Senior GESI and Safeguarding Officer

About the role

The Senior Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) and Safeguarding Officer provides technical leadership and practical support to embed GESI and safeguarding across DREEM Phase II, a partnership between WUSC and the Mastercard Foundation aimed at helping refugee, displaced and host community youth, especially young women, secure work and access education. The role works with project leadership, thematic and country teams, WUSC technical advisors and partners, and reports to the Project Director. The start date is as soon as possible (around January 1, 2027); preference is given to Nairobi, Abidjan, Accra, Kigali or Addis Ababa.

Key responsibilities

• Review and update the project's gender analysis and GESI strategy, incorporating lessons from DREEM Phase I and evidence from new contexts, and turn findings into actions, responsibilities and monitoring measures.
• Provide technical guidance on gender equality and disability inclusion across education, employment, entrepreneurship and RLO support, and strengthen safe pathways into, through and beyond secondary and higher education.
• Help teams assess gender norms, power dynamics and intersecting barriers, and integrate Do No Harm analysis and gender-based violence risk mitigation into activity design, including engaging men and boys as allies.
• Work with disability inclusion specialists and RLOs to identify barriers and support reasonable accommodations and accessible outreach, training, events and reporting.
• Promote meaningful participation of young women and youth with disabilities in consultations, co-design, research and governance, including the Youth Advisory Board.
• Deliver training, coaching, webinars, toolkits and guidance for staff, Foundation partners and RLOs, adapted to their capacities, languages and accessibility needs.
• Embed GESI and safeguarding in partner assessment, selection, grant implementation and monitoring through the RLO Opportunity Fund team.
• Coordinate safeguarding risk assessments and mitigation plans, support implementation of WUSC safeguarding procedures and the Mastercard Foundation's Child and Youth Safeguarding Policy, and support partner safeguarding due diligence.
• Coach RLOs in building safeguarding systems, strengthen confidential reporting and response mechanisms, and support survivor-centred handling and referral of safeguarding concerns.
• Map and strengthen referral networks with protection, gender-based violence and mental health and psychosocial support providers.
• Work with MERL colleagues to integrate GESI indicators and monitoring and learning.