Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion Lead, RFSA Uganda

Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 28 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 55 countries, our 8,990 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good. 

Action Against Hunger USA is part of the Action Against Hunger International network. Action Against Hunger USA currently manages operations in 8 countries: Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Haiti.  

1. Job Summary  

Action Against Hunger is seeking a qualified Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion (GYSI) Lead for the upcoming USAID-funded BHA Uganda Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA). This role is critical in ensuring the successful integration of gender, youth, and social inclusion strategies into the RFSA's design, implementation, and monitoring processes to improve and sustain the food and nutrition security of vulnerable populations through multi-year resilience and food security activities. 

Purpose:  

The GYSI Lead will be responsible for incorporating gender-responsive, youth-inclusive, and socially inclusive approaches across all RFSA activities, ensuring that they address the needs and challenges of women, youth, and marginalized groups. This role will involve providing technical leadership, capacity building, and ensuring the program adheres to USAID’s gender equality and social inclusion policies. 
 

Engagement:  

The GYSI Lead will work closely with the Chief of Party, technical teams, local government bodies, USAID, and community stakeholders to integrate GYSI considerations into all aspects of program design and implementation. This role requires proactive leadership to promote gender equity, youth engagement, and social inclusion across all program components. 

Delivery:   

This role will oversee the development and execution of the program’s gender, youth, and social inclusion strategies, ensuring that interventions are contextually appropriate, effective, and sustainable. 

1. Essential Job Duties  

• Technical Leadership: Lead the integration of gender, youth, and social inclusion strategies into all program activities, ensuring they align with USAID's Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy, USAID’s Youth in Development Policy, and other relevant guidelines. 

• Strategy Development: Develop and implement the program’s Gender Strategy, Youth Strategy, and Social Inclusion Strategy, ensuring that these strategies are aligned with the broader RFSA objectives. 

• Capacity Building: Provide ongoing technical assistance and capacity building to program staff, partners, and stakeholders, ensuring they are well-equipped to implement GYSI activities effectively. 

• Program Implementation: Ensure that gender, youth, and social inclusion considerations are integrated into all phases of the project lifecycle, from design to monitoring and evaluation. 

• Monitoring and Evaluation: Collaborate with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team to develop and track GYSI-related indicators, ensuring that data is collected, analyzed, and used to inform program adaptations. 

• Community Engagement: Work with community leaders and local stakeholders to promote gender equity, youth empowerment, and social inclusion in program interventions. 

• Prevention and Response: Lead efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) within the program, including the creation and mapping of GBV referral pathways. 

• Knowledge Management: Document and share best practices and lessons learned in GYSI, contributing to the program’s overall learning agenda. 

• Compliance: Ensure that all program activities comply with USAID’s gender equality and social inclusion standards. 

• Cross-Sector Integration with Protection Mainstreaming: Collaborate with project teams to ensure the integration of social protection strategies and the Graduation Approach across all program activities. Employ basic knowledge of protection mainstreaming to enhance alignment with national frameworks and boost the resilience and food security of target communities. 

III. Supervisory Responsibilities 

Provide leadership and supervision to the GYSI team, ensuring the effective implementation of GYSI activities and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. 

IV. Fiscal Responsibility 

Oversee the budget allocated for GYSI activities, ensuring financial integrity and adherence to donor requirements. 

V. Physical Demands  

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit for long periods and to concentrate on work, including typing, and turn out heavy volumes of work accurately, within short time frames under stressful situations in the context of a moderately noisy office with interruptions. 

• To travel to the field, the employee must attest to a level of physical fitness capable of enduring physically difficult, highly stressful situations which may include the necessity to walk long distances, to eat a limited diet and/or to reside in potentially uncomfortable housing or tents. 

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  

VI. Working Conditions, Travel and Environment  

• The duties of the job require regular job attendance at least five days per week. Must be available to work outside normal office hours or on the weekends as required by project needs. 

• Must be able to travel as required for standard domestic and international business purposes as well as to project locations across Uganda. While visiting the field, the employee may be exposed to precarious settings under high security risks and/or very basic living conditions and outside weather conditions, as well as to infectious diseases. 

VII.     Gender Equality Commitments & Zero Tolerance to Abuse 

• Foster an environment that reinforces values of people of all genders equal access to information. 

• Provide a work environment where people of all genders must be evaluated and promoted based on their skills and performance. 

• Promote a safe, secure, and respectful environment for all stakeholders, particularly for children, beneficiaries, and members of staff. 

• Help to prevent any type of abuse including workplace harassment and sexual abuse and exploitation. 

• Respect beneficiaries’ women, men, children (boys and girls) regardless of gender, sex orientation, disability, religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, or marital status. 

• Value and respect all cultures. 

Requirements

VIII. Required Qualifications  

• Master’s degree in gender studies, international development, social sciences, or a related field. 

• Minimum of seven years of experience in gender, youth, and social inclusion activities in the context of international development, with a focus on resilience and food security programming. 

• Demonstrated experience in leading the GYSI component of large-scale international development programs, including conducting gender and social inclusion analyses. 

• Proven expertise in capacity building and providing technical assistance to host government institutions and community stakeholders. 

• Strong familiarity with social inequalities and dynamics in Uganda or similar contexts. 

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English; proficiency in French and/or local languages is an advantage. 

IX. Required Skills & Experience  

• Strong facilitation skills and the ability to manage diverse teams. 

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with proficiency in English and French. 

• Experience in developing and managing complex databases and knowledge management systems. 

• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, stressful environment. 

• Must be detail-oriented and able to work independently and collaboratively.