Head of Gender Equality and Inclusion at Plan International Full Time

Job Title: Head of Gender Equality and Inclusion

Location: Flexible (in one of the countries where Plan International Inc works; home working is possible)    
Functional Area: Gender Transformative Policy and Practice Team (GTPP).
Reports to: Director of Gender Transformative Policy and Practice
Travel required: Limited
Effective Date: ASAP
Grade: 5
Type of Role: Permanent where possible. The employment practices in some locations may dictate a fixed term contract.

Role Purpose

• Plan International is a global development organisation that is active in over 75 countries to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. By 2022, our ambition is to transform the lives of 100 million girls. Plan International has put gender equality and inclusion at the heart of our organizational purpose. We believe that adopting a gender transformative approach ensures that our work results in positive changes and sustainable outcomes for girls and young women, and for society more broadly.
• Our commitment to gender transformative change goes beyond addressing “symptoms” to explicitly tackle the root causes of gender inequality and exclusion, particularly unequal power relations, discriminatory social norms and systems, structures, policies and practices.
• The work of the Head of Gender Equality and Inclusion is to provide global strategic leadership of Plan International’s work on gender equality, inclusion and girls’ rights across all areas of our workplaces and programming. The position ensures that Plan International’s programme and influencing work around the world effectively integrates gender equality and inclusion as a core part of our strategy.  Likewise, the post also ensures that gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights are effectively integrated across Plan International’s internal organisational structure and culture.

Dimensions of the Role

• Leads Plan International’s global community of practice on gender equality, intersectionality, and feminist leadership to provide bold, innovative and inspirational thought leadership on gender equality, intersectionality, girls’ rights and feminist principles, while influencing internal policies, processes, structures, and people to embrace Plan International’s gender transformative agenda.
• Builds Plan International’s global reputation as a thought and practice leader on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights in different contexts and under a changing global environment due to COVID-19.
• Role models and embraces feminist approaches to leadership and organisational culture, (this includes e.g. self- and collective care, celebrating diversity, zero tolerance to GBV, discrimination, sharing power, joyful in co-creating).
• Works with Plan International offices and departments to provide global strategic and passionate leadership for integrating the cross-cutting work of gender equality and inclusion across all of Plan International’s programmatic and influencing work, and across our offices and staff.
• Contributes to global leadership on Plan International’s wider priorities, processes & systems to support high quality work, and to ensure a meaningful and relevant focus on gender equality and inclusion.
• Ensures gender equality and inclusion are recognised by Plan International staff as mutually re-enforcing and interconnected across core areas of Plan International’s work and embraced by staff as central to their work.
• Works with Plan International’s programme leadership and global technical advisors’ team, provides global leadership on the integration of gender equality and inclusion across Plan International ’s programme and influencing work (for example, through the rollout of the gender transformative marker, regular gender and inclusion reviews, implementation of strategic objectives, strengthening vibrant communities of practice, and technical support).
• Works with Plan International’s executive team and HROD department to provide leadership on mainstreaming gender equality and inclusion across Plan International’s internal organisational processes and workplaces and implementing a Value-Based Leadership underpinned by feminist principles – which especially apply for virtual office environments under COVID-19.
• Collaborates with the PMERL, GYPA and Strategic & Collaboration teams, and others to drive development of evidence-based, innovative, scalable and gender-transformative programme models and flagship programmes in the context of COVD-19.
• Leads a small, high performing team of global technical staff, located in different parts of the world, and coordinates closely with the regional gender and inclusion specialists and core members of the Global Gender and Inclusion Group (GIG).
• Contributes to the GTPP Leadership team, driving delivery of our value proposition and continuous improvements in people management and our ways of working. Effectively manages the Gender and Inclusion team budget to deliver excellent value for money.

Accountabilities
Global Strategic Leadership: Plan International’s offices and staff promote gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights in all areas of work, supported by inspiring and achievable policies, strategies and guidance that is widely owned by staff across the global organisation.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Motivate collective leadership on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights across all areas of Plan International’s work by role modelling and embracing feminist approaches – especially under the changing conditions due to COVID-19.
• Promote an engaging vision and consistent agenda on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights which generates commitment and engagement by offices and staff across Plan International, including at the most senior levels to ensure that the gains made around gender equality and inclusion in the organisation is not reversed by the impact of COVID-19.
• Work with existing teams at Global Hub, National Organisations, Regional and Country Offices to promote gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights in meaningful ways which contribute to Plan International’s overall mission and vision.
• Develop and strengthen Plan International’s policy, strategies, and guidance on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights as well as adapting them to the changing environment due to COVID-19.
• Implement global processes to monitor Plan International’s progress in achieving the commitments and meeting the standards outlined in these strategy documents (e.g. through the annual Gender and Inclusion Review, the regular Gender Equality and Inclusion Self-Assessments). Galvanize action to implement key recommendations.
• Communicate Plan International’s progress on gender equality and inclusion, driving learning and commitment across the federation.
• Ensure that Plan International’s work on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights is aligned with wider organisational processes, priorities, and systems, including our global corporate strategy.
• Represent Plan International’s work on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights in key senior management bodies, including to the Executive Team, the Global Programme Network (GPN), and other management bodies where relevant.
• Through Planting Equality 2.0, develop and provide action learning on gender equality and inclusion in programming to Plan International offices and staff. This includes the coordination of the rollout of new modules (We are Diverse, Gender in Emergencies, Defy Normal).

Programmes: Plan International’s programming and influencing around the world effectively integrates gender equality and inclusion as a core part of its global strategy, and becomes well-known for quality, innovation and results.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead a process to strengthen the integration of gender equality and inclusion across Plan International’s programme work, especially through the rollout of the Gender Transformative Marker and the analysis of its data. Develop recommendations and research on how address this under COVID-19 conditions.
• Contribute to significant initiatives on programme quality and ensure these align with Plan International’s broader commitments on gender equality and inclusion and are applicable under COVID-19 contexts.
• Provide quality oversight to Plan International’s commitment regarding its gender transformative programme and influencing work, including technical support to Plan’s Country and National Offices for winning major grants.
• Provide collective leadership to the technical networks on gender equality and inclusion, fostering a passionate community of practice that is valued by its members and engaged through strategic communication tools including Planet and Workplace.
• Manage the elaboration and implementation of an annual plan with performance results for the Global Gender and Inclusion Group.

Gender equality and girls’ rights mainstreaming across Plan International’s workplaces and staff: offices and staff are increasingly situated within an enabling environment and organisational culture that promotes gender equality and girls’ rights.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Work in collaboration with Plan International’s human resources and organisational development (HROD) department and personnel to achieve core outcomes. Support HROD with the development of specific policies pertaining to gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights in the workplace, especially regarding the changes in office live due to COVID-19.
• Deliver strategic guidance, policy direction, and practical tools to ensure that gender equality, inclusion and girls’ rights can thrive across all offices, in collaboration with the HROD department and personnel.
• Put in place a broad approach and accompanying learning materials to build the capacity of staff on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights in the workplace, working together with the Plan Academy. Ensure the appropriate knowledge, skills, tools, and capacities are in place to support staff.
• Together with HROD, adapt and support the organisational change processes on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights in Plan International’s offices, ensuring implementation of gender equality and inclusion self-assessments and the effective implementation and monitoring of gender equality and inclusion action plans.
• Give technical guidance on how to strengthen a value-based leadership based on feminist principles. Lead the piloting of the feminist labs to catalyse organizational and social change.

Thought and practice Leadership: Plan International’s global reputation on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights is increasingly recognised by key stakeholders and decision-makers across the world.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Promote Plan International as a globally recognised thought and practice leader on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights, embracing feminist leadership and undergoing organisational change
• Represent Plan International in global fora and regularly seek to influence international policy makers around core advocacy objectives related to gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights, working closely with various Global Hub departments.
• Working with the Global Influence and Partnerships department, develop strategic networks, partnerships and alliances with key global decision-makers, external specialists and influencers on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights.
• Support the development of external policy positions and advocacy initiatives on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights in general and under COVID-19 contexts.
• Strategically influence the international research and policy agenda on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights. Leads Plan International’s work on key research initiatives related to gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights.
• Represent Plan International’s work on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights at international conferences, workshops and stakeholder meetings as a persuasive and influential speaker. Due to COVID-19, participation in international events is expected to be virtual.
• Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility.
• This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures

Key Relationships

• The Head of Gender Equality and Inclusion is a member of the Gender Transformative Policy and Practice Team (GTPP), and reports to the Director of the GTPP department. The incumbent will sit on the GTPP leadership team, and will engage with the Executive Team on core issues of work as relevant and appropriate.
• The incumbent will work closely, on everyday basis, with the Global Gender and Inclusion Team members and act as their line manager. The incumbent will collaborate effectively with other GTPP Hub leads, and programme leadership staff.
• The incumbent will work closely with leadership of Plan’s HROD department to promote gender equality and girls’ rights across Plan’s workplaces.
• The incumbent will establish and maintain strong working relationships with senior leadership across Plan, including in National Organizations, Regional Offices, Country Offices and International Headquarters.
• Close working relationship of collaboration will be fostered with the Global Influence and Partnerships department and likewise with Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MERL), Areas of Global Distinctiveness Hubs and Knowledge Management in order to achieve the objectives outlined above.
• The incumbent will lead the global Gender and Inclusion Group and will collaborate with Plan’s technical staff on gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights across National Organisations, Country and Regional Offices.
• The incumbent will foster and maintain relationships with external thought-leaders, influencers and academics in the field of gender equality, inclusion, and girls’ rights.

Technical Expertise, Skills and Knowledge
Skills & Experience:

• Postgraduate University Degree in Gender and Development or Social Studies or equivalent experience
• Experience leading gender equality, inclusion, and/or girls’ rights initiatives in complex international organizations.
• Proven track record of senior leadership and achievement amidst a fast-paced international development environment.
• A compelling influencer, and communicator: Passionate about gender equality, inclusion and girls’ rights and able to inspire others, build consensus, and bring them together around a common agenda, with the ability to navigate a complex global organisation.
• Experience working with a diverse set of stakeholders at all levels of an organisation, including at the most senior levels.
• Exceptional gender, inclusion, and girls’ rights analysis and mainstreaming skills at both programme and policy levels.
• Excellent conceptual, analytical, and strategic thinking skills.
• Advanced facilitation, training, and consultation skills.
• Strong ability to communicate policy, research, and theoretical concepts in simple and clear terms.
• Strong team building, people management and motivational skills.
• Superior communication (verbal/written) skills to compellingly represent an organisation’s mission and values, internally and externally.
• Confident public speaker with media skills.
• Fluent in English. Capacity in French and/or Spanish will be an advantage.
• Flexible where Plan International has a legal entity and the applicant has the pre-existing right to work and live. Those locations closest to Plan International’s point of impact are preferred.

Knowledge:

• Deep knowledge of key concepts of gender equality and inclusion, girls’ rights and global women’s rights and feminist movements – including:
  • Concepts, theories and sector debates on patriarchy, privilege, power relations and the plurality of masculinities across developmental stages and their impact on boys themselves, girls and any young people who transgress traditional ‘binaries’.
  • Concepts of social and gender norms and on gender norm change.
  • Knowledge of how social movements, especially feminist, women’s rights and LGBTIQ movements, grow and evolve over time in different geo-political and social contexts.
  • UN girls’ and women’s human rights instruments and understanding the ‘invisibility’ of girls’ rights in policy making and data collection by governments and policy makers.
• Understanding of the specific issues facing girls and women throughout the life cycle, including sexuality and SRHR, SRGBV, child, early and forced marriage, FGM and early pregnancy.
• Understanding of intersectional approaches, integrating gender, age and inclusion
• Implementing gender, age, and inclusion analysis in complex global, regional, and/or national contexts as well as in conducting policy, power and stakeholder analysis. Being able to identify risks, barriers, and enablers for the participation of children, adolescents, and girls with disabilities as well as other excluded and vulnerable groups.
• Knowledge of how such analysis can be used to inform holistic, gender transformative and inclusive programmes and for influencing legal frameworks and public policies.
• Knowledge and applied experience of participatory approaches, methodologies, and tools for use in campaigning and activism when working with girl-led groups in different contexts.
• Intuitive understanding of how to lead and get things done across a complex organisational structure.
• Excellent understanding of relevant policy making processes, influencers, and institutions – including reliable insights into institutional politics.
• Identifying the gender equality/inclusion/girls’ rights capacity needs of INGO staff, and how to address them.
• Supporting organisational change to ensure a work environment that promotes diversity and inclusion, challenging discrimination, sexual harassment and gender-based violence. This includes engaging management and staff, identifying and challenging unequal power dynamics and addressing resistance to change.
• Connecting with and influencing national and/or global discussions on gender equality and inclusion and building effective networks, alliances and partnerships with women’s movements, youth movements, indigenous’ movements and LGBTIQ networks
• Building and creating common agendas with governments, the private sector and civil society to integrate children, adolescents and youth from diverse groups in society by informing gender responsive and inclusive legal frameworks, public policy, budgets and institutional services.
• Using effective approaches and methodologies to engage men and boys in development programmes to prevent gender-based violence; to promote gender equality and girls’ rights; to embrace and exercise positive masculinities alongside and in interaction with girls’ and women. Programme areas of specific relevance include Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Early Childhood Development.

Behaviours:

• Challenges self, others, and authority when behaviour and decisions are not supporting gender equality, inclusion and diversity
• Promotes a clear vision and consistent agenda on gender equality and inclusion, which generates support and engagement by Plan International offices and staff, including at the most senior levels.
• Strives for high performance individually and across teams.
• Leads and inspires staff across the organisation.
• Focuses on building trust among colleagues.
• Promotes self-and collective care.
• Promotes innovation and learning.
• Facilitates collective vision and supports growth of others.
• Manages in a non-hierarchical and feminist style.
• Builds effective and committed teams and partnerships.
• Shares responsibility for achieving significant results.
• Able to create rapport with a wide range of groups.
• Good at listening to others and highly respectful of them.
• Demonstrates commitment to Plan International’s goals and values.
• Holds self and others to account to deliver on agreed goals and standards of behaviour.
• Has a high degree of self-awareness and is able to accept critical feedback.
• Sees contribution of children in his/her own part of the organisation as well as throughout Plan International.

Plan International’s Values In Practice
We are open and accountable:

• We create a climate of trust inside and outside the organisation by being open, honest and transparent. We hold ourselves and others to account for the decisions we make and for our impact on others, while doing what we say we will do.

We strive for lasting impact:

• We strive to achieve significant and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people, and to secure equality for girls.
• We challenge ourselves to be bold, courageous, responsive, focused and innovative.

We work well together:

• We succeed by working effectively with others, inside and outside the organisation, including our sponsors and donors. We actively support our colleagues, helping them to achieve their goals.
• We come together to create and implement solutions in our teams, across Plan International, with children, girls, young people, communities and our partners.

We are inclusive and empowering:

• We respect all people, appreciate differences and challenge inequality in our programmes and our workplace.
• We support children, girls and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives. We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential.

Physical Environment

• This post is part of Plan International Global Hub core staff and may be based either in the UK (preferred) or in another suitable location.
• The role will involve limited travel. Due to COVID-19, at the present time most Global Hub staff are working from home, using virtual ways to communicate and collaborate with colleagues and external partners.

Level of Contact With Children:

• Mid contact: Occasional interaction with children

Salary

• We will be happy to disclose the salary and applicable benefits to applicants as part of this process, however, please kindly note that this will vary according to the location of the appointed candidate and therefore it is not possible to include full details here. As an indication if this role was based in the Global Hub office in the UK the salary would be circa £55-65000 per annum.

Application Closing Date
20th September, 2021.