Country GEDSI and Safeguarding Officer

Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition (COAST) Project in Vietnam
Terms of Reference: Country GEDSI and Safeguarding Officer

Contract Type: Part-time, 33 workdays in the duration from 02 January until 31 March, 2026 (with possibility of extension)
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam (travel to project sites may be required)
Eligibility: Vietnamese nationals only

Daily rate: 159 GBP

Please click this link to apply for the position. Due date for application: 10 December 2025.

About the Role

The position reports to the Country Team Lead in Hanoi and GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor based in Nepal.

Key Responsibilities

GEDSI responsibilities

Lead country GEDSI analysis, GEDSI strategy, and GEDSI Action Plans to operationalise the COAST Facility GEDSI Framework, with support from the GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor.
Lead the implementation of the country GEDSI strategy and action plan – regularly reviewing its applicability, learning and ensuring it is relevant and up to date.
Work closely with Country Team Lead to ensure the integration of GEDSI across the project, including TA, Grant and other programme activities including identifying GEDSI-focused partnerships and disability inclusion activities.
Identify and establish partnerships with GEDSI-focused organisations in the country, including organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), women’s rights organisations, indigenous peoples’ organisations, youth organisations.
Support GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor to plan, design, and implement GEDSI capacity building efforts for country teams and partners.
Frame evaluation and screening criteria for grants and technical assistance projects to effectively consider GEDSI considerations tailored to the local context.
Lead the design, implementation, and monitoring of GEDSI activities, in coordination with country teams.
Provide GEDSI technical assistance to the country team and partners to be GEDSI responsive and identify and push for GEDSI transformation.
Work closely with MEL team to collect, analyse, and use disaggregated data to track results of GEDSI efforts.
Identify learning, good practices and case studies from across the COAST Facility Portfolio to share with communications colleagues and promote COAST Facility’s work.
Collaborate with the GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor and other GEDSI & Safeguarding Officers to share learning, discuss challenges and bottlenecks and coordinate tools and capacity building across the country teams as well as facilitate learning and replication of successes across and between countries.

Safeguarding responsibilities

DAI has a safeguarding policy that will apply to COAST Facility personnel – cascading our zero-tolerance policy towards SEAH through all our operations. This means that all COAST Facility staff (including partners and TA providers) must adhere to the following standards of behaviour and all allegations will be investigated and action taken as necessary and appropriate. The GEDSI & Safeguarding Officer will:

Act as the country Safeguarding Focal Point (SFP).
Work with the GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor to report any safeguarding issues to the senior leadership team and FCDO – including those raised from and by grantees and / or TA providers as well as our staff, beneficiaries and partners.
Support GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor to provide a safeguarding orientation and regular refresher training for country team.
Support country team to ensure that downstream partners (grantees or sub-contractors) have safeguarding policies and practices in place and implemented and identify any capacity-building needs, in coordination with GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor.
Support country team to ensure that TA providers are adhering to safeguarding policies and practices including through briefings and trainings to providers as needed, in coordination with the GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor.
Collaborate with GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor and specialists to ensure environmental and social safeguards are in place for COAST’s screening processes, implementation, and monitoring in line with COAST Facility’s safeguarding and implementation approach.

Required Qualifications

Education:

Advanced degree in social sciences, gender studies, development studies, or related fields.
Specialized training in gender mainstreaming, disability inclusion, or social inclusion is highly valued.

Professional Experience:

5+ years of experience in GEDSI integration within development or humanitarian programs.
Experience working with community development projects, ideally in community or livelihood programs with a focus on working with marginalised groups.
Proven track record in conducting GEDSI assessments, inclusive programme design, and GEDSI capacity strengthening.
Experience mentoring and training staff or partners on GEDSI principles and skills.

Technical Skills:

Strong knowledge of inclusive project design and monitoring frameworks.
Familiarity with Vietnam’s social and cultural context, particularly issues affecting vulnerable populations.
English proficiency.
Experience with ODA projects and/or international NGOs is an advantage.

Personal Competencies

Cultural sensitivity and ability to work with diverse communities.
Strong communication and facilitation skills for workshops and training.
Analytical thinking to identify barriers to inclusion and propose practical solutions.
Commitment to equity, human rights, and social justice.
Advocating for inclusive policies and practices with stakeholders.

Project Background

Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition (COAST)

Background to COAST

Human activities such as harmful fishing practices, coastal habitat conversion, and pollution directly contribute to biodiversity loss and degradation of ocean and coastal ecosystems and ecosystem services. This degradation amplifies coastal populations’ vulnerability, particularly in developing countries already burdened by high poverty, and frequently dependent on fragile ocean and coastal livelihoods such as artisanal fisheries and aquaculture. While the ocean is the primary source of animal protein for billions, climate change raises the stakes and compounds the problems as coastal areas are increasingly exposed to sea level rise, intense storms, marine heatwaves, and ocean acidification, posing existential threats to both marine life and human communities.

DAI recognises the need to address these challenges holistically, integrating targeted interventions to improve both environmental and social systems. Our vision for the COAST Facility is “to revolutionise coastal and marine ecosystem management through a pioneering approach that uniquely combines local community empowerment with national reform and global advocacy.”

We propose an integrated methodology founded on five core delivery principles to direct our delivery approach. These principles are appropriate for addressing coastal and ocean challenges effectively; ensuring flexible and innovative solutions; the ability to deliver, manage and maximise impact; and ensure a high standard of programme and activity management tailored to the complexity of COAST. They are a holistic approach, community-centred solutions, collaborative partnerships, legacy and sustainability, and learning and adaptation.

Background to DAI

To deliver COAST Facility, DAI will capitalise on our extensive experience in Indonesia, Mozambique, Philippines, and Vietnam to support aligned partner country governments and local community-based organisations. Our delivery of COAST will a) provide a team of world-leading experts in coastal and ocean sustainability coupled with deep experience in ODA fund management; b) leverage DAI and our partners’ expertise delivering programmes alongside partner governments and communities; c) provide deep understanding of effective multi-country, multi-component TA and fund management programmes.

DAI will lead the COAST consortia and be responsible for the overall delivery of the contract. Our Consortia partners are Blue Green Advisors, DevLearn, Monterey Bay Aquarium and Wildlife Conservation Society.

Background and context to GEDSI & Safeguarding

GEDSI: Embedding GEDSI is foundational to our programming. We recognise that in the coastal regions and fish supply chains where we operate, marketing entrepreneurs are predominantly women, and indigenous communities play a crucial role. These groups have historically been overlooked, which has contributed to the limitations of past projects. Actively empowering these stakeholders, and integrating their traditional knowledge, is central to reversing these oversights and enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of our interventions.

We are committed to fundamentally change the recognition and integration of women, indigenous peoples, and other disadvantaged groups such as youth and disabled people within the coastal and marine sectors. This could include informative and transformative sessions with families, communities and local leadership to ensure awareness, understanding and buy-in of inclusion and diversity of perspectives. By creating awareness around the social norms that inhibit women’s and minority groups’ participation and integrating traditional knowledge, the COAST Facility aims to correct past project oversights and build a more inclusive and sustainable future. This strategic focus is a proactive step towards equitable development, ensuring long-term benefits for the ecosystems and communities we serve.

Our GEDSI efforts are guided by a COAST GEDSI Framework that states that we will, at a minimum, be GEDSI-responsive and, where possible, intentionally look for and push to be GEDSI transformative. The GEDSI Framework is operationalised through country-level GEDSI Strategies and Action Plans that are context specific. While mainstreaming GEDSI is a shared responsibility of all COAST team members, Technical Assistance (TA) provider and grantee, we plan to recruit Country GEDSI & Safeguarding Officers who will bring in requisite local expertise, understand local social and political contexts and specific GEDSI constraints, and apply tailored GEDSI interventions in line with the country strategies.

Safeguarding: DAI has an unwavering commitment to the highest ethical standards and has incorporated measures to prevent, mitigate and respond to harm caused by any form of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH), and child abuse and neglect for anyone who works for or interacts with our program. We place considerable emphasis on prevention and this includes training, raising awareness, risk assessment and mitigations, and communicating incidents reporting mechanisms. DAI has established several reporting mechanisms including an independent helpline (the Speak-Up line) for staff and stakeholders alike to raise concerns with the option to remain anonymous and without fear of retaliation.

DAI’s commitment to safeguarding is fully reflected in our leadership and implementation of the COAST Facility recognising our priority to work with marginalised and vulnerable groups. We also recognise that Safeguarding Risks may occur across our grant portfolio and Technical Assistance Provision – we will therefore provide Safeguarding training to grantees (led by our Safeguarding Focal Point and Safeguarding Advisor(s)) and our Technical Assistance providers and experts – through onboarding processes and/or combined training packages.

We also note that safeguarding in COAST Facility will include social and environmental safeguarding and ‘do no harm’, including understanding unintended consequences within our programme design and implementation. Therefore, the GEDSI and Safeguarding Officer will be required to collaborate with specialists (e.g. WCS, MBA) and the country team members to ensure environmental and social safeguards are in place for COAST Facility’s screening processes, implementation, and monitoring.

A core part of COAST Facility’s GEDSI approaches will be to ‘do no harm’ and be inclusive to avoid unintended consequence across different and particular marginalised social groups (as well as being GEDSI ‘transformative’). This will mean that the GEDSI role is inclusive of social safeguarding to ensure we do no harm and are transformative where possible to marginalised social groups. To reflect this combined vision, the GEDSI and Safeguarding Officer will cover both functions and have a role to retain an integrated view of both GEDSI and Safeguarding (in its widest definition). The GESDI & Safeguarding Officer will report to the Country Team Leader and will work as a peer group with GEDSI & Safeguarding Officers from other COAST countries and the GEDSI & Safeguarding Advisor.