Social Inclusion, Nutrition and Climate (SINC) Analyst

South Sudan has a population of about 12 million majority of whom are young and rural with 72 percent below the age of 30 and 83 percent living in rural areas. Conflicts disrupted the country’s development and restricted the population’s ability to engage in socioeconomic activities as access to valuable resources and basic services have been impacted. Furthermore, the aggregate effects of years of conflict displaced approximately 4.3 million people from their homes and resulted to acute food insecurity. This is compounded by the the crisis that began in April 2023 in Sudan which has had consequences on South Sudan with more returnees and refugees coming to the country.

Beyond the high vulnerability to conflict (inter-communal violence) that has resulted in the dire humanitarian crisis, South Sudan is also affected by a wide range of concurrent climate-induced shocks and disasters like floods, drought, and locust infestations. Floods have worsened over the past years and have been affecting between 750,000 and more than one million people, forcing half of them to leave their homeland to higher grounds. The country’s fragility has resulted in the lack of infrastructures; roads, ITC, electricity, water and Irrigation infrastructure. 

The global economic backlash from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted to more than 50 percent of businesses closing and a reduction of 28-65 percent in the work force. About 68 percent of those affected are women. Small business owners in South Sudan bore the brunt of COVID-19 as livelihoods shrunk especially in the informal sector where women constitute majority of the workforce. Furthermore, 40-94 percent of businesses (depending on the sector) experienced a decrease in production/sales that impacted on trade and economic recovery.

The main problem in South Sudan’s business environment is the weak institution and state structures that has resulted to unstable institutions and a weak private sector. MSEs as has been revealed in other African countries like Kenya are a key engine for job creation and are therefore essential for South Sudan’s growth and development. Over 99 percent of firms in South Sudan fall under the MSME category and 70 percent of MSMEs are classified in the microenterprise category (firms whose size ranges between one to four employees). One of the major obstacles for MSME growth in the country is access to finance. South Sudan currently has 26 commercial banks operating, all lending less than 50 percent of their deposits as loans. Only about 10 percent of the total loans provided by the South Sudan banking sector go to MSEs and lack of collateral is cited as one of the main reasons that banks do not extend credit to the MSEs. 

According to Findex 2021, only 5 percent of South Sudanese adults (age 15+) have a financial account – a decline from the 9% registered in 2017. Access to credit and finance is very low with only 2.63% of the population able to borrow money from a financial institution or using a mobile money account. Savings is very minimal with only 1.5% of people being able to have some form of saving in a financial institution. Financing, savings and mobile money services are still in their infancy with the latter having been introduced only in 2019 and are therefore still in developing stage, although there is potential for growth.

South Sudan has a remarkable potential for sustainable growth through agriculture. The agricultural sector plays a major role in South Sudan’s economy, accounting for 36 percent of its non-oil gross domestic production with 80 percent of households depending on cultivation as their primary source of livelihood (FAO, 2015). Of the country’s 64.7 million hectares of land, around 75 percent is suitable for agriculture and 50 percent for cultivation. Only 4 percent of the land is currently cultivated by smallholder subsistence farmers (FAO, 2015).

Although the country has a huge agricultural potential, it continues to be food insecure, import-dependent, and low in productivity. South Sudan’s agricultural sector has mostly been subsistence-based and over 95 percent of the agricultural production is rainfed. Fisheries and aquaculture resources are abundant and underutilized with fisheries production potential estimated at between 100,000 to 300,000 metric tons per year. The country is also rich in livestock, with 85 percent of South Sudanese households estimated to own one or more animals. South Sudan has a livestock population of 12 million cattle, 14 million goats, and 13 million sheep.

At least 85 percent of the country’s population live in rural areas and derive their livelihoods from agriculture, fisheries and livestock sectors. Close to 80 percent of farm labor in the country is provided by women who combine this activity with their other domestic chores.  The agriculture sector employs 78 percent of the population, with 70 percent of the cooperatives in South Sudan currently engaged in the sector (cropping activities, fishery, non-timber forestry products, dairy, and agro-processing). However, there is a huge need for value addition for primary products from the agriculture sector to avoid wastage, meet the in-country demand and reduce the number of imports coming into the country. 

IFAD in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and UNDP has developed the Rural Enterprises for Agriculture Development (READ) project, a seven-year project (2023-2029) designed to respond to critical growth and development challenges confronted by smallholders in six states in South Sudan. The project will focus on supporting the development of Rural Producers’ Organizations (RPOs), Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLAs), Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) and micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

There are three interlinked and complementary components of the READ project, which will be implemented through a conflict-sensitive lens, whilst ensuring inclusion and empowerment of youth and women. The three components include: (i) Rural Producers’ Organizations’ Development; (ii) Inclusive Rural Financial Services; (iii) Policy and Regulatory Framework Development. The READ project will foster the development of the selected RPOs by promoting good governance and accountability systems vis-à-vis their constituencies; enhancing their sustainable business models and economic initiatives; and strengthening their capacity to provide services to farmers including facilitating access to financial services, technology, inputs, and markets. The project targets to improve food security, income, and resilience among approximately 27,511 households, or 162,315 people, with a focus on women, youth, and people of vulnerable groups, (mainly returnees and persons with disabilities). It will work through RPOs and RFIs, across six counties in six states, including – Northern Bahr el Ghazal (Aweil), Upper Nile (Renk), Western Equatoria (Nzara, Yambio, Maridi), Central Equatoria (Terekeka), and Eastern Equatoria (Magwi). 

As the Implementing Organization of the READ Project, UNDP is seeking to engage a Social Inclusion, Nutrition, and Climate Analyst who works to provide technical support in the planning and implementation of a gender, socially inclusive READ programming. S/He will also oversee the implementation of the nutrition sensitive interventions across the various components. The SINC Analyst will be guided by IFAD Gender and Targeting guidelines, nutrition strategy, Rural Youth Action Plan and GOSS community engagement methodology and work closely with UNDP and component leads with overall responsibility for ensuring planning, monitoring, and reporting of the project. Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager and matrix reporting arrangement to the Chief Programme Advisor and the Team Leader, STARR unit, the SINC Analyst will work in close collaboration with Technical Officers, the STARR unit, UNDP country office programme units, MAFS-PCU, and national and state level partners. 

Scope of Work

Targeting and social inclusion strategy:

Under the guidance of the Project Manager, the SINC Analyst will tailor the project targeting and social inclusion strategy to ensure target groups engage and benefit from the project activities, including the poor, women, youth and marginalized communities.  The SINC Analyst will support the implementation of the strategy for mainstreaming gender, youth and social inclusion in programme activities and develop an action-plan for implementing the strategy. This strategy will inform the identification and engagement of beneficiaries in the project (from Payam to Boma level) and will be aligned with IFAD targeting guidelines. 

Under the guidance of the Project Manager, the SINC Analyst will tailor the project targeting strategy toensure target groups engage and benefit from the project activities, including the poor, women, youth and marginalized communities. The SINC Analyst will support the implementation of the strategy for mainstreaming gender, youth and social inclusion in programme activities and develop an action-plan for implementing the strategy. This strategy will inform the identification and engagement of beneficiaries in the project (from Payam to Boma level) and will be aligned with IFAD targeting guidelines.

Beneficiary selection and Participation:

The SINC Analyst will ensure that PCU and IP staff understand the rationale of the targeting strategy and the different mechanisms to reach and benefit the poor, women, youth and marginalized communities in the project. She/he will ensure that PCU and IP staff have a good understanding of their specific role and responsibility in implementing the strategy. S/he will guide the identification of project beneficiaries, ensure quotas for target groups are met and be responsible for completing the relevant assessments at the project inception phase to better understand the challenges and the needs of the target groups. 

Technical Support and backstopping:

The SINC Analyst will closely collaborate with component leads and ensure the working documents of every component have SINC elements integrated and a strong women and youth participation. Furthermore, they will orient and train project staff on gender integration, youth inclusion and nutrition sensitivity and approaches for READ. She/he will provide regular technical assistance to ensure gender responsive planning and budgeting. Additionally, She/he will provide the necessary orientation and advise all service providers on gender and social inclusion issues and policies. 

Gender Action and Learning System:

The SINC Analyst will oversee and monitor the implementation of GALS including contracting consultants or service providers for technical assistance, reviewing the TOR and coordination.

FPIC implementation plan:

The SINC Analyst will support the finalization of the FPIC implementation plan and oversee and monitor its Analyst successful implementation.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning:

The SINC Analyst will coordinate with and support the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team to establish and implement social-inclusion sensitive monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems, including working with the M&E team to ensure data is sex, age, socio-economic group, and disability disaggregated and analyzed regularly. S/he will also conduct SINC audits, contribute to the development of annual work plans, performance monitoring systems and tools, and progress update reports. This will include collecting, documenting, and reporting good practices and lessons learned in SINC for in country and global dissemination.

Partnerships:

The SINC Analyst will maintain awareness of and relationships with civil society organizations and development partners also working in areas of gender, social inclusion and nutrition. S/he will network and liaise with members of civil society organizations (especially organizations of persons with disabilities, women/youth/returnees’ groups), international and national NGOs.

Grievance Redress Mechanism:

Oversee the set up and implementation of the project’s grievance redress mechanism including beneficiary feedback system that is accessible to all segments of the population.

Institutional Arrangement

The SINC Analyst will be based mainly in the project office in Ministry of Agriculture and food security, providing support to the Project Manager, the MAFS, IPs, project target states, partners and communities. S/he will be under direct supervision of the READ Project Manager with matrix reporting to the UNDP Chief Programme Advisor and the Team Leader of StaRR Unit.

Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 

Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination  

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Business Direction & Strategy:               

• System Thinking 
  • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Climate Change Adaptation

• Nature, Climate
  • Fair Knowledge of climate change adaptation concepts and the ability to conduct M&E in this scope.

Environmental and Social Assessment and Management Plan:               

• Environment 
  • Fair Knowledge of Environmental and Social Assessment and Management Plans and the ability to conduct M&E in this scope.

Sustainable Development:               

• Sustainability 
  • Knowledge of sustainable development concepts, principles and issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations, covering the economic, social and environmental dimensions.

Support to Project Management:               

• Project Management 
  • Ability to help plan, organize, and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Social Cohesion:               

• Cohesion 
  • Knowledge of methods and experience of supporting communities to achieve greater inclusiveness, more civic participation and creating opportunities for upward mobility.

Partnership:               

• Partnership
  • Ability to engage with other agencies, donors, and other development stakeholders and forge productive working relationships.