Women Peace and Security Adviser

The Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) is seeking a Women Peace and Security (WPS) Adviser to lead the implementation of a WPS component of an expected USAID-funded extension to FSVC’s current program “Sahel Human Voice in Governance” (SHIGA). Since 2019, the overall goal of SHIGA has been for civil society to effectively engage the government while key government institutions are more effective in their mandate and responsive to Nigerien citizen needs. The new WPS component would focus on improving resilience in Niger to violent extremism through the achievement of the following three objectives:

1) Women and women-led organizations more actively contribute to local and national dialogue and participate in peace, security and governance decision-making processes that identify community priorities and actions.

• Increase participation of women and girls in decision-making on priorities for service delivery;
• Improve women’s capacity in advocacy, leadership and conflict mitigation;
• Promote communities’ acceptance of women’s role in community action/decision-making;
• Increase fora for dialogue between communities, defense and security forces and local government on citizens’ priorities; and
• Support central regional and local government provision of priority public services to vulnerable communities and communities affected by violent extremism

2) Women are valued economic agents contributing to their household’s economy and community’s recovery and resilience to conflict and extremism.

• Assess economic opportunities in VE-affected communities;
• Enhance women’s literacy, numeracy skills;
• Support women’s access to productive economic resources (assets, income, or employment); and
• Enhance the equitable accessibility of financial services, including GSM cell phone-based financial services to women, in conflict affected communities.

3) Public institutions, including defense and security forces (FDS), are more responsible, transparent and accountable in the planning and provision of gender-responsive citizen services.

• Strengthen local governments’ capacity in gender responsive planning and budgeting;
• Increase FDS participation at town hall meetings and local committees; and
• Enhance effectiveness of FDS and authority’s communication with communities and other key audiences.

WPS-related activities are expected to take place in the capital city (Niamey), as well as in the regions (e.g., Tillaberi, Diffa). The WPS Adviser would be based in Niamey.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Party, the WPS Adviser will:

• Serve as lead technical person, responsible for overall conception and implementation of strategies and approaches for successfully implementing the WPS component;
• Have overall responsibility for assuring that all assistance provided under the WPS component is technically sound and appropriate for needs to be addressed, including by planning regular consultations with affected populations on the design and implementation of WPS activities;
• Integrate gender-sensitive conflict analysis and a conflict-sensitive operational approach to implementation;
• Effectively scale up WPS programmatic approaches successfully used by past USAID-funded programs in Niger, capitalizing on lessons learned and building on previous investments;
• Be collaborative, flexible and creative given the challenging environment, utilizing a Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) approach to program implementation;
• Be responsible for facilitating communication and close coordination with all relevant stakeholders to the WPS component, including key local government institutions and civil society organizations, and other donors (e.g., UN Women, UNICEF);
• Work closely with the Chief of Party and Monitoring and Evaluation staff to develop relevant indicators and set targets, and report on them on a regular basis; and
• Draft periodic reports on the design, implementation and progress of WPS-related activities, as required by USAID.

Minimum Qualifications:

• A Master’s degree in related studies;
• At least seven years of progressively responsible experience working on WPS-related activities or similar programming, particularly those funded by international donor agencies (e.g., USAID);
• Demonstrated experience in implementing donor-supported WPS activities of comparable size and complexity, in particular in the area of women’s economic empowerment (i.e., income generation activities, economic literacy and numeracy);
• Strong communications and interpersonal skills, with evidence of ability to establish strong working relationships and interact with a wide range and levels of organizations, including public and private sector stakeholders;
• Excellent multi-tasking and organizational skills, and superb attention to detail;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and French; and
• Experience in Niger is preferred. **
  About FSVC:** FSVC is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership that helps build the sound financial systems and governance needed to support robust market economies in developing countries. Since 1990, FSVC has conducted over 3,400 missions in 70 countries, utilizing 10,000 experts from the international financial, legal, regulatory and CSO communities. In addition to Niger, FSVC has regional field offices in Albania, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Iraq, Lesotho, Jordan, Tajikistan and Tunisia. More information can be found on FSVC’s website: www.fsvc.org.