GESI Consultant

Job Posting Organization:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Established in 1945, FAO has a mission to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. The organization works in over 130 countries and has a workforce of more than 12,000 employees. FAO's Subregional Office for the Caribbean (SLC) is dedicated to addressing food, agriculture, and rural development priorities in the Caribbean region, promoting sustainable agrifood systems and ensuring that no one is left behind in the pursuit of better production, nutrition, environment, and life.

Job Overview:
The GESI Consultant will play a crucial role in the FISH-ADAPT project, which is designed to enhance climate resilience and sustainability in Saint Lucia's fisheries communities. This consultancy aims to integrate Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) across all project components, ensuring that the initiatives are inclusive and empower marginalized groups such as women, youth, and persons with disabilities. The consultant will be responsible for operationalizing the Gender Assessment and Action Plan (GAAP), ensuring that all project activities are gender-sensitive and aligned with national and international gender policies. The role involves supporting gender-responsive budgeting, facilitating stakeholder engagement, and developing tools for data collection and analysis to monitor gender impacts within the project. The consultant will also document lessons learned and best practices in gender mainstreaming, contributing to the overall success of the project and its objectives.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The consultant's duties will include operationalizing the Gender Assessment and Action Plan (GAAP), ensuring its integration across all project components. They will support gender-responsive budgeting and planning, ensure alignment with FAO and GCF gender policies, and design and deliver training on gender sensitization and GBV/SEAH prevention. The consultant will facilitate inclusive stakeholder engagement, partner with cooperatives and government entities to promote gender-equitable participation, and develop sex-disaggregated data collection tools. They will contribute to gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation frameworks, document lessons learned, and support the implementation of the project's grievance redress mechanism. Additionally, the consultant will promote visibility of women's roles in fisheries and produce communication materials that align with FAO standards.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess an advanced university degree in Social Sciences, Sociology, Anthropology, Community Development, Biology, or a related field. Those with a bachelor's degree must have two additional years of relevant professional experience. A minimum of five years of relevant experience in development projects focusing on gender equity and inclusion is required. Candidates should have a working knowledge of English at level C and demonstrate excellent knowledge of gender equality concepts, strong analytical and facilitation skills, and the ability to conduct gender-equitable meetings.

Educational Background:
The position requires an advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in relevant fields such as Social Sciences, Sociology, or Community Development. Candidates with a bachelor's degree must have additional professional experience to qualify for the role.

Experience:
The consultant should have at least five years of relevant experience in development projects or programs that emphasize gender equity and inclusion. Experience in fisheries projects, particularly with coastal communities, is considered an asset. Familiarity with grievance mechanisms and gender-sensitive programming is also beneficial.

Languages:
A working knowledge of English is mandatory for this position, with a proficiency level of C. Additional language skills may be advantageous but are not specified as requirements.

Additional Notes:
The position is likely to be full-time and may involve collaboration with various stakeholders, including government entities and community organizations. The consultant will be expected to work closely with the FAO Subregional Office for the Caribbean and may need to attend meetings at the Fisheries Department offices in Castries. The role emphasizes the importance of gender mainstreaming in project activities and aims to create sustainable impacts in the fisheries sector of Saint Lucia.