National Gender Specialist

About the role

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is seeking a National Gender Specialist to lead gender mainstreaming for the EU‑funded Oil Palm Value Chains Development Project in Sierra Leone. The incumbent will ensure that gender‑responsive and youth‑sensitive approaches are integrated across production, processing and marketing activities, supporting women’s economic empowerment and inclusive value‑chain development.

Key responsibilities

• Conduct a comprehensive gender analysis of the oil‑palm value chain and develop a Gender Action Plan aligned with project objectives.
• Integrate gender considerations into production systems, processing facilities, farmer organisations and beneficiary selection processes.
• Design and deliver capacity‑building workshops on gender mainstreaming, women’s economic empowerment and gender‑sensitive value‑chain development for FAO staff, partners and government counterparts.
• Promote women’s participation in processing units, aggregation systems and agribusiness initiatives.
• Develop gender‑sensitive indicators, strengthen monitoring and reporting mechanisms, and ensure timely data collection and analysis.

Required profile

• University degree in Gender Studies, Development Studies, Agriculture, Social Sciences or a related field.
• Proven experience in gender mainstreaming and social inclusion within agricultural value‑chain projects.
• Familiarity with oil‑palm production systems and the Sierra Leone context is highly desirable.
• Strong analytical, communication and stakeholder‑engagement skills.

Required skills

• Gender analysis and gender‑responsive planning.
• Design and facilitation of capacity‑building programmes.
• Monitoring, evaluation and reporting on gender indicators.
• Stakeholder coordination across NGOs, government agencies and farmer groups.

What we offer

• Opportunity to influence gender‑responsive agricultural development at a national scale.
• Collaboration with international donors, NGOs and government institutions.
• Professional growth within a United Nations agency.