The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is the national voice for Canadian municipal government. FCM is dedicated to improving the quality of life in all communities by promoting strong, effective and accountable municipal governments. In January 2010, FCM and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) signed a Contribution Agreement for the five-year, $17 million dollar (CAN) Ukraine Municipal Local Economic Development Program (MLED) whose goal is to contribute to improved economic opportunities in Ukraine through inclusive and effective local governments that meet the needs of their citizens and their business communities with support from strengthened enabling institutions.

MLED is a five-year capacity development program that is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and implemented by FCM.

MLED will provide assistance to 13 (ten) cities in Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv to plan and implement demonstration projects for practical improvements in municipal economic planning, operations and delivery of services that support economic development; will foster strengthened inter-governmental relations for policy dialogue, coordination and knowledge dissemination, through practical collaborative initiatives among orders of government that contribute to achieving results for economic growth and development and will strengthen the Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC) by improving services to support LED that to its members and to foster women’s economic and political participation.

Position: Gender Equality Specialist (GES) Department: FCM International Reports to: MLED Project Director

Major Purpose Under the general direction of the MLED Ukraine Project Director, the Gender Equality Specialist (GES) will work in direct collaboration with members of the Ukraine-based MLED team in Kyiv and in consultation with the MLED project management team based in Ottawa and various Canadian consultants and volunteers. Gender equality (GE) is a cross-cutting theme and an explicit aspect of each of the program’s outcomes and outputs. Most activities within MLED will have a gender equality dimension based on gender equality (GE) analysis, assessment and planning processes. Specific project activities to support GE will be guided by a strategy that is based on an analysis of gender equality issues and environments relating to local governance and economic development in the targeted areas. It will identify an overall approach to addressing these issues in MLED, specific results to be achieved, a general set of activities to be undertaken, and a means of monitoring, reporting and sharing knowledge on achievements made. The GES is required to work with the AUC and with the MLED program team in Kyiv. The central task of the GES is to provide guidance and support to implement the MLED GE Strategy and achieve planned GE results. It is critical that he/she be able to work independently and be willing to use the skills, experience and understanding of gender equality dynamics in Ukraine to effect change at the local level. As an employee of FCM, the individual will protect its integrity, reputation and support its role as a global leader in international cooperation aimed at strengthening local capacities and enhancing governance.

Key Responsibilities

The individual will have a number of specific responsibilities, including the:

• coordination of GE baseline data collection, including identification of targets and indicators of progress required to finalize the MLED GE Strategy (with regards to planning and budgeting);
• integration of GE standards into project implementation;
• facilitation of gender equality assessments and analysis (e.g. of governance structures and systems, economic planning processes, business services, business ownership and other economic activity, capacity and service needs, etc.), including the development or adaptation of tools, that are required as part of the GE Strategy;
• oversight of compliance of all training (including materials) delivered within the MLED project with gender equality standards, including provision of advice in the development of modules and materials and the delivery of gender equality-related training to the project management team and relevant partners;
• provision of technical support to ensure that demonstration projects take into account gender analysis and are designed and implemented to ensure that gender gaps are reduced and women and men participate and benefit equally;
  monitoring and reporting on the GE aspects of project activities and participation in annual project review and planning efforts;
• documentation of GE-related best practices and lessons learned, participation in MLED capacity building, communication and knowledge sharing activities and provision of other GE technical support as required;
• development of linkages for MLED efforts with other GE networks and other donor projects working on this issue in Ukraine;
• and performing other duties as assigned by the MLED Project Director that are consistent with the overall scope of the position.
  Knowledge, Education and Experience:

The Gender Equality Specialist (GES) will have at least five (5) years of experience working with both government and non-government agencies to integrate and mainstream gender equality in programs, projects and/or organizations.

Skills and experience should include: 

• gender analysis of issues, sectors, policies, programs, services, institutions, etc.;
• gender responsive consultations and planning (of projects, services, budgets, etc.);
• development of gender analysis, assessment and planning tools;
• development of modules and materials and the delivery of gender training programs to a variety of audiences;
• proficient communication and writing skills;
• language proficiency in Ukrainian, Russian and English;
• and - experience working in the areas of gender and governance/political leadership and gender and local economic development.

In order to apply for this position, please provide a cover letter and CV to: [email protected] by November 25, 2010.

We thank all candidates for their interest; however we will only contact those selected for an interview. All the applications will be kept in file for six months following the hiring.