ABOUT US:

Right To Play is a global organisation that protects, educates and empowers children to rise above adversity through the power of play. We help millions of children each year to stay in school and out of work, to prevent life-threatening diseases and to stay safe from exploitation and abuse. We are the leading global development organization that uses play to transform the lives of children and youth impacted by poverty, war, disease and inequality.

Established in 2000, Right To Play reaches children through experiential programming in 15 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. These programs are supported by our headquarters in Toronto, Canada; London, UK and seven national offices across Europe and North America.

With a shared passion for our mission, our Culture Code guides how we act and interact based on five core pillars:

Accept Everyone – Be intentional about inclusion
Make Things Happen – Seek opportunities to lead and innovate
Display Courage – Act with integrity
Demonstrate Care – Look after yourself and one another
Be Playful – Have fun at work
Please visit our website to learn more about who we are and what we do, and watch this video to find out about the five pillars of our Culture Code.

ROLE SUMMARY:

The Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Specialist will provide technical leadership and support to guide effective integration and achievement of girls’ empowerment, gender equality and social inclusion results across Right To Play (RTP)’s programming, in alignment with RTP’s strategic plan and organizational commitments. The GESI Specialist will provide technical guidance on GESI standards and approaches; lead GESI related staff professional development and learning through coaching, mentorship and fostering forums for technical exchange; contribute to GESI strategy development, resource mobilization, advocacy, research and learning at a global level. The GESI Specialist will champion RTP’s Gender Equality Policy including supporting development of policy related monitoring and accountability.

The GESI Specialist reports to the Global Technical Lead, Health and Gender Equality and works closely with a diverse team of program specialists within the Global Program Development (GPD) and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) teams within RTP’s Global Headquarters. The GESI Specialist will work in partnership with Country Office Gender Specialists and Focal Points to ensure that GESI is strengthened across all areas of program design, implementation, evaluation and learning and impactful social inclusion, gender equality and girls’ empowerment objectives and results are achieved.

The position will include international travel up to 25% per year.

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WHAT YOU’LL DO:

#1: Technical Leadership: Strategy, Standards, Quality Assurance and Learning (35% of Time):

Lead the development of organizational program strategies and priorities, theories of change and quality standards related to RTP’s strategic focus on gender equality and girls’ empowerment.
Collaborate with GPD, MEL and country technical specialists to develop standards and guidance on play-based learning approaches and methodology appropriate to achieving social inclusion, gender equality and girls’ empowerment outcomes.
Provide technical guidance on gender and inclusion mainstreaming across the project cycle including developing global guidance documents, toolkits and providing technical input into other sector specific and MEL guidance documents, resources and quality assurance processes.
In partnership with Country Offices and the Global Program Unit, establish quality assurance mechanisms, document learnings and report on delivery of RTP’s Strategic Plan and RTP’s Gender Equality Strategy.
Collaborate with MEL team to effectively integrate GESI mainstreaming considerations within MEL approaches, standards and guidelines.
Collaborate with MEL team to develop RTP’s global research agenda and evaluation approaches, including identifying appropriate partners and methodologies for monitoring and evaluating GESI and girls’ empowerment results.
Collaborate with Country Offices to strengthen program adaptation based on results and learnings and drive efforts to share GESI related learnings and innovations across the organization.
Contribute to organizational initiatives at the global level to implement and reinforce RTP’s Gender Equality Policy.
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#2: Coaching, Mentorship and Technical Exchange (25% of Time):

Support ongoing technical exchange with Country Office Gender Specialists, Gender Focal Points and Program and MEL Teams on gender equality programming and measurement approaches.
Provide technical backstopping on GESI related programming, based on needs and priorities identified by Country Offices.
Lead global initiatives for GESI related coaching and capacity building, including the Gender Equality Community of Practice.
Collaborate with Global People and Culture Team and Country Office Gender Specialists to develop and deliver organizational trainings on GESI and RTP’s Gender Equality Policy, including action plan monitoring and reporting.
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#3: Thought Leadership and Learning (20% of Time):

Identify, research and share best practices and technical notes to position RTP’s play based learning approach within the gender equality sector.
Drive collective advocacy initiatives at the global level to advance key GESI positions and contribute to policy papers, standards and tools in collaboration with networks globally.
Provide guidance to country teams in local advocacy efforts related to GESI and girls’ empowerment.
Contribute to external facing communication products, research reports, case studies, technical notes and training resources on GESI and girls’ empowerment outcomes.
Collaborate with Communications Team to share GESI and girls’ empowerment related results, learnings and innovations across the organization.
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#4: Business and Partnership Development (15% of Time):

Provide GESI technical leadership on multi-country and strategic business development opportunities.
Support Country Offices in strategic partnership development on GESI and girls’ empowerment related themes.
Work in partnership with Global Partnerships Team and Fundraising Offices to communicate RTP’s competitive advantage related to play and GESI and girls’ empowerment programming and outcomes, including contributing to capacity statements, proposal development and representing RTP in key donor forums.
Develop and strengthen core partnerships and networks with key stakeholders in the gender equality sector, including global networks, and multi-lateral institutions, for scale and impact.
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#5: Other Tasks as Assigned (5% of Time)

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WHAT YOU’LL BRING (ESSENTIAL):

EDUCATION/TRAINING/CERTIFICATION:

Master’s Degree or equivalent in relevant field (Gender Studies, International Development, disability and inclusive development, etc.); or equivalent work experience.
EXPERIENCE:

Experience working in women’s rights, gender equality and social inclusion within public institutions, non-governmental organizations, UN agencies and/or international organizations.
Hands-on experience in designing GESI focused technical guidance, standards and capacity building strategies.
Experience supporting the design of girls’ empowerment and GESI projects and programs, particularly within education and health sectors.
Experience developing standards and tools to support GESI integration across the project cycle in an international development context.
Familiarity with GESI research and GESI analysis, monitoring and evaluation methodologies and approaches and ability to interpret data for decision making and inform programming and strategies.
Demonstrated experience in development of GESI related programming and operational standards, guidelines, tip-sheets and resources.
Experience in strategic planning, and results-based management and reporting.
COMPETENCIES/PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

Ability to multi-task, maintain a high degree of organization, and meet deadlines.
Highly adaptable, demonstrating a flexible attitude and an ability to work with people from various backgrounds and cultures.
Demonstrated leadership, change management and conflict management skills.
Excellent relationship management with internal and external stakeholders
Ability to work on GESI in a range of cultural contexts and link GESI to other forms of oppression such as poverty and racism.
KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS:

Substantial experience and knowledge of gender responsive and transformative approaches, “Do No Harm” principles and GESI mainstreaming/integration.
Analytical and communication skills, including research and proposal and report writing skills.
An understanding of humanitarian, development and GESI issues in Right To Play project locations.
LANGUAGES:

Fluency in spoken and written English
BONUS IF YOU’LL BRING (NOT ESSENTIAL):

Ability to work in a second language, particularly French.
Courses/training completed in gender mainstreaming, gender transformative approaches, disability and inclusive development and other relevant GESI subject areas.
Experience and knowledge of GBV prevention, response and mitigation, child protection and safeguarding standards and approaches.
Experience and knowledge of the design and development of pedagogical training resources, including child centred, active learning and play based learning approaches.
Familiarity with and experience in quantitative and qualitative participatory and child/youth friendly research methods.
WHAT YOU’LL GET:

The opportunity to collaborate with an innovative global team who are passionate about working with children and youth. You will gain experience working for a globally recognized organization with a healthy culture premised on our Culture Code (accept everyone, make things happen, display courage, demonstrate care and be playful). You will be immersed in an environment where learning and development is encouraged and valued, and “play” is appreciated as a core avenue to building community.

Competitive salary and benefits
Flexible work arrangements (e.g. work from home and flex hours)
Up to 5 personal learning and development (L&D) days per year
Annual learning week
Annual staff recognition awards
Opportunity to connect with employees across our offices (Global Buddy Chat, Facebook Workplace)
Opportunity to engage in global projects and initiatives
Wellness programs
Playful activities and events