Gender Mainstreaming Specialist at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Job Description    

• The Gender Mainstreaming Specialist is responsible for identifying and addressing challenges and  opportunities, and coordinating governance as well as business activities for gender equality and other Transformation initiatives or programmes for the DBSA.

Key Responsibilities    
Key Performance Areas: 

Gender Mainstreaming and Transformation Facilitation

• Lead the development and implementation of gender and other transformation policies, business plans and strategies.
• Assess the impact of lending and non-lending initiatives, programmes or projects and provide advice to promote inclusivity across the organisation.
• Provide input and review policies and operations across the Bank to ensure there are no gender biases and recommend interventions where required.
• Socialise policies and frameworks, by engaging staff and planning training and awareness campaigns on gender and cross -cutting transformation considerations across the DBSA’s investments.
• Conduct research on transformation and gender development initiatives globally and within the Southern African region.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to develop a holistic programme and work plans to support gender equity practises and entrench a transformation culture across the bank
• Prepare and monitor the budget for gender mainstreaming functions and ensure adequate resources for all initiatives.
• Advocate and encourage the inclusion of gender-specific objectives, outcomes, indicators and activities in the
• Bank’s programmes, projects, deals and internal practices through collaboration with technical experts.
• Provide advice and technical assistance to ensure gender equality and transformational empowerment criteria are integral to the Bank’s internal and external practices.
• Support the development of tools, systems, processes and approaches that continuously improve the impact of transformative approaches to women’s economic empowerment.

Facilitate and support learning, thought leadership and knowledge sharing on gender inclusion and transformative practices with partner organisations and other industry players.

Represent the Bank in communicating and presenting the work done in gender and other transformation initiatives at internal and external platforms or forums.

Establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to track progress and recommend adjustments to ensure the achievement of gender equality goals.

Lead the procurement of professional services by developing the relevant procurement documents andensuring that procurement is performed according to the policy.

Reporting

• Consolidate and compile inputs from business units to draft reports which incorporate functions across the Bank and reporting requirements for internal and external stakeholders.
• Prepare submissions to management and board committees in collaboration with key units in the implementation and assessment of targets and initiatives.
• Develop templates and processes to standardise reporting and create administrative efficiency.
• Present data analysis on trends and projections in training to provide Stakeholders (Business Partners, divisional committees, Board committees, Executive committee, etc.) with decision-making tools and reports.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Develop a stakeholder engagement strategy that maps out key players and decision-makers in areas of interest and an approach to engaging on challenges and opportunities.
• Build networks and partnerships to share knowledge and resources.
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to understand their gender-related and transformation challenges and needs.
• Engage communities and facilitate community involvement in gender mainstreaming initiatives where required.
• Facilitate awareness initiatives for staff and delivery partners to understand the importance of gender equality and transformational economic empowerment.
• Build partnerships with organisations, government and non-government agencies, and other stakeholders to foster collaboration on gender-related initiatives.

Key

• Accurate reporting on gender and transformation specific targets across the organisation
• Coordination of gender mainstreaming and other transformation initiatives
• Implementation of gender mainstreaming and associated transformation plans
• Clean Audit

Expertise & Technical Competencies    
Qualifications and Experience:

Minimum Requirements:

• A postgraduate degree in Social, Environmental Sciences, Development studies or related field with a focus on gender equality
• A minimum of 8 years experience in programme management, monitoring and reporting, advocacy, knowledge management and experience in leading gender-sensitive and other transformative social impact programmes and projects.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in the development sector working on women’s economic empowerment, and/or gender/social inclusion as well as transformation programmes.
• In-depth experience in the design, development, and implementation of inclusive policies, programmes and gender-sensitive processes.
• Good understanding of the development finance environment both locally and regionally.
• Demonstration of a strong understanding of public and private sectors, and the interfaces in social development.
• Experience in leading and implementing projects and programmes, including gender mainstreaming initiatives.
• In-depth knowledge of policies related to gender and social inclusion gaps, gender-based violence, and gender equity programmes, locally and regionally.

Desirable Requirements:

• A master’s degree in Social sciences, Environmental Sciences, Development studies or Sustainable Development.
• Environment, Social and Governance qualification.