Gender Specialist Consultant | Consultora Especialista en Género

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Organizational overview

For over 30 years, Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) has worked to address climate change and safeguard biodiversity by promoting the rights of indigenous peoples and supporting their efforts to protect and defend their rainforests. Science shows that forests managed by indigenous peoples are healthier, suffer less deforestation, capture more carbon, and contain more biodiversity than forests managed by private or public entities--including nationally protected areas. What’s more, scientists tell us that protecting forests is as important as reducing greenhouse emissions if we hope to stem the tide of ecological collapse.

RFUS works in partnership with indigenous communities and their representative organizations to protect tropical rainforests by supporting their efforts to secure rights to their lands, strengthen monitoring and land security, influence laws and policies that protect their resources, and build strong and sustainable community leadership. By investing directly in indigenous communities, RFUS connects the people rooted in the land with the tools, training, and resources to be effective advocates and protectors of the forests they call home. RFUS currently operates four country programs in Brazil, Guyana, Panama and Peru, and hosts a number of regional partnerships in Central America, the Amazon Basin and across the tropical belt.

Position overview

As part of its ongoing programs, RFUS has worked with women-led organizations and indigenous and community women’s organizations in the Latin America region for many years. Over the past few years, RFUS has begun to take steps to implement programmatic strategies to help ensure the effective participation of women in the activities we carry out, and to think more strategically about how to support women’s empowerment within the indigenous movement and progress on meeting the priority aspirations of the indigenous women’s movement. This short term consultancy will work with the RFUS Program Team to develop a gender strategy for the programs department which will detail short, medium and long-term actions to be taken to enhance gender sensitive programming in the region.

Objectives of the consultancy

• Facilitate and lead a participatory process with RFUS staff and partners to design a short, medium and long term gender strategy for RFUS programs
• Build capacity of RFUS program team on gender issues relating to our work

Responsibilities

• Review of current practices, synthesis of experiences to date, and assessment of opportunities for growth/improvement.  Literature review and recommendations on best practice for structure of strategy and its elements across similar organizations (including RF Norway strategy)
• Conduct rapid assessment of current gender policies, programs and strategies across main partner organizations and indigenous women’s movement organizations, as well as interest in developing further practice
  • Using virtual interviews and/or focus group methodology, include main RFUS partners, as well as their women’s arms and women’s leaders.
  • Synthesize findings and provide interview notes, share with RFUS and partners
  • Discuss with RFUS gender working group, reach agreement on main elements of the strategy to be developed
• Develop draft strategy for RFUS, taking into consideration partner interests and recommendations; current RFUS practices and capacities (staffing, finance, etc).
• Discuss with WG, reach agreement on main priorities in light of the current needs, context and funding landscape
• Propose a short, medium and long term RFUS gender strategy implementation plan
• Finalize strategy, monitoring framework, budget
• Conduct a gender training session with all program staff

Requirements

• At least 5 years' experience in gender analysis and gender strategy development;
• Proven success in identifying and implementing strategies to meet multiple programmatic and fundraising goals
• Demonstrate superior writing skills,
• Proven success in overseeing the development of organizational gender strategies
• Experience with outreach to indigenous and community organizations in Latin America
• Experience developing and implementing department-level policies and protocols
• Possess highly attuned interpersonal skills and experience working constructively across teams to manage multiple priorities on short deadlines

Language

Professional working proficiency in English, Spanish and Portuguese is ideal, but not required - we’re flexible.

Compensation

$7,000 Compensation for this position is commensurate with experience.

Workplace culture

Rainforest Foundation US prides itself on providing a flexible, equitable, family-friendly and inclusive work environment that values work-life balance. Our offices are pet friendly and located in an historic downtown Brooklyn neighborhood that is easily accessible by public transit and boasts a wide range of restaurants and services. Since the pandemic, employees can come into the office as they wish or negotiate with their supervisors to work from home or remotely.

Application instructions

Interested applicants are advised to carefully study the job description and reflect in the cover letter how your work and experience helps you meet the requirements and skills we are looking for and to share any initial thoughts on how to conduct the proposed work. Applications will not be considered without the submission of a cover letter and a resume. Providing a link to a portfolio of past work is an advantage.

If you're interested, visit our website: https://rainforestfoundation.org/about/join-our-team/ and apply. You can also visit this direct link to apply for the position: https://rainforest.bamboohr.com/careers/85?source=aWQ9NTk%3D

Please note that the position will be listed as  open until filled. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply early. Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be contacted.

Other information​​
Rainforest Foundation US does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

Rainforest Foundation US is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

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