Фахівчиня/-ець з підтримки жіночого лідерства в надзвичайних ситуаціях / Women Lead in Emergencies (WLiE) Officer

Location: Ukraine – Odesa with extensive travels in Southern Ukraine

Duration: 12 months renewable 

Conditions: Employment contract, gross monthly salary from to EUR 1,614 to EUR 2,111, depending on proven relevant experience for the post. Moving allowance to Odesa: 600 Euros lump sum (for staff recruited from outside Odesa). Annual leave of 28 days per fiscal year.

 Starting date: ASAP 

CARE INTERNATIONAL

CARE International (CI) is among the world’s largest international non-governmental humanitarian relief and development confederations. Drawing on more than 75 years of experience, through its 21 Members, as both a practitioner and thought leader, CI’s work reaches over 100 countries worldwide to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice. 

CARE’s vision is to seek a world of hope, inclusion, and social justice; where poverty has been overcome and people live in dignity and security. CARE focuses heavily on women and girls, and the areas of gender equality, diversity, and inclusion are at the center of our work because we know that we cannot overcome poverty and social injustice until all people have equal rights and opportunities. We recognize that power relations between people and within systems and structures are unequal and that these are entrenched in our broader systems, structures, and institutions. 

At the core of the CI Confederation is a globally distributed Secretariat, which provides coordination and support to its Members in areas including governance, strategic planning, communications, membership development and accountability, advocacy, humanitarian response, and program development. In addition, the Secretariat represents the CI Confederation at the United Nations and the European Union, and with other external stakeholders.

Context in Ukraine

On 24th February 2022, the invasion of Ukraine marked a significant escalation to the conflict that started in 2014. It continues to profoundly impact the lives of people across the country at various levels. The front line is continuously shifting and there are areas under Russian military control, as well as cities under siege. Attacks on military installations and critical civilian infrastructures are conducted in the whole territory of Ukraine, often resulting in collateral civilian casualties. The conflict has caused the largest population movement in Europe since World War II, with over 5 million currently displaced within Ukraine and 6 million refugees across Europe. OCHA had counted 17.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.  

At least one-third of the country’s energy infrastructure is damaged, leaving millions without heating and access to water. In October 2022, the Russian Federation claimed to have annexed four Ukrainian oblasts, further increasing the challenge of access to these areas. Therefore, an ongoing priority for the international humanitarian response is to reach newly accessible areas in the East and South, and to provide aid to previously unreachable and particularly hard-hit areas of Ukraine.  

 CARE UKRAINE

CARE prioritizes a locally led response and is partnering primarily with Civil-Society Organizations (CSOs), National NGOs, local authorities, and when needed, INGOs with a longstanding presence in the country and access to hard-to-reach areas. CARE Ukraine deliberately and strategically prioritizes partnerships with local and national Women Led and Women Rights organizations (WLO’s/ WRO’s), further strengthening the Gender in Emergencies (GiE) principle and the Women Lead in Emergencies (WLiE) approach.

In the first few weeks after the escalation of the war, virtually all humanitarian aid inside Ukraine was organized and implemented by local actors. These groups (together with local authorities) remain the principal aid providers but are quickly being exhausted of funds, fuel, and physical energy. Thereby, a considerable proportion of CARE’s resources is dedicated to strengthening and supporting the capacities of local partners. 

As of May 2022, CARE Ukraine has established partnerships with more than 20 national organizations (incl. four WLOs/WROs) and five international NGOs. From more than 45 million € that have been raised for Ukraine thus far, around 70% is allocated to local and national partners. Through the activities that have been implemented so far, CARE Ukraine has been able to reach 759,651 people, including IDPs and affected populations in hard-to-reach areas.

While CARE Ukraine’s country office is currently located in Lviv, we are continuously working on strategically expanding CARE’s presence and reach with a coordination office in Kyiv as well as area offices in Dnipro and Odessa, covering both the East and South of the country. 

Role objectives: 

The Women Lead in Emergencies (WLiE) Officer will support the implementation of CARE’s WLiE approaches and models in Southern Ukraine (Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia), through partner support and monitoring. She/he will coordinate with implementing partners to ensure quality implementation of WLiE and gender-transformative approaches and activities, providing technical support and guidance. The post will also conduct capacity enhancement initiatives and create cross-learning opportunities among partners and CARE in coordination with the Area Programme Manager and WLiE Advisor. She/he will coordinate with the Gender and Protection Officer to integrate WLiE and gender-transformative approaches and promote Women’s Voice and Leadership in Protection and GBV programming. She/he will also provide technical support to CARE’s WASH, Shelter, Health/SRH, Cash Voucher Assistance and Food Security teams to mainstream WLiE principles and gender-transformative approaches.

With supervision of the Field Programme Coordinator and peer support of CARE’s technical advisory team, the WLiE Officer will be responsible for ensuring gender-integrated, safe and dignified service provision which prioritises Women’s Voice and Leadership to affected populations. The WLiE Officer will be responsible for reviewing workplans, and monitoring project activities, including tracking project outcomes and contributing to donor reports, in close coordination with other relevant departments. 

The WLiE Officer will provide oversight of project activities, partners, other WROs/WLOs, local authorities, and other service providers. The post holder is expected to provide coaching and mentoring for partners’ project implementation teams, including the coordination of trainings on technical aspects of service delivery. 

The WLiE Officer reports to the Field Programme Coordinator and provides supervision and support to partner staff. 

The main responsibilities include:

Project Implementation and Mainstreaming: 

• Ensure the successful delivery of project activities relating to WLiE models and approaches by CARE’s partners. 
• Provide technical support and guidance on WLiE to CARE’s partners and other WROs/WLOs as required, to ensure high quality, safe and timely delivery of project activities. 
• Support the project team in adapting WLiE and approaches and models to different contexts. 
• Coordinate with the Gender and Protection Officer to integrate WLiE and gender-transformative approaches in Protection and GBV programming and promote Women’s Voice and Leadership throughout the project cycle. 
• Provide technical support to CARE’s WASH, Shelter, Health/SRH, Cash Voucher Assistance and Food Security teams to mainstream WLiE and gender-transformative principles and approaches. 
• Translate, disseminate, and orient CARE and partner teams on key WLiE tools and tipsheets to better mainstream WLiE and gender-transformative approaches in their projects. 
• Ensure tracking and reporting of activity data. 
• Maintain compliance with international and national laws, conventions, policies, and procedures regarding service provision. 
• Identify marginalized project participants and internally refer them to internal and external services where necessary and appropriate, in coordination with the G&P Officer. 
• Ensure the participation of project participants in decision-making at all stages of project implementation, as safe and appropriate. 
• Ensure data protection and information sharing protocol are in place and follow protection and GBV guiding principles and good practice examples. Monitor the execution of data protection and information sharing protocol within CARE and in partner organisations. 

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL):

• Support partners’ preparation of timely program and donor reports on project activities, including review of monthly and partner reports.  
• Support partners in developing quality reports. 
• Organize and participate in frequent monitoring visits project locations implementing WLiE and gender-transformative models and approaches, identify gaps and challenges, and provide support and guidance to improve the quality and timely implementation of activities. 
• Organize and participate in joint field monitoring visits with MEAL in WASH, Shelter, CVA, Food Security, Protection and Health/SRH project activities to identify gaps and challenges in mainstreaming WLiE and gender-transformative approaches. 
• Prepare and submit individual work plans in a timely manner. 
• Participate in meetings with staff and partners to address any issues and set team plans for WLiE and gender-transformative approaches.
• Monitor data collection to ensure that partners’ staff collect data in safe and ethical ways and ensure monitoring forms are stored correctly and organised. 
• Co-facilitate and/or actively participate in project review/learning workshops in coordination with project team and MEAL team.

Capacity Building:

• In coordination with the Area Programme Manager and WLiE Advisor, develop a capacity building plan for CARE and partner team in Southern Ukraine. 
• Support the WLiE Advisor and GiE Advisor in contextualizing WLiE and gender-transformative materials. 
• Provide on-going supervision, technical coaching and mentoring for partners’ project implementation teams. 
• Identify the need and deliver trainings on technical aspects of service delivery for project staff, partners, local authorities and community members (when needed), with the support of the WLiE Advisor. 

Coordination and representation:

• Represent CARE and take a proactive role in the respective regional-level clusters and their working groups. 
• Build strong networks with local humanitarian actors, including national and international organizations in operational areas, especially other WROs/WLOs  . 
• Develop, maintain, and improve constructive coordination and maintain an effective working relationship with relevant stakeholders including partner agencies, local government, community leaders and service providers. 
• Advocate for the needs of marginalized individuals both internally and through coordination mechanisms through evidence-based advocacy. 

Additional Responsibilities:

• The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the post holder may be required to carry out additional duties assigned by the Field Programme Coordinator within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Requirements

Essential criteria 

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, counselling, psychology, social sciences related field OR equivalent experience. 
• Minimum of 3 years’ relevant work experience with gender or women’s rights. 
• Good understanding of Gender in Emergencies or Development and women’s empowerment. 
• Experience in designing and facilitating training and capacity building. 
• Experience of people management, including ability to provide technical support, trainings and supervision. 
• Experience of implementing projects through implementing partners
• Experience of and commitment to working through systems of community participation and accountability. 
• Awareness of the current humanitarian situation and local context in Southern Ukraine. 
• Fluency in both Ukrainian and Russian; a strong level of written and spoken English is a strong advantage. 
• Demonstrated commitment to gender equality, empowerment of WROs/WLOs, and feminist principles.
• Demonstrated commitment to creating an environment within CARE’s workplaces, programming, and communities where CARE works that is free from sexual harassment, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and child abuse (SHEA-CA), including commitment to the principles of confidentiality, survivor-centered approach, and Do No Harm. 
• Commitment to the aims and principles of CARE, particularly concerning gender equity in emergency programmes.

 Desirable criteria 

• Knowledge and experience of working with the Ukrainian women’s, feminist and LGBT movements.
• Technical understanding of Protection, GBV in Emergencies and Gender in Emergencies and/or work experience in these fields. 
• Experience in building relationships, fostering interagency coordination, and representing an organization to external stakeholders. 
• Strong communication and report writing skills. 
• Excellent attention to detail, organizational skills and discretion with confidential information. 
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, managing staff effectively and working in team. 
• Ability to work independently and proactively, manage a complex and diverse workload and to work to tight deadlines. 
• Excellent computer skills, including experience of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and Word). 

Accountability within CARE:

A commitment to CARE values and CARE’s integrity framework is critical to working with CARE. Any candidate offered a job with CARE will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability: 

• Comply with CARE’s policies and procedures with respect to safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behaviour protocols.
• Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult or any wrongdoings within our programming area. 
• Report any concerns about inappropriate behaviour of a CARE staff or partner.

 Safeguarding:

Children and vulnerable adults who come into contact with CARE as a result of our activities must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury, and any other harm. One of the ways that CARE shows this on-going commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates. 

Gender equality:

CARE is committed to meeting the standards of the CARE International Gender Policy (2019). Through this policy, CARE seeks to promote the equal realization of dignity and human rights for girls, women, boys and men in all diversities, and the elimination of poverty and injustice. Specifically, this policy seeks to improve the explicit incorporation of gender in programmatic and organizational practices. 

How to Apply:

Please send your complete application package (CV, motivation letter, references) only in English to [email protected], no later than 14 July 2023 with WLiE Officer – South as the subject title of your email.  Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.  References will only be contacted after the interview.  

[email protected]