JOB OPPORTUNITY: Democratic Republic of Congo Kivu Value Chain Activity – Gender Consultant for Gender, Social Inclusion and Conflict Mitigation Assessment and Strategy Development (July-August 2017)

Please read the full job announcement and apply here. 

Banyan Global is a women-owned and managed, small international development consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Banyan Global operates seamlessly within six practice areas: health, finance and investment, enterprise development, gender, youth, and evaluation and learning. Banyan Global has a rapidly growing gender equality and evaluation practice. Since 2002, Banyan Global has managed 71 projects in 46 countries throughout the world.

Banyan Global is seeking an International Gender Consultant to prepare a Gender, Social Inclusion and Conflict Mitigation Assessment and Strategy Report for the USAID Democratic Republic of Congo – Kivu Value Chain Activity. The USAID-funded Kivu Value Chain Activity will focus on a nutrition-sensitive value chain (VC) and market systems development approach using a combination of technical assistance and capacity building for value chain actors, public-private partnership development, credit facilitation, marketing, and social behavior change communication in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The International Gender Consultant will work in collaboration with Banyan Global’s Gender and Youth Inclusiveness Manager (Congolese national) and Search for Common Ground (SFCG) staff to conduct a gender, social inclusion of conflict mitigation assessment. The assessment and strategy report will comprise a desk study and key stakeholder interviews or focus groups with government representatives, civil society groups, and other key value chain actors to identify gender and conflict dynamics along three targeted value chains (coffee, soybeans and another TBD bean value chain). The assessment and strategy report will identify and propose strategies to address advances and gaps in the status and level of participation of women and men in targeted value chains; determine which gaps could be closed by the Activity; and identify differential effects that the KVCA might have on men and women.

The consultant will provide technical leadership, guidance, and context-specific gender expertise for the Gender, Social Inclusion and Conflict Mitigation Assessment and Strategy of the DRC Kivu Value Chain Activity.  He/she is responsible for providing technical guidance to the gender team, managing all assessment and strategy activities, managing the collaborative relationship with SFCG in DRC, conducting key stakeholder interviews and focus group discussions together with the Congolese Gender/Youth Inclusiveness Specialist, providing technical inputs, and ensuring that all deliverables are high-quality, edited, and polished. His/her specific duties will include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:

• Produce a complete and detailed work plan and interview guides in collaboration with SCFG, and submit the two deliverables to Banyan Global.
• In collaboration with SFCG, produce a gender, social inclusion and conflict mitigation assessment and strategy outline and submit it to Banyan Global.
• Conduct and submit a desk review of gender and social inclusion in key value chains and submit it to Banyan Global.
• Guide, manage, and collaborate with the Congolese Gender and Youth Inclusiveness Specialist to conduct, analyze and interpret key stakeholder interviews and focus group data.
• Guide, manage and collaborate with the Congolese Gender and Youth Inclusiveness Specialist and designated SFCG staff in the preparation of the assessment and strategy.
• In collaboration with SFCG, produce a draft Gender, Social Inclusion and Conflict Mitigation Assessment and Strategy and submit it to Banyan Global.
• In collaboration with SFCG, produce a polished, complete, and high-quality final Gender, Social Inclusion and Conflict Mitigation Assessment and Strategy and submit it to Banyan Global.
• Ensure the production and completion of a quality report, in conformance with the statement of work and USAID’s gender policy.
• Keep Banyan Global’s Project Manager updated on all key issues and potential challenges related to the gender assessment and strategy.
• Make a presentation to Kivu-based project staff on preliminary findings and recommendations.

• Doctoral or master’s degree in agricultural and applied economics or other social science, including gender studies, economics, development studies or a related field.
• At least 10 years of experience with gender equality and women’s empowerment related to food security, agriculture or nutrition.
• Demonstrated experience working on gender equality assessments, analyses and strategy development, in particular in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Experience working with USAID Feed the Future or other similar donor-supported food security and agriculture programming.
• Demonstrated representational skills in managing relationships with partner governments, civil society organizations, donors and national and international NGOs and partners.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; excellent demonstrated interpersonal and negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated leadership skills in managing teams and collaborative working relationships.
• Fluency in English and French are required.
• Ability to travel for 3 weeks to Kinshasa and the Eastern region of the DRC is required.