Duties of a Gender Officer free essay sample

JOB DESCRIPTION OF A GENDER OFFICER IN AN ORGANIZATION The Gender Officer is responsible for gender mainstreaming and proactive technical support to the organization. S/he will work with all departments and partners to ensure that gender equity principles are incorporated into all policies and activities. S/he will plan, implement and follow up on gender-related activities and provide support to Counterpart staff, partners and grantees on mainstreaming gender in their programs and activities, including design and implementation of trainings on gender-related topics. Provide support, training and technical assistance to the partners on gender and related topics. * Ensure gender integration in the day-to-day activities * Provide support to all departments specific to gender mainstreaming, with particular emphasis on helping relevant departments analyze program implications for men and women in various communities and ways to address issues. The incumbent should ensure that the gender checklists are used and should be able to work with various departments on revising and revisiting the gender sensitive indicators for improved mainstreaming. * Design and implement trainings for Counterpart and partners staffs on gender related topics and mainstream, including but not limited to gender awareness and integration, humans right program management, gender inclusiveness toward more efficient and effective organizational operation * Develop bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly reports on gender department activities. Participate in gender-related events (meeting, workshops, conferences) and network within the country in-order to stay updated about gender related development * To train, support and coordinate field project teams on all gender related activities. * To develop training and promotional materials in conjunction with the Gender Expert on gender approaches Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making womens as well as mens concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality. This process is the responsibility of us all, and not just gender experts or isolated units. A Competence Development Programme A competence development programme has been developed which aims to create greater awareness, commitment and capacity for gender mainstreaming division by division within departments / organizations. The competence development programme on gender mainstreaming should assess: †¢ Past and current efforts of each division to bring a gender perspective to their substantive work; †¢ Leading-edge thinking in integrating a gender perspective into the specific area of expertise of each division; †¢Concrete ways each division can respond to the Organizations commitment to gender mainstreaming across all substantive work areas. Through a participatory methodology based on each divisions work areas and specific needs, the Competence Development Programme aims to: †¢ Document what each division has already done to mainstream gender perspectives; †¢Clarify concepts and advance the analysis involved in applying gender perspectives in the substantive areas of the division (the focus will be on identifying how and why gender issues are relevant in both the broad mandate of the division and within specific initiatives); †¢Identify resources (research, organizations and individuals) that could assist the divisions to incorporate gender perspectives; †¢Identify concrete entry points and priorities for future work. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROGRAMME FOR EACH STAFF MEMBER The competence development programme involves three elements at divisional level: 1. A meeting (approximately 1 hour) of the whole division, led by the Director, to introduce the competence development programme objectives, struct ure, expected staff participation and anticipated outcomes and present basic concepts. The facilitators are also introduced at this meeting. The meeting provides an opportunity for the senior management to show commitment to gender mainstreaming and the competence development programme and for staff to raise concerns and provide concrete suggestions on the development of the programme. 2. Small-group meetings (2-3 hours) with the facilitators to discuss the work of the division (priorities, past work on gender equality issues, day-to-day challenges, current work-tasks / assignments, etc. ). Staff receive advance notice of when they should participate and specific questions to think about before this meeting. 3. A one-day workshop tailored to the specific work of the division. (The larger divisions have more than one workshop in order to keep the number of participants to around 20 in each specific workshop). The workshop methodology should be participatory and the agenda tailored to each division. Once the divisional level process is completed in each division, a town-hall meeting is organized for the whole department / organization, led by the head of the department / organization, to consolidate the learning and recommendations made. * Ensure gender mainstreaming in the processes of the Commission including planning, implementation and reporting; * Provide technical inputs to different departments including finance, research, investigation and documentation. * Enhance capacity of staff to ensure gender perspectives in planning and implementation. * Regular report writing and documentation capturing gender perspectives and achievements. * Co-ordinate and facilitate training on gender aspects of Commission’s working including mandate and responsibilities. * Attend, facilitate and/or monitor Commission events as required in relation to gender perspectives.