Safeguarding and Inclusion Advisor

Position Title: Safeguarding and Inclusion Advisor, Pathways to Scale (P2S)

Position Location: Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda or Ethiopia, with a strong preference for Rwanda

Reports to: Project Director, Pathways to Scale

Contract term:
Full-time, 1 year renewable

Salary Scale: According to local salary scale depending on the final position location

Likely start date: July 2025

Application deadline:
July 3, 2025

Languages: Fluency in English is required

Background

WUSC is a Canadian non-profit organization working to create a better world for all young people. We bring together a diverse network of partnerships with governments, businesses, civil society organizations and academic institutions who share this vision. Together, we develop solutions in education, economic opportunities, and empowerment to overcome inequality and exclusion for youth around the world, particularly young women and young refugees. WUSC currently works in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $40 million. We have 300 global staff collaborating with donors such as Global Affairs Canada, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office(FCDO), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Mastercard Foundation, and the African Development Bank.

WUSC is currently recruiting a Safeguarding and Inclusion Advisor who will provide strategic and technical leadership on safeguarding and inclusion to support the start-up and implementation of a large five year multi-country project supporting the growth of women led enterprises, particularly those led by young rural women. Funded by Mastercard Foundation, the project will deploy a combination of targeted business development and capital to support the sustainable growth of MSMEs led or owned by women. Businesses targeted will primarily be micro businesses in rural areas, however a subset of larger women-led businesses will also be supported to assess potential for impact on young rural women. The project will operate in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana and Nigeria with a broad range of partners. WUSC will work in close partnership with an access to finance partner responsible for capital deployment, with WUSC coordinating business development services delivered in partnership with local Enterprise Support Organisations (ESOs). WUSC will lead a strong learning strategy which will assess various use cases for the deployment of both finance and BDS and the impact on the traditionally underserved segment of young rural women. WUSC has the overall management responsibility of the project.

General Responsibilities

The Safeguarding and Inclusion Advisor will ensure that all project activities are inclusive, protective, and responsive to the diverse needs of young, rural women, refugees, IDPs and other vulnerable groups. They will oversee the development and implementation of safeguarding policies and reporting mechanisms, conduct risk assessments, and build the capacity of staff and partners to uphold safeguarding standards and create safe, enabling environments for participants.

In addition, the Advisor will lead the integration of gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) principles across the project’s design, delivery, monitoring, and learning processes. This includes supporting community-level norms change efforts, strengthening the inclusion practices of ESOs and enterprises, and leveraging disaggregated data to inform adaptive programming. The role requires strong expertise in enhancing GESI within entrepreneurship ecosystems, particularly in rural contexts, and in improving access to finance and business support services for marginalized groups such as refugees and internally displaced persons.

The Advisor will work closely with project staff, the Access to Finance partner, ESOs, community actors, and young women to mainstream inclusion and safeguarding into all aspects of program design, delivery, and learning.

Key responsibilities include:

Safeguarding Leadership

• Contextualize, adapt and roll out the P2S safeguarding policy and procedures aligned with WUSC, Mastercard Foundation, and local legal frameworks.
• Act as a safeguarding focal point for safeguarding related issues, concerns and incidents and ensure next steps occur in accordance with the project and organizational policies and procedures.
• Establish reporting, referral, and response mechanisms for safeguarding incidents.
• Train project staff, partners, ESOs and community actors on safeguarding practices and survivor-centered approaches.
• Lead risk assessments and mitigation planning with project partners to ensure safe participation of young women and other vulnerable groups.
• Oversee integration of safeguarding requirements into partner agreements and monitor compliance.
• Contribute to the design of processes for partner selection and management, as well as due diligence processes, to ensure that safeguarding requirements are appropriately addressed.

Inclusion Leadership

• Lead on conducting intersectional gender analyses as needed, integrating findings into programme design and MERL framework and tools. Continued identification and analysis of GESI issues to inform the development and periodic refinement of the GESI strategy during the project implementation period.
• Develop and lead the implementation of the project GESI strategy, ensuring barriers to meaningful participation for young rural women, refugees and IDPs especially in enterprise growth, access to finance and business development services are identified and addressed.
• Design and deliver training programs for project staff and partners such as ESOs on gender, youth, disability and RDP inclusive practices, including in access to finance and business development services.
• Support ESOs as needed in community-level behaviour change initiatives, including working with male champions, local leaders, and families to shift harmful gender and social norms.
• Provide technical assistance to ensure the consistent integration of safeguarding and inclusion across all project components.
• Create or adapt/contextualize GESI resources and tools to assist staff in effectively prioritizing and integrating gender in their work.
• Participate in GESI-related working groups and maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other relevant international NGOs.

Monitoring, Reporting and Learning

• Contribute to the learning agenda and safeguarding and inclusion-related MEL frameworks.
• Regularly review and adapt safeguarding and inclusion strategies based on monitoring data, community feedback, and lessons learned.
• Provide safeguarding and GESI-related information for donor and organizational reporting in a timely manner. Lead on writing key sections of these reports as needed.
• Use disaggregated data to assess inclusion outcomes related to enterprise growth, financial access and business development services for young rural women, refugees and IDPs.
• Facilitate the use of GESI data to promote evidence-based learning, reflection and decision making among P2S staff, project partners and other relevant stakeholders. Develop knowledge products to support learning and adaptation.
• Prepare reports on safeguarding incidents, inclusion progress, and mitigation measures for internal and donor audiences.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education

• A university degree in a relevant field such as International Development, Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Business/Commerce or Community Development. A Master’s degree is an added advantage.
• Additional training or certification in enterprise development, microfinance, entrepreneurship support, financial inclusion, women’s and/or youth economic empowerment or project management is an added advantage.

Experience

• At least 6 years of practical field experience in gender equality and safeguarding in international development contexts. The ideal candidate should be skilled in inclusion analysis and methodologies, and experienced in implementing safeguarding approaches in development projects.
• Experience conducting intersectional gender analyses and developing recommendations for gender transformative interventions which address issues such as power differentials and structural barriers.
• Experience working with refugee and IDP communities in economic inclusion programs, more so in entrepreneurship and access to finance.
• Demonstrable experience designing or supporting inclusive entrepreneurship programs, such as integration of GESI in access to finance, enterprise growth and business development service models for young rural women, refugees and IDPs.
• Demonstrable experience in the development of safeguarding policies, procedures, guidance and tools, including implementing survivor-centred and do-no-harm approaches.
• Knowledge on current international, regional and local best practices, legislation, statutory and other guidance with regards to safeguarding and inclusion, with a particular focus on young women and other vulnerable groups.
• Proven experience responding to and managing sensitive safeguarding cases in a confidential manner.
• Excellent capacity building and facilitation skills, with demonstrable experience in effective training, coaching and facilitation in Gender, Disability, Inclusion and Safeguarding topics.
• Excellent reporting, writing and presentation skills.
• Proven ability to act with integrity, and to demonstrate respect and cultural sensitivity across diverse backgrounds, including differences in gender, age, religion, and nationality.

Assets

• Experience working in a diverse, cross-cultural project implementation team.
• Ability to work with a flexible schedule across multiple time zones.
• Ability to travel frequently for both domestic and international travels as required.

WHY WORK WITH WUSC?

Join Us. Our work is important, cutting-edge, and rewarding. We encourage curiosity, innovation, and flexibility. 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 empowerment.

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.

WUSC is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and abilities. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. Please note that only the candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

How to apply

If you are interested, please apply here on our portal.