The Gender and safeguarding officer shall focus on promoting gender-sensitive practices, fostering a safe and respectful work environment, and implementing safeguarding measures to protect all young people engaged with the project. S/he will support the integration of gender equity and safeguarding principles across all programs and operations. The officer will ensure that the organization maintains a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for all staff, beneficiaries, and stakeholders, particularly vulnerable populations.

Role and responsibilities:

Gender mainstreaming.

• Develop and implement gender strategies to ensure gender-sensitive and inclusive practices are embedded in all project activities.
• Conduct assessments to identify barriers to participation for marginalized groups, including people with disabilities, and recommend solutions to address these.
• Build the capacity of project staff on gender-sensitive and inclusive practices, fostering an environment where all genders are valued and respected.
• Lead gender related assessments through collecting, analyzing, and report gender-dis-aggregated data and trends.
• Promote women’s leadership and participation in all project activities ensuring that young women actively take part project initiatives
• Develop and update project gender action plans to track gender mainstreaming into project activities.
• Prepare regular reports on gender mainstreaming and safeguarding activities, successes, and areas for improvement. Ensure that project meets target of reaching 5% young women with disabilities.

Safeguarding

• Establish and enforce safeguarding policies to ensure the safety, respect, and dignity of all youth participants emphasizing prevention of harassment, abuse, and discrimination.
• Train project participants on gender equality, inclusivity, and safeguarding principles.
• Develop indicators and tools to monitor the project’s progress on gender inclusion and safeguarding and assess the effectiveness of gender and safeguarding initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with national and international standards on gender equality, safeguarding, and disability rights as well as stay informed of policy developments and best practices.
• Collaborate with the Project Manager and other team members to foster a culture of continuous improvement in gender and safeguarding.
• Deliver safeguarding inductions and ongoing training for all staff, partners, and volunteers.
• Conduct risk assessments and establish mitigation measures for activities involving children or vulnerable adults.
• Collaborate with HR and management to investigate allegations of misconduct, ensuring confidentiality and due process.
• Monitor adherence to gender and safeguarding standards across the organization.
• Maintain confidential safeguarding incident records and contribute to donor and internal reporting.
• Contribute to audits, evaluations, and learning processes related to gender and safeguarding.

Partnership and Advocacy:

• Build partnerships with local organizations, government agencies, and stakeholders to promote gender equity and safeguarding.
• Represent the organization in relevant working groups or coordination meetings.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies, social work, Human Rights, Development Studies, or a related field.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in gender mainstreaming, safeguarding, or social development, ideally within community or donor-funded projects.
• Strong understanding of safeguarding principles, gender-sensitive programming, and disability inclusion.
• Proven skills in training, community engagement, and handling sensitive matters professionally.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Proficiency in monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on gender and safeguarding outcomes.

Working relationship

• Internally with SIYEP project team, Finance & Administration, People & Culture and Management staff at OADG.
• Externally with District labour officers, Consortium partner staff and any other relevant stakeholder.