Position: Gender and Technical Specialist

Employer: FXB Rwanda

Program Description

Sugira Muryango is a Family Strengthening Intervention (FSI) research initiative implemented by FXB Rwanda in partnership with Boston College/ Research Program on Children and Adversity (RPCA) designed for families living in extreme poverty. It is a preventative, family-based model that uses home visiting and active coaching to encourage positive parent-child interactions, while discouraging violence against children and increase father engagement. This intervention will be examined via a cluster randomized control trial to test the impact on children’s overall ECD when the intervention is delivered by lay community based volunteers. The project will also involve a larger implementation science approach to testing strategies to scale out and sustain quality in the intervention delivery across three Districts (Rubavu, Nyanza, Ngoma).

Position Description

The FXB Rwanda seeks a  Gender and Technical Specialist to support the Scaling of an Evidence-Based Playful Parenting Collaborative Team Approach across three Districts using an evidence-based, home-visiting model (Sugira Muryango; SM) that supports playful parenting, father engagement, improved nutrition, care seeking and family functioning — to promote Early Child Development, positive parent-child relationships, and healthy child development. This scaling out implementation science Hybrid Type II design will enable FXB Rwanda and RPCA to 1) expand SM to younger children (0-6 months); 2) increase by almost tenfold the number of children impacted by the intervention; 3) increase the use of technology to accelerate feedback; and, 4)test an evidence-based implementation strategy, the Promoting Lasting Anthropometric Change and Young Children’s Development (PLAY) Collaborative, to engage local stakeholders and frontline providers and supervisors to ensure quality improvement and sustainability.

The incumbent is charged with the following essential functions:

Gender and social inclusion mainstreaming (30%)

• Lead the design and implementation of the program’s gender and social inclusion strategy across the program’s objectives, including in research and data collection in line with the national gender and social inclusion strategy, FXB Rwanda gender policy, and donor requirements.
• Develop the capacity of staff, Cell mentors, and stakeholders to understand the benefits of gender and social inclusion and implement actions that would ensure the inclusion of gender norms across Sugira Muryango Program.
• Update curriculum, training, and dissemination materials to thread stronger gender-sensitive messaging throughout
• Document and champion learning in gender and social inclusion across three districts where Sugira Muryango Program interventions are delivered
• Assist with preparation of trends analysis reports and documentation of case studies and promising practices related to all features of the PLAY Collaborative impact

Government and Stakeholders relation (30%)

• Collaborate with FXB staff to launch a Community Advisory board in each district to focus  on issues of gender as well as general implementation barriers and facilitators and to problem solve and address challenges as they arise during implementation

• Assume a supportive role to community leaders ensuring important data points are captured and relevant indicators incorporated including gender related outcomes, father engagement indicators, and general program impact and quality
• Participate in different technical working groups and share the program success through to a variety of stakeholders present at those meetings
• Train stakeholders in the PLAY Collaborative process to ensure community buy in and strong engagement of government partners
• Support the coordination of all PLAY Collaborative meetings from National level up to village level.

Data analysis, Report, and Management (40%)

• Support the Program Research Advisor to develop a data dictionary that standardizes data across sites
• Develop and implement procedures for data quality checks in a RedCap data management system with a focus on gender data and social inclusion
• Ensure that all processes for data entry and query resolution meet Good Clinical Practice requirements for the entry and reporting of clinical data
• Work closely with other program staff to develop quality weekly, monthly and quarterly reports as per donors requirements

• Produce tables and figures depicting results of analyses, along with written interpretation
• Design, develop and execute statistical analysis leveraging research study databases in conjunction with study staff and other statisticians
• Utilize mixed methodologies to triangulate, analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative data using STATA and MAXQDA

Qualification and skills desired:

The FXB Rwanda seeks an experienced and highly-motivated Gender and Technical Specialist with relevant field and functional experience. Competitive candidates will possess the following qualifications:

• Doctoral or Master’s Degree in Gender Studies, Public health, Social Work, Early Childhood Development, Psychology, Sociology, Development Studies or related field required. Additional experience may substitute for some education.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience working on research projects with focus on gender and social inclusion issues within community and civil society development programs, preferably in evidence-based research programs and with an international or local NGO.
• Expert knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies including mixed-methods, family-based prevention, and implementation science.
• Strong critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with ability to make a sound judgment.
• Excellent coordination and collaboration skills.
• Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with culturally diverse groups.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to write reports
• Knowledge of gender and social inclusion issues in Rwanda including social, political, and cultural gender norms and challenges. Knowledge of the status of vulnerable and marginalized populations within Rwanda and their engagement in social, political, and cultural norms.
• Understanding of the application of technology both for data collection as well as quality improvement related to metrics of father engagement, responsive caregiving, family functioning, risk of harm and related referrals to formal and non-formal resources and other features of fidelity monitoring and quality improvement efforts in global mental health and child development.
• Ability to work well in a team environment, as well as work effectively with civil society organizations, donors, project staff, and other beneficiaries.

Female applicants with required skills are encouraged to apply to this vacant position.

Interested candidates with required skills and competences are requested to submit their applications (only soft copies will be accepted) addressed to FXB Rwanda Executive Director. The application includes motivation letter and updated CVs must be submitted to FXB Rwanda via the following address: [email protected] not later than August 14^th, 2020 at 5:00 PM.

• Please remember to add the title of the position you are applying for in the subject line of the email.
• Any applications sent after the deadline will not be considered.
• Due to big number of expected applicants only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for exams.