Organizational Setting

Serbia is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the Balkan region. Serbia’s forests cover approximately 30 percent of its territory, playing an important role in rural livelihoods, energy security and climate change mitigation. Forest ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts, including droughts, rising temperatures, fires, pest outbreaks and extreme weather events. Key drivers of forest degradation include unsustainable fuelwood extraction, limited financial and technical capacity of forest owners, and insufficient investments in climate-adaptive forest management. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries remain critical sectors for employment and economic development, particularly in rural areas. Rural women are particularly vulnerable to climate-related exposures and risks, having limited ownership and access to productive resources and opportunities. A gender gap exists in forest management and governance.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) plays a central role in supporting countries in the Europe and Central Asia region to address these challenges. The FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU) leads FAO’s response to regional priorities for food security, agriculture and rural development and oversees the FAO Project Office in Serbia, which is responsible for planning, implementation and monitoring of the country programme in close coordination with national stakeholders, the United Nations Country Team and technical units at regional and headquarters levels.

In this context, the Green Climate Fund (GCF)-funded project “Enhancing the resilience of Serbian forests to support energy security, livelihoods and carbon sequestration” (FOREST Invest) was approved and became operational in February 2025, with total financing (including co-financing) of USD 83.8 million. FAO serves as the Executing Entity (EE) and is responsible for implementation of all GCF-funded activities and management of proceeds, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management (MoAFWM), Public Enterprise “Srbijašume” (PES), and Public Enterprise “Vojvodinašume” (PEV) act as co-executing partners through their respective co-financing contributions.

The project aims to strengthen the contribution of the forestry sector to Serbia’s low-carbon development pathway by supporting climate-adaptive silviculture, forest restoration and afforestation, sustainable biomass value chains, carbon finance mechanisms, and private sector engagement. Activities will be implemented in Central Serbia and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in alignment with Serbia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plan and Low Carbon Development Strategy.

In alignment with FAO’s Gender Equality Policy 2020-2030 and the GCF Gender Policy, a gender assessment was conducted and Gender Action Plan (GAP) was developed before the project inception. In addition, an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) has been prepared to guide the identification, assessment, mitigation, and monitoring of social risks, which are primarily associated with on-the-ground forestry activities such as afforestation, forest restoration, and the establishment of shelterbelts.

To support this process, a Gender Specialist will be engaged to contribute to the further revision, implementation, and monitoring of the GAP and the mainstreaming of gender equality and women’s empowerment across the project. The Specialist will ensure compliance with FAO’s Gender Equality Policy 2020-2030, GCF Equality Policy, as well as national gender equality and climate action policies, and the EU accession framework’s priorities.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia (REU), in close coordination with the GCF Project Manager, and the FAO Programme Coordinator, technical guidance of REU Gender and Social Protection Specialist and in close liaison with project task force and national counterparts, the Specialist will report and will be under the technical supervision of the REU Gender Officer.

Technical Focus

The main objective of this assignment is to ensure effective gender mainstreaming across all project components, promote women’s participation and decision-making, provide technical capacity development for improving equitable access to resources, knowledge, and decision-making in forestry and climate action, while contributing to evidence-based and gender-responsive project implementation. The assignment includes the collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated primary and secondary gender data to ensure that the project addresses gender equality considerations per the project’s Gender Assessment and GAP developed during the project planning, mainstreams gender equality into capacity building and awareness-raising activities, while also paying attention to social risks mitigation.

Under the overall guidance of the Project Manager and close coordination with Gender and Social Protection Specialist, the Gender Specialist will support the implementation of the GAP in alignment with the project’s workplan, including capacity development, awareness raising, and attention to women headed forest owners and users, monitoring of the gender-responsive indicators, required systematic collection and reporting of sex-disaggregated data to ensure compliance with FAO, national, and Green Climate Fund (GCF) requirements.

Tasks and responsibilities

Gender Mainstreaming and Technical Support

•    Provide technical/operational support in the further refinement and implementation of the Gender Action Plan (GAP) in alignment with the project workplan, ensuring consistency between GAP objectives, the project’s monitoring and evaluation framework, and overall workplan.
•    Conduct dedicated gender analyses, including:
a) collection of gender baseline data on forest owners and users in the project areas and identification of barriers, needs and priorities; and
b) gender-responsive forest management analysis to inform the institutionalization of gender considerations.
•    Conduct regular field visits to monitor progress, identify and address barriers to women’s participation and access to project benefits, and support gender mainstreaming efforts as needed.
•    Provide support in the drafting of a capacity development plan based on the findings of the gender analysis, GAP’s objectives, and in alignment with the project’s workplan.

Capacity Development and Awareness Raising

•    Contribute to the capacity development on gender equality and women’s empowerment targeting project staff, national government institutions and project partners, forest owners and users.
•    Contribute to gender-responsive awareness-raising aimed at increasing understanding of gender equality issues and differentiated vulnerabilities, promoting inclusive practices, and encouraging gender-responsive forest management.
•    Promote gender-balanced participation in stakeholder consultations, governance bodies, and decision-making processes through targeted awareness raising on gender equality and Gender Action Plan, engaging male leaders as allies, encouraging women’s participation: the incumbent willplan and track the list of invitees/participants by sex.

Data, Monitoring, and Reporting

•    Support the timely and systematic collection, analysis, and reporting of sex-disaggregated data and gender-sensitive indicators across project activities, ensuring alignment with the project’s monitoring and evaluation framework and reporting systems.
•    Provide regular, results-oriented updates on the status of Gender Action Plan (GAP) implementation, including progress against targets and contributions to work planning.
•    Maintain and quality-assure records of sex-disaggregated data, and design and implement pre- and post-capacity development assessments to track progress, measure outcomes, and identify priority areas.
•    Contribute to corporate and project reporting, with a focus on gender equality and social inclusion results; identify implementation challenges and propose evidence-based corrective actions

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

•    University degree or specific technical specialization in social sciences, gender studies, rural development, agriculture or related field.
•    At least 3 years of progressively responsible professional experience in gender mainstreaming and social inclusion in agriculture, forestry, rural development or natural resources programmes,
•    Working knowledge (level C) of English and Serbian is required.
•    National of Serbia or resident of the country with a valid work permit.

FAO Core Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Experience working with international organizations, development partners or climate finance projects is considered an asset.
•    Practical experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment programming, conducting gender assessment in rural areas of Serbia.
•    Familiarity with FAO Gender Equality Policy, GCF Equality Policy or other international institutions is considered a strong asset.
•    Quality of both oral and written communication skills.

Selection criteria

• Demonstrated experience in the preparation and/or implementation of gender equality and social inclusion assessments, analysis and action plans, preferably related to forestry, agriculture, natural resources management, climate change, biodiversity or rural development projects

National Gender Specialist