International Consultant on Gender Responsive Security Sector Reform At Ark Group

ABOUT ARK:

ARK is a social enterprise, empowering local communities through the provision of agile and sustainable interventions to create greater stability, opportunity, and hope for the future.

We believe that resilient communities are the foundation of local, national, regional and international development and stability – and ultimately a safer, peaceful and more prosperous world. At ARK, we have delivered research and programmatic interventions validating this approach in over twenty countries since 2008. As a social enterprise we work in partnership with communities, our donors, and other implementers to build local capacities, generate opportunity and bring about sustainable change.

PURPOSE OF POSITION:

Since 2017 ARK has been delivering capacity building programming on behalf of the Canadian government to security agencies in Jordan, with a strong focus on gender integration and empowerment. The International Consultant on Gender Responsive Security Sector Reform will support the programme’s objective of promoting inclusive and gender-responsive development within Jordanian law enforcement partners in line with the Jordanian National Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The JONAP has four strategic goals, aiming to increase; (1) gender responsiveness and meaningful participation and leadership of women in the security sector and in peace operations, (2) participation of women in Prevention of Violent Extremism and in peacemaking, (3) gender sensitive services to refugee and Jordanian women, and (4) recognition of the benefits of gender equality and the role of women in Peace and Security.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Working with the Project Director and the technical skills capacity building component lead, provide subject matter expertise to the project on gender mainstreaming and empowerment in the security sector, ensuring the integration of gender equality and inclusion objectives in project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
• Working with the project’s Gender Officer, and based on extensive consultation with local partners, civil society organisations and UN Women, strengthen institutional capacity on Women, Peace and Security issues and gender responsive security sector reform within the Jordanian partner agencies.
• Design tools, frameworks, and resources to facilitate gender integration an inclusion, and deliver capacity building and mentoring support on the use of these resources to enhance the skills, knowledge and attitudes of project partners to mainstream gender in security sector reform.
• Manage the input of a Gender Advisory Council of SMEs supporting the delivery of this project.
• Support project MEAL colleagues to incorporate gender indicators into MEAL tools.
• Mentor ARK project staff in gender mainstreaming and lead efforts to increase gender knowledge, foster positive attitudes and raise awareness of gender and inclusion amongst project delivery personnel.

REQUIREMENTS:

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Essential

• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience at the national level in the design, implementation and facilitation of gender and security sector reform and governance (SSRG) programming.
• Demonstrated knowledge of gender mainstreaming in SSRG.
• Demonstrated experience and results in supporting similar kinds of capacity building projects with a facilitation role to promote individual behaviour and institutional change with respect to gender and inclusion issues, ideally within the MENA region.
• Experience in designing and delivering training and mentoring.
• Ability to navigate politically sensitive contexts and maintain constructive relationships with a diverse set of key stakeholders, including external donors, project staff and partners.
• Excellent report-writing, research, editing and oral presentation skills.
• Fluency in English.
• Excellent communication, networking and inter-personal skills.

Desirable

• A Masters Degree or higher in a relevant subject area(s) e.g. Gender, Social Work, Public Health, International Development, Conflict, Peace Studies or Community Development.
• Experience working and/or living in Jordan.
• Arabic language skills.

MORE ABOUT OUR COMPANY:

What Makes Us Different

We pride ourselves on being the first people able to access and operate in challenging fragile and conflict-affected environments. We are expeditionary by design and our systems and structures enable flexible and agile responses while ensuring safe, effective and compliant delivery.

Working with and through teams drawn from the communities in which we operate enables us to deliver impactful interventions built on intimate local understanding. In collaboration with our global network of international and local experts, we integrate nuanced understanding of the challenges we aim to solve with best practice and field-leading innovation to deliver programming that meets short-term stabilisation objectives and builds the evidence base and knowledge needed to lay the groundwork for long-term peacebuilding and development programming.

What We Do

We enjoy sectoral experience in civil society development, good governance, protection and human rights, refugees and migration, stabilisation, gender, security and justice, as well as cross-cutting experience in programme design and learning, organisational development and management, research and analysis, needs assessments, monitoring and evaluation, communications and capacity building.

Our People

Today, our team covers a diverse range of professional backgrounds; from diplomacy, humanitarian, development and the military, to the UN, civil society groups, multilateral organisations, journalism and the private sector.

They bring sectoral expertise in civil society development, good governance, protection and human rights, refugees and migration, gender and security and justice, as well as practical experience in programme design and learning, organisational development and management, research and analysis, needs assessments, monitoring and evaluation, communications and capacity building. The multi-disciplinary and multi-national nature of our team means the research we undertake and the programmes we deliver are grounded in empirical need and deliver measurable and sustainable impact.

ARK Group is an equal opportunity employer. We actively seek a diverse applicant pool and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. ARK Group does not discriminate on the basis of ability, age, gender identity and expression, national origin, race and ethnicity, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. We welcome all kinds of diversity. ARK Group places human dignity at the centre of its development and stabilisation work and is thus committed to the protection from sexual exploitation and abuse of children and adults. All ARK Group employees and related-personnel are expected to share this commitment, and only those who also uphold these values will be recruited as part of our team. This vacancy is therefore subject to a range of due diligence checks.