Gender Specialist Job Opportunity

Deadline: Until filled

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Organization: Worldreader

About the Organization

Worldreader (www.worldreader.org) is on a mission to bring digital books to every child and her family, so that they can improve their lives through the power of literacy and education. Globally, we are working in 39 countries, in 102 schools and libraries and are reaching a total of 35,000 people on our programs using ereaders, and over 6,000,000 people using our mobile reading apps.

An ethos of working hard, having fun and making history inspires our culture, and the team shares a passion for reading and philanthropy. Worldreader offers a dynamic start-up culture. To thrive in our environment, employees should be independent, selfdirected and resourceful. 

About the Position

Leveraging experience in international education, with a focus on gender mainstreaming and women’s and girls’ empowerment, the Gender Specialist will be responsible for the project management of Worldreader’s initial Gender Equity Program, a two-year learning pilot in Kenya. S/he will also have a broader role to help Worldreader achieve our commitment to gender equity in mobile reading across developing countries. Reporting to the Director of Education and Program Design for the Pre Reading and Lifelong Reading Team, the Gender Specialist will work with the Pre-Reading and Lifelong Reading Team to ensure that all of our programs and products are designed to meet the genderdifferentiated needs of users (with a focus on women and girls) and to drive deep and lasting impact among all users. S/he will be based in Barcelona, but will be required to travel to project sites (in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on Kenya) regularly. 

We look forward to adding a hard-working, diligent, strategic thinker to our growing organization. This is an incredible opportunity to join an international education non-profit start-up, and play a critical role in an organization as we grow and scale to our next level. *Note that eligibility for this position is contingent upon legal work status in Spain. 

Compensation

The compensation might be less than you could make elsewhere, but this role offers a unique experience to help shape a growing organization with an exciting mission and the potential to grow quickly. 

Responsibilities

Project management of Worldreader’s first Gender Equity Pilot in Kenya: a two-year pilot funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This groundbreaking pilot will seek to understand the barriers and motivators of women reading on mobile phones,so that we can achieve the long-term goal of gender parity in access to mobile reading. This role will include providing input on program design, managing field partners and Barcelona and Kenya-based staff to achieve the established milestones and goals of the pilot, regular grant reporting and writing, and publishing internal and external reports. 

• Develop a gender strategy and roadmap for the Pre-Reading and Lifelong Reading team and collaborate with the Early Reading team in an advisor capacity, to ensure programs and actions in-sync across the organization 
• Ensure that all of our current programs and products reflect our commitment to gender equity in access and quality outcomes. 
• Support the development of future programs that will drive deep and long-term impact among pre-readers and lifelong readers, with a special view towards ensuring equal access and participation among genders. 
• Write proposals and construct budgets to garner funding for future gender-focused programs and work with Director of Partnerships to identify and collaborate with potential funders/partners for gender-related  programs 
• Collaborate with Worldreader Content Team to ensure that the Worldreader library serves the needs of women and girls. Ensure that Worldreader digital content promotes gender-positive attitudes, values and behaviors and fosters gender equity among both females and males. 
• Collaborate with the Worldreader Education Lead to make sure the Pre-Reading and Lifelong Reading gender strategy and roadmap is coherent with Worldreader’s overarching gender objectives. 
• Collaborate with the Pre-Reading and Lifelong Reading product team to ensure that Worldreader products are designed to serve the needs of women and girls. 
• Develop team wide and organization-wide gender parity and gender equity guidelines. 
• Collect and disseminate learnings and best practices to the wider Worldreader team and the international development community. 
• Represent Worldreader externally within the international education and wider development community. ​

Qualifications

We are looking for a professional with at least five years experience in the field of education and international development with a special focus on gender issues/challenges. A high degree of professional maturity, self-direction, motivation, resourcefulness and adaptability are key. This job requires the ability to learn and grow quickly and the professional experience and confidence to take leadership in achieving the objective of mainstreaming gender sensitivity across all of Worldreader’s programming. The ideal candidate possesses the following: 

Education

Undergraduate degree in international development, social science, women's/gender studies, or a related field (Masters preferred) 

Experience

• Five or more years of professional experience in design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of gender mainstreaming for international development programs (experience with gender mainstreaming in education, reading or literacy programs highly desirable). 
• Some field-based experience, preferably in Kenya; strong cross-cultural competencies and experience working in low-resource environments. 
• Knowledge of relevant arguments, issues and best practices in the field of gender and development; ability to synthesize relevant information for audiences with little to no background in gender. 
• Additional expertise in youth and workforce development, adult literacy and/or experience working in conflict affected or fragile environments is an asset. 

Technology & Communications Skills

• Experience in ICT for education and/or willingness and capacity to learn 
• Significant project management experience, with excellent verbal and written communication skills; experience writing cohesive proposals and project reports (samples may be requested)
• Structured and organized thinker 
• Ability to write and communicate fluently in professional English 

Additional Characteristics

• Evidence of Worldreader's core values: entrepreneurship, optimism, collaboration, and 100% follow-through 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work in cross-cultural settings, including working with remote teams 
• Strategic thinker with a proven enthusiasm for creating programs/products focusing on user experience and impact, using a data-driven approach 
• Ability to work both individually and closely with teams 
• Flexibility and a “get the job done” attitude 
• Language skills are a plus (particularly Swahili)
• Demonstrable passion for education and the mission of Worldreader 

How to apply:

Email your cover letter and resume to HR@worldreader.org with the subject “Gender Specialist.” PDFs only and no phone calls, please.