Since 1963 and in 148 countries, ACDI/VOCA has empowered people in developing and transitional nations to succeed in the global economy. Based in Washington, D.C., ACDI/VOCA is a nonprofit international development organization that designs and delivers technical and management solutions in agriculture, economic growth, and resilience to promote economic prosperity and social inclusion.

Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion (GYSI) Specialist, Sri Lanka

ACDI/VOCA is seeking a Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion (GYSI) Specialistfor an upcoming economic modernization activity in Sri Lanka funded by USAID. The program will improve economic competitiveness through an improved business enabling environment, increased small and medium business export competitiveness, and upgraded workforce capacity.

The GYSI Specialist will lead the development and implementation of the program’s overall strategy for GYSI and will ensure the integration of women, youth, and other vulnerable populations across all program activities working closely with activity leads. The program is anticipated to start in 2024 and this position is envisioned to be based in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the development of the GYSI strategy which will guide the integration of GYSI concepts and approaches across all program activities, including technical implementation, MEL, operations, policies, and procedures
• Collaborate with the Chief of Party, technical teams, and other personnel on GYSI strategy implementation and monitoring
• Design and conduct GYSI analyses, impact assessments, and other learning studies
• Review and provide input to project work plans, with attention to GYSI dimensions of technical activities and operations and discuss GYSI issues and priorities with project senior management and other technical specialists
• Provide technical advice and training to program staff, partners, and stakeholders to build their capacity to integrate GYSI into intervention design, implementation, and MEL
• Support the MEL team to ensure that all data is at a minimum disaggregated by sex and age in data collection processes, analysis, and reporting
• Work with MEL and technical teams to incorporate GYSI into CLA plans and practices, including developing GYSI indicators and learning questions, incorporating GYSI issues into pause and reflect sessions, and ensuring that the program reports on GYSI outcomes and impacts
• Prepare reports and documents for submission to USAID and ACDI/VOCA home office
• Write, coordinate, and disseminate lessons learned among team and program stakeholders
• Maintain an up-to-date and thorough understanding of GYSI related to project components

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in sociology, gender, international development, economics, business administration, or related field is required; master’s degree is desired.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in GYSI programming.
• Knowledge of and experience with USAID and/or other international donor programs’ rules and regulations related to GYSI is required.
• Knowledge of proven approaches and best practices for integrating women, youth, and other historically excluded populations into access to finance, agriculture, and/or market systems programs.
• Experience conducting gender analysis and developing gender action plans or strategies.
• Knowledge of do no harm, women’s empowerment, and positive youth development frameworks and approaches is encouraged.
• Experience working with GYSI considerations (constraints and opportunities) in Sri Lanka preferred.
• Fluency in English required.

Sri Lankan nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.