Back GENDER EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & SOCIAL INCLUSION ADVISOR, UKRAINE

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions
into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

Program/ Department Summary

Mercy Corps’ Ukraine crisis response seeks to meet the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Ukrainians and other conflict-affected people where they are: displaced inside Ukraine, refugees in Poland, Romania and Moldova, or trapped behind frontlines. We aim to reach 500,000 vulnerable people with multi-purpose cash assistance, in-kind humanitarian support, and protection services across four countries. Almost all of our impact will be delivered in partnership: with Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian and Moldovan civil society organizations through a granting program that matches humanitarian action with capacity strengthening, and with peer international NGOs through a consortium in Ukraine. Mercy Corps is responding to the Ukraine crisis with large-scale consortium programming (the “Ukraine Cash Consortium,” or UCC) with a focus on Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA). The Consortium is a partnership between four international humanitarian aid agencies to model and deliver innovative, effective cash and other humanitarian assistance programs to support people affected by the Ukraine crisis within Ukraine.

General Position Summary

The Gender Equality, Diversity, and Social Inclusion Advisor will use their in-depth contextual understanding, technical and practical expertise and relationship building skills to define and support the collective delivery of a gender transformative program. The role will lead the program’s gender equality, diversity, and inclusion strategy design and support to its implementation, providing technical guidance to all program components to ensure high quality programming that will advance gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment through cash programming. The role provides leadership to ensure that the program is grounded in intersectional gender and power analysis and supports the design and implementation of gender transformative monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning systems to demonstrate impact, while sharing learning across our team and partners. They will also specifically oversee the implementation of the gender, inclusion and women’s empowerment workstream and provide gender and inclusion training and support to partners and key stakeholders as required.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

• Build a feminist, inclusive, and gender transformative program strategy and implementation plan in collaboration with the team and key stakeholders.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and contribute to an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed, where the project teams work together, exchange information and coordinate activities.
  • Lead the gender equality, diversity, and inclusion working group within the consortium structure; ensure regular meetings of the working group to develop guidance, plan activities, share lessons learned, and incorporate these into program delivery.
  • Support internal and external communication efforts (articles, case studies, conferences and forums) to highlight to Mercy Corps’ gender work through the UCC.
  • Participate in the development and implementation of a program advocacy strategy to advance key gender equality, diversity, and inclusion issues with government, donors, and others that reflect the program ’s priorities and learnings.
  • Participate in the development and implementation of program learning activities.
  • Support the program to implement Mercy Corps’ global Gender Equality, Diversity, and Social Inclusion Strategy.

    TECHNICAL GUIDANCE FOR IMPLEMENTATION

    • Provide oversight and guidance to the program implementation teams to ensure that thematic components are technically sound and grounded on gender and power analysis; ensure the inclusion of women and men from a diversity of identity groups and communities; approach the subject matter from an intersectional feminist perspective; and ensure that implementation methods are consistent with national and global strategies, feminist principles, and acknowledged good practice.
    • Deliver regular training and ongoing mentorship to program team members and partners to promote capacity, ownership, and commitment to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.
    • Regularly review program workplans, reports and data collected, analyzing outcomes and desired impact making crucial recommendations to maximize gender transformative potential.
      • Work closely to guide and support the program ’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) and Community Accountability teams to design and implement a feminist MEL and CARM system; to carry out gender and power analysis (or use the results of this or previous analyses to inform program activities); to develop innovative program quality and monitoring tools; and to conduct monitoring and evaluation activities using participatory methodologies that promote gender equality and social inclusion.
      • Contribute to donor reporting and ensure submission of reports that effectively communicate the program ’s gender equality, diversity, and inclusion work across all program components.
      • Support the incorporation of gender equality, diversity, and inclusion within the program ’s operational policies and practices.

        TEAM STRENGTHENING

        • Support the incorporation of gender equality, diversity, and inclusion requirements within the program’s job descriptions and performance management systems.
        • Support in recruiting, mentoring and onboarding new team members, ensuring they are set up for success and familiar with the program ’s gender equality, diversity and inclusion strategy and how this relates to their role.
        • Provide ongoing supervision, leadership, support, guidance, and mentorship to direct reports.
        • Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
        • Support national staff development so that national staff are increasingly taking decisions and in management roles, including the ultimate nationalization of the Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisor role in this or future programs.
          • Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence and treat each other with respect.

            COORDINATION AND REPRESENTATION

            • Represent Mercy Corps and the program at relevant external meetings and events, including in coordination bodies connected to protection and GBV.
            • Establish and maintain formal and informal communication mechanisms with government, community, partners, and other stakeholders.
              • Lead in documenting and coordinating information dissemination activities that share program achievements in and results.
              • Prepare and deliver presentations to stakeholders about program approaches, best practices, and learnings related to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.

                Supervisory Responsibility

                GEDSI Officers

                Accountability