Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist (MDIH) – Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Lesotho II
About MCA
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. government corporation focused on assisting countries dedicated to good governance, economic freedom, and investing in people. In May 2022, MCC signed a five-year agreement (“Compact”) with the Government of Lesotho (GoL) aimed at poverty reduction through inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country.
The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) – Lesotho II, is an entity established by the Government to act as the accountable entity to implement the Compact, with the authority to bind the Government with regard to all program activities.
Lesotho Compact
The Lesotho Health and Horticulture Compact aims to benefit 2.5 million people by growing, strengthening, and organizing the private sector in Lesotho and improving the government’s coordination to deliver critical services necessary to support private sector development.
It will achieve this goal through investments in Health System Strengthening (HSS), strengthening of the business environment and Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture (MDIH), providing sustainable income for smallholders and increasing climate resilience by replacing rain-fed subsistence farming with irrigated commercial horticulture in select locations.
The GoL is committed to passing several key reforms that will help make this compact successful, including reforms that address gender equality, working conditions and worker safety, as well as land and water rights. All of the Compact’s projects focus on overcoming barriers to the economic inclusion of women, youth, and the rural poor.
Market-Driven Irrigated Horticulture (MDIH) Project
The MDIH Project’s objective is to increase rural incomes related to commercial agriculture, including for women, youth, and the rural poor, and establish a sustainable and inclusive model of irrigation, water resource, and land management. The project provides extensive technical assistance and investments in institutional reforms and capacity building of both the GOL and beneficiaries of the project’s investment in irrigation infrastructure to develop a successful and sustainable horticulture industry. The budget for this project is $118 million.
Position Objective
The Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture (MDIH) Gender and Social Inclusion (GSI) Specialist, reporting to the GSI Director of the Millennium Challenge Account-Lesotho (MCA-Lesotho II), provides technical expertise and management skills to ensure the high-quality implementation of all gender and inclusion-related sub-activities under the MDIH Project, with primary responsibility for gender and inclusion in agriculture and land sub-activities.
Key Responsibilities
- Assume primary responsibility for oversight of implementation of 1) GSI sub-activities under the IHSS Activity of the MDIH Project; and 2) the GSI-related work under the Land sub-activity under the Institutional Reform Activity. This includes technical and administrative management of the contracts related primarily to land reforms and registration; irrigated commercial horticulture planning, training and capacity building, organizational development; and grants. This includes work on institutional reform and capacity strengthening, training, institutional development, and other activities intended to promote gender and social equity and inclusion across the project.
- Support the GSI Director in the oversight of GSI work under other contracts related to community-private sector transactions, environment and social performance, resettlement, and infrastructure construction, and counter-trafficking in persons.
- Provide technical recommendations, review consultant and contractor deliverables, monitor risks, troubleshoot, and identify solutions to problems.
- Work closely with MCA’s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Director to develop a monitoring framework for each activity under the Specialists responsibility, including KPIs and other metrics and indicators, to monitor GSI progress aligned with the program logic and other GSI objectives. Do spot checks of consultants’ monitoring systems, and use these and reports to track progress and identify risks.
- Work collaboratively as a member of the multi-sector MDIH Project team, and the Gender and Social Inclusion team at MCA and MCC, sharing ideas, experiences, and problem-solving; and ensuring strong integration of gender and inclusion objectives and activities, and strong coordination across contracts and sub-activities. Keep other MCA staff informed of progress, risks and problems, and jointly identify solutions, and ways to improve quality control systems.
- Provide technical expertise on gender transformative approaches, for the purpose of oversight of consultants’ use of these methods, ensuring that they are being designed and implemented in a way that will be effective and fit for purpose.
- Participate in stakeholder engagement, from Ministry to community level, as part of activity management. Monitor the work of the Implementing Entities responsible for GSI-related activities under IHSS and IR-Land, and their compliance with Implementing Entity Agreements.
- Participate in Technical Evaluation Panels and contract negotiations.
- Develop risk mitigants, solutions and design changes or supplementation as required to meet GSI objectives. This system should include data collection and analysis, regular site visits, and regular meetings with MCA staff and implementing entities.
- Ensure compliance with the MCC Gender Policy and the MCC Gender and Inclusion Operational Requirements, as they pertain to MCA.
- Support the development and monitoring of, and stakeholder engagement around, the MDIH Social and Gender Integration Plan (SGIP), encompassing GSI objectives and designs in all MDIH activities, as well as workplans, responsibilities, and metrics. Manage the relevant portions of the SGIP management and tracking system, and update the SGIP regularly, in collaboration with other GSI staff.
Qualifications and Experience
- Bachelor’s Degree in development studies, agriculture, gender studies, anthropology, human geography, or relevant social science field.
- Advanced University Degree in a related field preferred.
- Minimum 7 years’ experience leading the integration of social inclusion, gender, and poverty reduction efforts in agriculture and rural development.
- Minimum of 5 years’ experience in design and/or implementation of capacity building for rural women and youth, with experience in at least two of the following areas: agricultural production (horticulture preferred), agricultural business management and marketing, gender-inclusive land reform, farmers’ associations, and user-centered design of irrigation infrastructure. Experience in more of these areas preferred.
- Minimum of 3 years’ experience designing and/or implementing gender transformative approaches in the context of agriculture/rural development.
- Experience working with youth in agriculture preferred.
Skills and Competencies
- Demonstrated understanding of the social challenges to women’s participation in commercial irrigated horticulture, as well as the broader enabling environment challenges that inhibit the economic empowerment of rural women in Lesotho (e.g., GBV, land expropriation, diminished household agency, diminished access to assets and inputs, limited opportunities for community leadership, etc.).
- Fluency in English and Sesotho required.
How to apply
Complete applications must be submitted online, on or before Friday March 29th, 2024.
Applications should be accompanied by the following documents:
- Curriculum vitae containing detailed work experience;
- Cover letter confirming interest and availability;
- Soft copies of higher education and professional certificates (if available);
- A completed online application form (can be accessed from https://lesotho-jobs.tenderwell.app – CV Template MCA Lesotho II)
Only applications that are submitted on or before the deadline will be considered.
We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Submit your application online via: https://lesotho-jobs.tenderwell.app – Hard copy applications will not be considered.