and used for decision-making.
• Improve technical quality, knowledge management and program design using transformative gender approaches to foster women’s economic empowerment.
• Provide gender expertise, guidance, and technical support across Global Communities’ WEE programming, supporting broad understanding of gender-transformative best practices and implementation approaches, including alignment with relevant US government policies.
• In collaboration with Global Communities colleagues ensure that all women’s economic empowerment activities Do No Harm and adequately consider safe programming principles and risks of women’s empowerment and challenging existing norms and practices

Responsibility Area: Positioning and Resource Mobilization

• Lead technical collaboration with external partners, peer organizations and implementing partners related to WEE; expanding the scale of the WE methodology to new geographies and contexts.
• Support resource mobilization efforts to grow the WEE technical portfolio, leading development, writing and/or technical design of proposals; leading and/or supporting project design processes; and serving as proposal director and/or technical lead as assigned.
• Engage with the GEYSI team and business development to identify, pursue, and secure new growth opportunities both with existing donors, and new and non-traditional donors and investors.
• Develop highly impactful messages about our WEE and related programming to share with donors and partners.
• Identifies and executes research and partnerships that advance the organization’s thought leadership on women’s economic advancement and savings groups programming.
• Promote partnerships and linkages with other organizations working on WEE issues at local, country, regional and global levels.

Responsibility Area: Thought Leadership and Organizational Visibility

• Represent Global Communities in appropriate networks, working groups, coalitions, and other forums.
• Ensure Global Communities’ women’s empowerment and related programming is well represented via conferences, publications, and other avenues.
• Identify and support research and partnerships that advance the organization’s evidence and learning on women’s economic advancement, savings groups, and related areas.
• Produces and disseminates high quality case studies, success stories, best practices and lessons learned that are supported with an evidence-base, beneficiary testimonials, impact/comparative data, and other relevant information.
• Develop technical briefs and co-author papers and reports highlighting the organization’s gender and WEE work and support the development of marketing materials.
• Serve as reviewer and/or lead writer for technical guides, capacity statements, marketing materials, publications, program reports, and reference materials highlighting the organization’s WEE and related work.

POSITION SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Domestic and international travel up to 20% per year.
• Supervise team members based in the US and abroad.
• Participate in Global Communities’ organizational initiatives.
• Promote a culture of excellence, inclusion, learning, support, diversity, and innovation.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated technical knowledge and experience working in areas of women’s economic advancement, gender equality, gender-transformative programming, and familiarity with relevant United States government (USG) policies and strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to design and adapt technical approaches that promote gender transformative programming and support women’s economic empowerment in diverse contexts.
• Experience in financial inclusion, entrepreneurism, microfinance, or access to finance preferred; proven ability to engage with financial service providers is a bonus.
• Familiarity with digital financial solutions and digital tools that can target low-income entrepreneurs.
• Experience with savings groups and ultra-poor graduation models as women’s empowerment approaches.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to formulate recommendations and advice for senior leadership that will inform development of relevant business lines.
• Proven success in proposal development including as lead technical writer.
• Demonstrated experience in project management as strong leader and team builder.
• Well-networked within the WEE sector, solid existing relationships with relevant donors, working groups, and peer organizations.
• Strong monitoring and evaluation skills and experience in relation to WEE programming, including the ability to analyze complex data for decision-making and program design.
• Professional level fluency in English is mandatory (verbal and written); working knowledge of Spanish or French highly desirable; knowledge of other languages of Global Communities’ country teams would be an advantage.
• Demonstrated ability as a strong writer – both technical and non-technical writing.
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and commitment to Global Communities’ core values.
• A passion for the mission and values of Global Communities.
• Ability to stay abreast of professional standards, trends and issues affecting this set of responsibilities, demonstrating continuous learning of the field.
• Ability to support or lead (as appropriate) strategic planning and growth with vision, expertise and a commitment to excellence and innovation.
• Ability to successfully engage at leadership levels within Global Communities and with external partners.
• Demonstrated fundamental understanding of gender justice and diversity within key areas of responsibility and a commitment to promoting gender justice, racial equity and diversity in our workplace and programs.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in a related discipline and a minimum of six years of related work experience or a minimum of ten years of related work experience.
• Recognized expert in two or more of the key WEE sector disciplines (e.g., savings and lending groups, graduation approaches, income generation, financial inclusion, market-based approaches, entrepreneurial ecosystems)
• Demonstrated success in managing projects, including a strong background in high level planning, organizational and time management skills, including flexibility, attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure to meet challenging deadlines.
• Experience in new business development, including program design, proposal writing, networking, and partnership cultivation.
• Business development and project support experience with USAID and other large international donors on required.
• Previous supervision experience, with demonstrated ability to work across cultures and with diverse geographically disparate teams.
• Experience in facilitating the development of manuals, documenting processes, and best practices.
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and commitment to GC’s core values.

Application Instructions

To be considered for this position, please apply (including your resume and cover letter) by 1/5/2024**.** Applications received after this date may be reviewed on a rolling basis until the job has been filled.

Location and Work Schedule

This selected candidate can be based in either Silver Spring, MD or San Diego, CA. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without any restriction. This role is on a hybrid/telework schedule. The selected candidate is expected to work at least twice as week (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) from either our San Diego or Silver Spring office and the remainder of the week from an approved remote location.

Salary and Compensation

The estimated salary for this position is between $97,126 – 133,547. Final salary will be based on several factors including qualifications, geographic location, experience, and internal equity. Global Communities provides a comprehensive benefits package; please note that this position is not eligible for allowances.

COVID-19 Policy

As an organization working to advance public health, Global Communities has an obligation to model best practices and to do all we can to protect each other, our partners, and the communities where we work. To ensure the continuity and effectiveness of our business operations, Global Communities is adopting a policy to safeguard the health of our visitors, employees, families, and the larger global community from COVID-19. Effective January 3, 2022, all U.S.-based Global Communities employees are required to provide proof of having received full dosage of COVID-19 vaccine that is FDA approved, approved for emergency use authorization, or have an approved medical or religious exemption on file with Global Communities, as a condition of employment.

Safeguarding Policy

Global Communities holds strict safeguarding principles and has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment. In the process of recruitment, selection, and appointment, Global Communities will conduct robust reference and background screening checks, including international vetting as a signature of the Global Misconduct Disclosure Scheme to ensure children and vulnerable adults are safeguarded, and abuse is prevented. The incumbent is required to carry out their duties in accordance with Global Communities Safeguarding policy and the Standards of Conduct.

EEO/ADA

Global Communities is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Global Communities complies with all applicable provisions of the ADA and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities unless it provides undue hardship to the organization. If reasonable accommodation is necessary to participate in the recruitment process, please contact [email protected].