EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
POSITION TITLE :Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Advisor
POSITION LOCATION :Batticaloa
REPORTS TO :Senior Program Manager, STRIVE
CONTRACT TERM :Full time, Two years (renewable based on performance and fund availability)
SALARY LEVEL :LKR 257,000 to 357,000
(Based on experience, qualifications and fund availability)
APPLICATION DEADLINE : June 15th 2026
Background:
WUSC is a Canadian global development organization working to catalyze positive education and economic outcomes for young people. We bring together and collaborate with a diverse network of partners (including students, volunteers, schools, governments, not-for-profits, and businesses) who share this mission. Together, we influence systems change, and foster inclusive, youth-centered solutions that enable young people to thrive and belong. We work with all young people, with a focus on women and displaced populations. WUSC currently operates in 28 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Canada. With support from Global Affairs Canada and other funders, WUSC has worked in Sri Lanka (SL) since 1989 through a cross section of partners across sectors and currently implements three projects namely GRIT, STRIVE and IGNI+E under education and economic outcome programs.
STRIVE Project (Strengthening TVET Resilience and Inclusive Vocational Employment)
STRIVE is a new initiative designed to transform the economic prospects of young people especially young women in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces. Over five years, the programme seeks to reduce poverty, boost regional competitiveness, and propel sustainable economic growth, giving specific attention to advancing gender equality and strengthening resilience to climate and economic shocks.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Under the supervision of the STRIVE Senior Program Manager, the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Advisor will be responsible for ensuring that GESI considerations are mainstreamed across all project activities. This is a key role in STRIVE, helping to support the project’s overall goal of economic empowerment for diverse young people, particularly women, through targeted capacity strengthening, tools development, implementation support, and reporting. The successful candidate will have strong analytical skills, a firm understanding of gendered inequalities built through academic and professional experience, and will excel at working with diverse groups, including the private sector, to build support for gender equality and social inclusion.
GESI Mainstreaming, Technical Leadership, and Strategy Implementation:
- Provide technical advice to project teams and partners on gender equality, disability inclusion, gender-responsive pedagogy, gender mainstreaming, intersectional analysis, gender and environment, intersectionality, social norms, and gender-based violence;
- Develop and lead the implementation of a project-specific GESI strategy that aligns with STRIVE’s goals of transforming economic prospects for young women in the Northern and Eastern Provinces; ensure gender equality and social inclusion are integrated into all climate-resilient and economic growth activities;
- Participate in GESI working groups and maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other relevant organizations in Sri Lanka (including international and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), intergovernmental organizations, private sector organizations, and governmental partners);
- Act as a focal point and resource person for TVET institutional partners, providing training, tools, resources, and coaching to improve the gender-responsiveness of TVET programming.
- Manage WUSC’s relationship with CSO and WRO partners, including the implementation of research and behavioural change campaigns.
- Drive gender-responsive collective action among ecosystem actors, including working closely with Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs) to advocate for young women's economic empowerment.
- Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning: Collaborate with the MERL Coordinator to ensure the M&E system captures Feminist MERL indicators, gender-transformative results, and climate-resilience data to meet donor requirements.
Capacity Strengthening and Partner Support:
- Provide regular advice, coaching and mentorship to the WUSC STRIVE team and partner organizations on effective approaches to integrating GESI considerations across all project activities;
- Develop and deliver training modules on specific aspects of GESI, including disability inclusion, gender mainstreaming, intersectionality, social norms, and the gendered complexity of the post-conflict context;
- Work with each TVET Institutional Partner to audit progress on GESI outcomes, develop a GESI Action Plan and regularly assess progress;
- Identify strengths and weaknesses in existing GESI practices, leading the development of improved systems, processes, and tools for improving project results in GESI;
- Design tools and templates to support GESI mainstreaming across project partner organizations;
- Seek opportunities to increase the awareness, commitment and involvement of the project stakeholders in GE;
- Work closely with other team members to provide guidance on effective approaches to working with private sector partners to advance GESI through a market systems lens.
Planning, Monitoring and Reporting:
- Work with the Senior MERL Advisor to ensure that a monitoring and evaluation system is established to ensure that GE results are captured and reported to relevant stakeholders;
- Facilitate the use of GE data to promote evidence-based learning, reflection and adaptive management within the project;
- Provide timely inputs to program and donor reports in collaboration with the global GESI Advisor;
- Support internal and external learning through participation in Communities of Practice, Working Groups, and by developing knowledge products;
- Support communication efforts by providing data, stories, information and other material for use in Sri Lanka and internationally;
- Monitor risks related to GESI; recommend and implement mitigation measures to ensure that do-no-harm principles are strictly adhered to;
Work environment:
- Promote and maintain an organizational culture that advances gender equality, reduces power abuse and inequalities, and fosters trust, respect and safety;
- Help create a working environment is free from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH);
- Ensure high standards of prevention and response measures for SEAH are in place consistent with the WUSC's safeguarding policies and WUSC's Code of Conduct.
QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES:
Education:
- Master’s Degree or equivalent qualification in Social Science, Gender, International Development, Community Development, or other relevant field;
Experience & Competencies:
- At least 5 years of practical experience in the field of gender equality and social inclusion;
- Thorough understanding of the gender context in Sri Lanka, particularly the Northern and Eastern Provinces, gained through academic and/or practical experience;
- Experience working with diverse organizations, including government institutions, international NGOs, the private sector, and community-based or women’s rights organizations;
- Experience conducting intersectional gender analyses and the development of recommendations for gender transformative economic empowerment initiatives which address power imbalances and structures of oppression;
- Strong facilitation and coaching skills.
- Ability to translate GESI concepts into practical language for diverse audiences, including the private sector;
- Knowledge of international agreements and national legislation relevant to GESI, as well as international best practices;
- Knowledge or experience in TVET is a strong asset;
- Proven leadership, initiative, interpersonal, cross-cultural, coordination, facilitation skills, and ability to motivate and work as a key member of a diverse country team;
- Excellent capacity building skills, with demonstrated experience in effective training, coaching and facilitation related to gender, inclusion, and economic empowerment;
- Adaptable and flexible, with the ability and initiative to generate or find new ways of working to manage internal and external changes that affect project implementation or organizational change;
- Strong reporting and writing abilities;
- Demonstrates integrity, respect, and sensitivity to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age.
Languages:
- Fluency (spoken and written) in English and Tamil is required. Sinhala skills are considered an asset.
Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:
- This is a full-time job position.
- Regular travel within the Eastern and Northern Provinces, as well as occasional travel to Colombo, is expected.
WHY WORK WITH WUSC?
WUSC offers a dynamic international work environment with a diverse intercultural workforce. We offer employees exciting opportunities to apply their skills and gain experience all while making a difference in the lives of youth around the world. Employees at WUSC work hard to create lasting change in education, economic opportunities and
APPLICATIONS
WUSC’s activities seek to balance inequities and create sustainable development around the globe; the work ethic of our staff, volunteers, representatives and partners shall correspond to the values and mission of the organization. WUSC promotes responsibility, respect, honesty, and professional excellence and we will not tolerate harassment, coercion, sexual exploitation or abuse of any form.
Persons with disabilities who need accommodation in the application process, or those needing job postings in an alternative format, may e-mail a request to [email protected].
WUSC is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and abilities. Please note that only the candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
If you are interested in this position, please follow this link to apply through our website.