National Gender Specialist

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is implementing the EU-funded Oil Palm Value Chains Development Project in Sierra Leone, aimed at improving productivity, processing efficiency, market access, and livelihoods for smallholder farmers.
The project targets approximately 43,000 farming households across Kenema, Port Loko, Pujehun and Bonthe, addressing key constraints including:
•    Aging plantations and low productivity 
•    Inefficient and unhygienic processing systems 
•    Weak farmer organizations 
•    Limited access to finance and markets

A core pillar of the project is to ensure inclusive, gender-responsive, and youth-sensitive value chain development, with a strong focus on:
•    Women’s economic empowerment 
•    Equitable access to productive assets and services 
•    Gender-sensitive processing and enterprise development 
•    Social inclusion and community participation

To support this, FAO seeks to recruit a National Gender Specialist to lead and operationalize gender mainstreaming across all project components.

The incumbent will work under:

• Overall supervision of the FAO Representative (FAOR) 
  
• Direct supervision of the Agricultural Officer (Oil Palm Value Chains) – Project Lead

The incumbent will collaborate closely with:

• Operations and Programme teams 
  
• M&E Specialist 
  
• Partner organizations (MOPADA, SOLIDARIDAD, SLARI, MTHE) 
  
• Government counterparts (MAFS, Ministry of Gender) 
  
• Community-level stakeholders and farmer groups.

The National Gender Specialist will provide technical leadership on gender mainstreaming and social inclusion across the oil palm value chain, focusing on:
•    Integration of gender-responsive approaches in production, processing, and marketing 
•    Promotion of women’s economic empowerment and leadership 
•    Development of gender-sensitive value chain interventions 
•    Ensuring equitable access to assets, finance, training, and technologies 
•    Strengthening gender-responsive monitoring, data systems, and reporting.

Gender Analysis and Strategy Development

• Conduct gender analysis of the oil palm value chain; 
  
• Identify key gender gaps, barriers, and opportunities; 
  
• Develop a Gender Action Plan aligned with project objectives.

Mainstreaming Gender Across Project Activities

• Integrate gender considerations into: 
          o    Production systems (plantations, inputs) 
          o    Processing facilities and technologies 
          o    Farmer organizations and cooperatives 
  
• Ensure gender-responsive targeting and beneficiary selection.

Capacity Building

• Design and deliver training on gender mainstreaming, women’s economic empowerment, and gender-sensitive value chain development,
  
• Build the capacity of FAO staff, implementing partners, and government counterparts

Support to Inclusive Value Chain Development

• Promote women’s participation in: 
          o    Processing units 
          o    Aggregation systems 
          o    Business and enterprise development 
  
• Support development of women-led agribusiness initiatives.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

• Develop gender-sensitive indicators and tools; 
  
• Ensure collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated data; 
  
• Contribute to project reports (donor, internal, evaluations); 
  
• Track progress on gender-related outcomes.

Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination

•    Liaise with the Ministry of Gender, local authorities, and community leaders to promote gender-inclusive community engagement.

Safeguards and Social Inclusion

• Ensure the application of gender equality principles and the “Do No Harm” approach
  
• Identify and mitigate risks related to exclusion or inequality.

Reporting and Documentation

•    Prepare gender analysis reports, a Gender Action Plan, training reports, and periodic progress reports

Other Duties

Perform any other related duties as required

Minimum Requirements   

•    Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Rural Development, Agricultural Economics or a related field.
•    Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in: Gender mainstreaming in development programmes; Rural livelihoods, agriculture, or value chain development. 
•    Working knowledge (proficiency - level C)'of English.
•    National of Sierra Leone

• Results Focus
  
• Teamwork
  
• Communication
  
• Building Effective Relationships
  
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

• Strong expertise in gender analysis and mainstreaming
  
• Knowledge of agricultural value chains and rural livelihoods
  
• Experience in community engagement and participatory approaches
  
• Ability to design and deliver training programmes
  
• Strong analytical and reporting skills
  
• Understanding of EU donor priorities on gender and inclusion.

• Demonstrated experience in: Conducting gender analysis and developing gender action plans; Integrating gender considerations into programme design and implementation; Delivering capacity-building and training on gender equality. 
  
• Proven experience working with: Government institutions, community-based organizations, and/or farmer groups; Multi-stakeholder or donor-funded programmes 
  
• Prior experience with FAO, EU-funded projects, or other UN agencies is highly desirable.

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions. 

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO [link removed] and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
  
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
  
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application

• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/ [link removed]. These qualifications should be in alignment with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) mappings [link removed].
  
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
  
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
  
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
  
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
  
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
  
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp [link removed]