Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) Adviser

Country: New Caledonia (France) Organization: Pacific Community Closing date: 8 Nov 2026 Description The Pacific Community (SPC) is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting development since 1947. We are an international development organisation owned and governed by our 27 country and territory members. In pursuit of sustainable development to benefit Pacific people, our unique organisation works across more than 25 sectors. We are known for our knowledge and innovation in such areas as fisheries science, public health surveillance, geoscience, and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. The Climate Change and Sustainability (CCS) division strengthens and streamlines SPC’s actions on climate change by bringing together work already undertaken by the organisation under a coherent strategic and technical leadership. In addition, it leads the actions of SPC on climate change and sustainability, works with SPC’s regional and international partners and promotes the integration of these issues into all development activities conducted by its divisions. Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) Adviser will provide specialised technical advice and coordination to support the integration of gender equality and social inclusion across cross-sectoral climate change projects and programmes. Working across SPC technical divisions, the Adviser supports the application of GESI principles throughout the project cycle, strengthens organisational capability, and promotes consistent implementation of SPC’s Social and Environmental Responsibility (SER) policy and broader GESI commitments. The key responsibilities of the role include the following: Technical advice for the integration of GESI across the CCF • Provide contextually relevant technical advice to support the integration of gender equality and social inclusion across the Climate Change Flagship. • Work closely with project managers, technical specialists and divisional teams to embed GESI principles throughout the project cycle, including concept development, design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting. • Provide advice and quality assurance for gender assessments, GESI analyses, Gender Assessment and Action Plans, social safeguards instruments and other relevant project documentation. • Guide project teams in identifying and addressing GESI-related risks, barriers and opportunities, ensuring that proposed measures are proportionate, practical and aligned with SPC’s Social and Environmental Responsibility policy. GESI capacity building • Assess the GESI capability needs of Climate Change Flagship teams and participating technical divisions. • Design and deliver contextually appropriate learning initiatives that enable staff and partners to apply GESI principles in cross-sectoral climate change programming. • Develop practical guidance, reference materials, tools, templates and checklists that support project teams to integrate GESI considerations into their day-to-day work. • Adapt capacity development approaches for diverse audiences, including SPC staff, government counterparts, civil society organisations, development partners and other non-governmental stakeholders. Stakeholder engagement and networking • Facilitate effective coordination among Climate Change Flagship teams, SPC technical divisions and institutional GESI mechanisms to support consistent GESI integration across cross-sectoral projects. • Build and maintain constructive technical relationships with Pacific Island governments, civil society organisations, regional bodies, development partners and other relevant stakeholders. • Engage with national GESI focal points and technical counterparts to ensure that SPC-supported approaches respond to national priorities, institutional contexts and community realities. • Provide input to working groups, task forces and technical committees on gender equality, social inclusion and human rights. For a more detailed account of the key responsibilities, please refer to the online job description. Key selection criteria Qualifications • A postgraduate qualification in gender and social science, or other relevant social science training from a recognized university or equivalent body of knowledge and experience Technical expertise • At least 8 years of progressive experience in GESI. • Experience in mainstreaming human rights-based, gender, social inclusion in development programming, including climate change, environmental governance, and regional institutions. • Programming, developing, delivering, and reporting against work plans. • Working in a multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural team. • Experience developing capacity building resources and delivering sessions for diverse government and non-government audiences. • Ability to translate text-heavy documents or information into user-friendly materials for a wide range of audiences Language skills • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, with strong writing ability at a donor project reporting level. Interpersonal skills and cultural awareness • Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work with a wide range of individuals. Salary, terms and conditions Contract Duration – This contract is budgeted until 31 December 2029 and is subject to renewal depending on funding and performance. Remuneration – the Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) Adviser is a band 10 position in SPC’s 2026 salary scale, with a starting salary range of SDR (special drawing rights) 3,727-4,562 per month, which converts to approximately XPF 537,766-658,322 (USD 4,994-6,114; EUR 4,506-5,517). SPC salaries are not presently subject to income tax in New Caledonia. An offer of appointment for an initial contract will normally be made in the lower half of this range, with due consideration given to experience and qualifications. Progression within the salary scale will be based on annual performance reviews. Benefits for Staff in a position advertised internationally (EPAI) whose duty station is Noumea – SPC provides housing support in Noumea. Establishment and repatriation grant, removal expenses, airfares, home leave travel, health and life and disability insurances and education allowances are available for eligible employees and their eligible dependents. Employees are entitled to 25 working days of annual leave per annum and other types of leave, and access to SPC’s Provident Fund (contributing 8% of salary, to which SPC adds a 10% contribution). Languages – SPC’s working languages are English and French. Recruitment principles – SPC’s recruitment is based on merit and fairness, and candidates are competing in a selection process that is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. SPC is an equal-opportunity employer, and is committed to cultural and gender diversity, including bilinguism, and will seek to attract and appoint candidates who respect these values. Due attention is given to gender equity and the maintenance of strong representation from Pacific Island professionals. If two interviewed candidates are ranked equal by the selection panel, preference will be given to the Pacific Islander. Applicants will be assured of complete confidentiality in line with SPC’s private policy. How to apply Application procedure Closing date: 8 November 2026 – 11:00 pm (Noumea time) Job Reference: KK000129 Applicants must apply online at http://careers.spc.int/ Hard copies of applications will not be accepted. For your application to be considered, you must provide us with: • an updated resume with contact details for three professional referees • a cover letter detailing your skills, experience and interest in this position • responses to all screening questions Your application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed at shortlisting stage if all the above documents are not provided. Applicants should not attach copies of qualifications or letters of reference. Please ensure your documents are in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. SPC does not charge a fee to consider your application and will never ask for your banking or financial information during the recruitment process. Screening questions (maximum of 2.000 characters per question): • How should an organization judge whether its GESI efforts are really making a difference over the long term? What would convince you that change is substantive? • Where do you draw the line between ensuring a project does not worsen inequalities and actively pursuing transformative change? How do you decide how far an organization or project should go? • How have you applied international standards such as the IFC Performance Standards, or donor GESI policies in practice? Give an example where GESI considerations changed a project’s design or implementation.