Philippines: Gender Specialist, Education Pathways to Peace

Jan 14, 2024 | Palladium International
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Project Overview and Role:

 Education Pathways to Peace in Mindanao (Pathways) is a Philippines-Australia partnership supporting quality inclusive kindergarten to grade 3 education for all children in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The program focuses on early years education as the foundation for life-long learning and development. By engaging and collaborating with a wide range of education stakeholders, promoting peace in education reform, and addressing inequity and disparity in education delivery, the program also contributes to peacebuilding in the region.

Delivered through the Bangsamoro Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE), activities are directed towards strengthening education policies and institutions, ensuring accessible and inclusive education for all children, providing an integrated education system and curriculum, and improving teacher quality and development.

Pathways is implemented by Palladium in consortium with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and Orient Integrated Development Consultants Inc (OIDCI).

The program’s base of operations is in Cotabato City and covers all five provinces of BARMM.

About the position  

The Gender Specialist will support and work closely with the Lead Inclusion Adviser as well as the broader Pathways team towards addressing the critical gaps in gender responsive programming of Pathways following the key recommendations of the Mid-Term Review.

The position will provide enhanced expertise and guidance towards assessing, planning, and implementing a gender responsive K-3 education in the BARMM and help in the co-design of interventions to increase equitable access to safe, secure, quality inclusive education and learning by boys and girls, especially those from traditionally marginalised groups (people living in geographically isolated areas, children with disabilities, IP children), and those who have been affected by conflict and displacement. As a critical member of the Inclusion Team, the Gender Specialist will support efforts to enhance the quality, gender responsiveness, and inclusiveness of the BARMM education system.

The work of this position cuts across the entire team and spectrum of activities and therefore requires a flexible and integrated way of working to ensure that programs and inputs are well coordinated and synergistic. The Gender Specialist will identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities in gender responsive and intersectional programming across Pathways and will also advise on opportunities for strengthening internal organizational culture as it relates to gender equality.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

 Child Protection: Level 2

The responsibilities of the staff may involve contact and working with children or young people.

The key responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to:

1. In close consultation with the Lead Inclusion Adviser, review the existing Inclusion Strategy and the design of the critical paths in the different Centres of Gravity, and identify gender equality gaps and opportunities including risks to achieving gender equality outcomes and strategies to manage those risks
2. Working alongside the program team and in close coordination with the Lead Inclusion Adviser, develop the tools and mechanisms to support the implementation of strategies and reporting of outputs and outcomes that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in program activities and interventions. This includes, among others, reviewing the design of pre-service and in-service training, curriculum, and education policies and procedures to ensure that learning sites have the capacity to let children learn equally and deliver positive classroom management practices that promote diversity and inclusion.
3. With technical guidance from the Lead Inclusion Adviser, support the MEARL in its monitoring activities to ensure gender equality outputs and outcomes are reported and encoded in a timely manner to the Pathways Management Information System
4. Lead in organising activities, particularly related to gender equality in inclusive education, which may include coordinating and liaising with program partners and stakeholders, technical support in managing the day-to-day operations of activities/program, documentation of the proceedings, budgeting, drafting of activity accomplishment reports, and developing Program Activity Plans (PAP)
5. Assist in preparing quality designs of activities that are linked to the program goals, end-of-program outcomes, and annual workplans to ensure gender equality indicators and outcomes are built in the design
6. Provide support to the drafting of annual inclusion workplan, six-monthly progress reports, and monthly management dashboard, by highlighting gender equality activities and outcomes
7. Support the program’s Sustainable Business Reporting as may be assigned by Senior Management
8. Support the mapping of key and indirect stakeholders in gender and development in the BARMM, and their potential engagement into education reform areas with MBHTE, including understanding the institutional arrangements of the existing gender focal point system, Bangsamoro Women’s Commission, and to describe their political, strategic, cultural, and operational situation or contexts, including identifying opportunities for collaboration
9. Under the guidance of the Lead Inclusion Adviser, undertake Inclusion ‘health checks’ bi-annually to ensure that the program is effectively integrating gender equality and building on learning for continuous improvement
10. Provide support in implementing all gender responsive capacity building trainings and workshops for Pathways staff, MBHTE, BARMM agencies, CSO partners, and community organisations
11. Ensure that all activities and projects identified as part of the annual inclusion workplan will be based on “Do No Harm” and other ethical standards, principles, and core values of Pathways program
12. Continuous environmental scanning and analysis of the socio-economic-political situation in the BARMM, with a focus on issues specific to gender programming and policy and the cultural readiness of MBHTE and other stakeholders on key areas of gender and development, and including related or adjacent areas for periodic review of Senior Management
13. Other duties as may reasonably be required by the Lead Inclusion Adviser or Senior Management consistent with the incumbent’s qualifications and experience.

 
Required Qualifications:

The Gender Specialist should possess the following qualifications, experience, skills, and competencies:

• Qualifications in gender studies, human rights, social work, education, teaching or relevant social science discipline, development studies, political science, Islamic studies, public administration are desirable
• Evidence of professional development and training in gender analysis and gender responsive programming primarily and complemented by related experience and competencies in the following: social development, technology of participation, community development, and rights-based approaches to development
• Strong understanding and experience working on gender and social inclusion in Mindanao, preferably in the BARMM
• Demonstrated experience in providing technical assistance and capacity building services in gender equality to government and community partners in a gender responsive and culturally sensitive way
• A deep understanding of the gender and development issues in education, particularly in the BARMM, and intersecting with other issues such as disability, ethnicity, religion, conflict, peace-building, poverty, geographic isolation, and other social factors impacting access to quality early years education
• Experience in managing inclusive, participatory community engagement approaches in a culturally sensitive and safe way
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and respectfully in a cross-cultural setting
• Excellent written and verbal communication, liaison, facilitation, and interpersonal skills; and fluent in English (written and oral). Ability to speak at least one Mindanao language is highly desirable
• An understanding of Islamic education, child protection, alternative learning modalities, universal design principles, and associated inclusive education competency areas would be an asset
• Demonstrated ability to think and work politically
• A team player, inclusive, collaborative, focused, flexible, insightful, peace builder, and a problem solver

Important Note: Along with their CV (maximum 4 pages), interested applicants must submit a written response (2-4 pages only) addressing their suitability for the role as per the qualifications enumerated above.

Applications close on 19 January 2024.

Company Overview:

About Palladium - Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. Palladium works with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world's most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, Palladium helps improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people's lives.

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Should an applicant require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or is a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email the team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and Palladium will be in touch to discuss. 

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