This role is focused on driving Women’s Economic Empowerment and promoting financial inclusion by ensuring effective gender mainstreaming in program delivery and outcomes.

The role-holder will provide strategic leadership and support to FSD Uganda’s programs, guiding the integration of gender considerations at all stages of program design, implementation, and impact evaluation.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Planning and Strategy: Drive and support the strategic integration of gender considerations across FSD Uganda’s programs:

• Support research and analysis to inform gender approaches, identifying leverage points, risks, and opportunities for transformative change.
• Collaborate with the Director of Programs, Pillar Leads, Intervention Managers, and the Impact Team to develop and implement a comprehensive gender strategy.
• Identify gender-inclusive interventions and initiatives in partnership with stakeholders, ensuring alignment with program objectives.
• Provide technical guidance in the design and monitoring of programs to ensure gender considerations are fully embedded.
• Support the development of robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks that assess gender-related impacts.
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2. Thought Leadership: Position FSD Uganda as a leader in promoting gender equity and women’s financial inclusion:

• Represent FSD Uganda in public forums and networking events, always behaving in a manner consistent with our brand and values.
• Facilitate the dissemination of gender-related lessons learned across stakeholders to inform program improvements.
• Develop high-quality reports, case studies, and learning briefs to highlight successes, challenges, and innovations in gender inclusion.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for gender-related activities and provide technical expertise to internal teams and partners.

3. Portfolio Management: Drive financial accessibility for women and promote sustainable gender inclusivity:

• Appraise implementing partners on best practices and emerging trends in gender mainstreaming and financial inclusion.
• Engage with partners to evaluate and improve products, marketing strategies, customer service, and policies for gender inclusivity.
• Strengthen PFIs’ ability to design and implement gender-sensitive loan processing and credit policies.
• Develop tools, training materials, and guidelines to support FSDU teams, Investment/ advisory committees, and implementing partners.

4. Managing Results & Learning: Ensure that gender-responsive and gender-transformative approaches are effectively tracked, measured, and improved based on evidence and learnings:

• Support the Impact team in developing and implementing a results-monitoring framework that tracks gender-specific outcomes and impacts across all programs.
• Ensure gender-disaggregated data is collected, analyzed, and reported to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
• Lead post-implementation reviews to refine gender mainstreaming strategies and ensure they remain aligned with FSD Uganda’s objectives.
• Incorporate feedback from stakeholders and team members into updated program guidelines and frameworks.
• Work closely with internal and external learning partners to design studies that provide insights into gender dynamics, particularly in financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment.

5: Risk and Resource Management: Optimise resources and mitigate risks to support gender-focused interventions:

• Identify potential risks related to gender mainstreaming, such as cultural resistance or implementation challenges, and develop mitigation strategies.
• Ensure compliance with gender equality policies and safeguards during program implementation.
• Ensure compliance with gender equality and safeguarding policies, donor requirements, and organisational standards during program implementation.
• Support the allocation and monitoring of resources for gender-related activities to ensure cost-effectiveness and value for money.
• Manage consultants, trainers, and partners to deliver high-quality gender expertise when required.
• Prepare timely financial and narrative reports highlighting gender-focused activities and outcomes.

Specifications For the Role

Qualifications

• Master’s degree from a recognised learning institution in in social sciences, Finance, Economics, gender studies, or other development-related field.
• Relevant further degrees or professional qualifications are an advantage.

Relevant Experience

• At least 8 years of experience in gender programming, with a focus on women’s economic empowerment or financial inclusion.
• Strong background in designing and implementing gender mainstreaming strategies in the private and public sectors.
• Experience working with MSMEs and familiarity with the financial inclusion ecosystem in Uganda..
• Strong understanding of business models, gender data analysis and interpretation.
• Proven track record in managing teams and consultants/service providers including the development of terms of reference where required
• Familiarity with major players in financial sector development in Uganda (desired).

Critical Technical Skills & Knowledge:

• Good understanding of financial inclusion principles, MSME finance, and gender-responsive business models.
• Proficiency in gender analysis and the ability to interpret gender-disaggregated data for decision-making.
• Strong project management skills, including monitoring and results management.
• Excellent communication skills, with a proven track record of producing high-quality written reports and presentations.

Behavioural Competencies or Character:

Initiative & Decisiveness – Level 3
Innovation & Value Addition – Level 3
Drive for Results – Level 3
Relationship Building – Level 3
Communication & Influencing for Impact – Level 3
Thought Leadership – Level 3
Learning & Resourcefulness – Level 3