The Associate Director of Women’s Economic Power (AD WEP) leads WfWI’s global programming to support women’s economic power. The AD WEP has overall responsibility for developing WfWI’s WEP strategy, inspiring innovation, ensuring quality, seeking funding, overseeing grants, and encouraging learning in all areas related to WEP.
Based on their experience and expertise, the AD WEP will guide WfWI in furthering its extensive women’s economic power program portfolio, with a focus on gender-transformative programing in fragile and conflict-affected countries. WfWI’s WEP portfolio includes but is not limited to: Technical guidance and quality oversight to Curriculum development and reviews, cash transfers, financial inclusion, formal and informal savings, and loans (including savings groups), numeracy and financial literacy, business and vocational training, micro-entrepreneurship and cooperatives/associations support, market and value chain linkages and climate adaptation. They are the primary point of contact for WfWI’s Country Offices for supporting context specific WEP strategies, fundraising, nurturing of partnerships, and program implementation.
Key Responsibilities
Fundraising Efforts
• Lead WEP program design for grant proposals or new project concepts.
• Develop highly impactful messages about our WEP program to share with donors.
• Collaborate with business development teams on finding and responding to funding opportunities.
Relationship Building and External Representation
• Establish relationships and coordination with regional and global NGOs, institutions, UN bodies, and networks.
• Support country teams in developing partnerships and linkages with other organizations, government, and the private sector working on WEP issues at national, regional, and community levels.
• Represent WfWI in networks and coalitions and at global and regional forums.
• Support the global advocacy team in developing key messages and policy papers on WEP issues.
Cross-Organizational Communication & Teamwork
• Maintain regular communications with Country Offices and the Global Program Unit (GPU).
• Share up-to-date knowledge of research, policy, and practice with Country Offices and Global teams.
Leadership in Women’s Economic Power
• Serve as the primary technical expert in WEP for WfWI globally.
• Provide strategic advice to Senior management to guide policy and advocacy agendas, planning, and delivery.
• Develop programmatic partnerships to further WfWI’s WEP programing.
• Develop global plans to improve WEP programing based on gaps in existing programs, and work with teams to develop country-specific plans, innovative approaches, and mechanisms to address gaps (technology, partnerships, etc.)
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of WEP research and practice.
• Promote a culture of shared learning on WEP across teams, COs and Globally
Technical Guidance in Design and Planning
• Provide high-quality technical guidance to Country Offices and teams for WEP program improvement.
• Carry out regular monitoring and technical assistance to Country Offices to support the effective implementation of their WEP programing.
• Collaborate with the M&E team to contribute to the development of WfWI’s M&E system related WEP activities.
• Review and analyze global and country-specific outcome indicator data and other evaluations, research, and reports related to WEP with country teams to improve WEP program approaches.
• Provide support to country teams in strategic and operational planning.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
• Preferred Location: Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, or Central Asia
• A Bachelor’s degree in international development, economics, or related field is required.
• Minimum 9 years of relevant work experience in international development, with emphasis on women’s economic power, of which at least 5 years must be at the managerial level.
• Lived experience in WfWI’s target countries (or similar) is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated knowledge of relevant social and economic development issues such as poverty, power, women’s rights and empowerment, gender, and conflict
• Analytical ability and extensive experience in creating project plans, implementing plans, and managing grants and budgets.
• Demonstrated leadership skills and ability to support a large, complex, ethnically mixed team of people through a participatory and enabling management style.
• Demonstrated capacity to coach or mentor individuals from diverse cultural, linguistic, and professional backgrounds for staff development and capacity building.
• Successful at establishing and maintaining internal and external relationships, building trust, and inspiring teamwork.
• Confidence and experience in external representation and public speaking.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; working knowledge of a language of WfWI’s country teams (French, Kiswahili, Dari, Kurdish, etc.) highly desirable; knowledge of other local languages would be an advantage.
• Good judgment and problem-solving skills, positive attitude, demonstrated a willingness to take initiative, especially in changing security contexts, political dynamics, and budgetary shifts.
Physical Demands:
• May require bending, lifting, standing, sitting, computer work, etc.
*This job description may be modified from time to time at the discretion of WfWI.
Job application procedure
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- Address Kampala, Uganda, East Africa
