Somalia: Gender Specialist

Nov 9, 2022 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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The key mission of the FAO Representation in Somalia, which is led by the FAO Representative (FAOR), is to assist and support the national government in developing policies, strategies and programme aimed at accelerating the implementation and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in FAO's global mandate and strategic objectives.

More specifically, FAO's response aims to address national needs and priorities in achieving food security, reducing hunger and malnutrition, developing agricultural, fishery and forestry sectors, ensuring the sustainable use of environmental and natural resources and responding to recurrent emergencies.

The current portfolio of activities of the FAO Representation in Somalia includes a wide scope of technical support interventions ranging from policy support through livestock and crop production to natural resource management, Nutrition, value chain, food security analysis and water and land information management. FAO is also implementing several emergency, resilience-building, and development interventions, with the support of its five field offices and close to 400 staff in partnership with the Federal and State line ministries.

Reporting Lines
Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Somalia, under direct Supervision and guidance of the Head of Programmes and in close collaboration with the Gender Officer and the Gender focal points, the Gender Specialist will:

Technical Focus
Undertake a gender stocktaking exercise in order to assess the extent to mainstreaming gender to FAO’s work and effectively mainstream gender into the design and formulation and implementation of the project.

Tasks and responsibilities

  • Carry out a gender stocktaking exercise to assess the extent to which FAOSO is mainstreaming gender in its programming against FAO’s Gender Policy. This includes identifying challenges and gaps in the various sectors/programmes and projects,  analysis of our a gender mainstreaming efforts over the past CPF implementation period, gender awareness and mainstreaming capacity of senior managers and staff; data and knowledge gap on gender in FAOs work; assessing staff accountability for, and management leadership in, promoting gender equality and gender mainstreaming; and our compliance and tracking on the sectors contribution/efforts  to achieving FAO’s gender equality objectives;
  • Review FAO Policy on Gender Equality 2020-2030, National Gender Policy and Strategies, FAO’s standard operating procedure for gender mainstreaming as well as the FAO country gender assessment, to inform implementation of gender priorities envisaged in FAOSO Country Programming Framework and overall programming structures and based on this;
  • Formulate a gender mainstreaming strategy with a concrete  plan of action (Action Plan) that defines and set the priorities, targets, to address the identified gaps and opportunities to be take forward so as to strengthen the focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment; in line with the Gender Policy (GP), the Country Programme Framework (CPF) and UNSDF; bridging the gap between the relatively strong attention on gender in policy responses and the much weaker integration of gender analysis and perspectives;
  • Formulate specific recommendations for each Productive Sector and/or activity, including suggestion of new activities that would better address the identified gender barriers in the Agriculture Productive Sectors in Somalia, and identify/suggest activities that are more gender specific for better targeting and inclusion of women in emergency response and development programmes;
  • Undertake an assessment of needs to identify FAOSO staff capacity needs on gender and based identified needs, provide refresh trainings to the staff including orientation sessions on the new Gender Policy;
  • Review and/or develop gender M&E data collection, analysis and reporting tools to inform gender-related results;
  • Assess and advice on donors that support GEWE or have gender and WEE as priorities in their strategies for Somalia to inform future resource mobilization for gender related activities;
  • Perform other duties as required.

Candidates will be Assessed Against the Following

Minimum Requirements

  • University degree in gender studies, social sciences, management, international studies, economic studies or political sciences or any other relevant field.
  • At least five years or more of postgraduate professional experience in gender and in medium-large scale emergencies.
  • Working knowledge (level C) of English and limited knowledge (level B) of another FAO language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish. For PSA, working knowledge of English is required. 

Technical/Functional Skills 

  • Proven experience combining formal expertise in gender equality and women empowerment with experience of applying these concretely to specific humanitarian and development program sectors, plans, policies, and processes. 
  • Knowledge of gender training tools and methods and proven experience delivering training on gender responsive programs.
  • Experience in designing and implementing gender sensitive monitoring and evaluation. 
  • Ability to communicate ideas in a culturally sensitive manner and conducive to their practical application.
  • Strong knowledge of IASC Gender and GBV guidelines.
  • Fluency in English both written and oral (advanced Level).

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

Additional Information

  • FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
  • Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list
  • Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/ 
  • For more information, visit the FAO employment website
  • Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

How to Apply

  • To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
  • Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
  • Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application
  • Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
  • Incomplete applications will not be considered
  • Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
  • Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
  • Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
  • We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org