Environmental and Social Risk Assessment Specialist

Organizational setting:

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist Governments to develop policies, programs and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

The FAO Representation in South Sudan is organized around three main units: Programme, Operations and Administration. The current portfolio of projects in South Sudan includes activities related to agriculture, livestock, fisheries and natural resource management, and is implemented with humanitarian, transitional and development funding. The incumbent will contribute to the country's Programme and portfolio as foreseen in the projects.

This position will support the FAO South Sudan Programme, specifically working on activities to ensure aspects of Environmental and Social Risks Management (ESRM) in project design, implementation and monitoring are addressed in line with both FAO and Donor frameworks. Despite overall positive impacts from FAO projects, it is necessary to ensure that risks of negative environmental or social impacts emerging from the complexities of implementation in South Sudan are addressed.

The Environmental and Social Risk Assessment Specialist will support the operationalization of existing and new ESRM frameworks within the programme, including driving the education, communication and implementation of the ESRM instruments

Reporting Lines

She/he will work under the overall guidance of the FAO Representative and direct supervision of the Head of Programme, and in close consultation with the Programme team and Heads of Field Offices. Specifically, the incumbent will carry out the following tasks:

Technical Focus

The incumbent will ensure compliance of the projects with Environmental and Social Standards (ESS) of donors and FAO, acting as a focal point within the Projects Management Units and coordinating the required inputs from the Project Implementation Teams.

Tasks and objectives to be achieved:

• Support the process of environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA) and preparation of environmental and social management plans (ESMPs) for various projects in line with FAO and donor guidelines. • Support training of FAO staff, government agencies and implementing partners on environmental and social risk mitigation. • Support in preparation of quarterly and annual reports on ESRM implementation for various projects in line with donor and government requirements. • Participate in the development of ESRM Frameworks and associated instruments, with clear risk mitigation measures for all new projects in line with donor and FAO guidelines. • Liaise and monitor FAO’s Implementation Partners (IPs) project activities are in line with FAO and donor guidelines. • Perform other related duties as required.and technical manuals for regular users, administrators and make recommendations on further enhancements • Coordinate the monitoring and reporting of safeguards tools during the projects implementation to ensure the safeguards performance is regularly reported • Lead the compilation of pre-implementation environmental and social safeguard documents for sub-projects prior to the implementation of activities, that include a description of the implementing sites, the activities to be carried out, aggregated results of the environmental and social screening checklists per sub-project and Environmental and Social Management Plans identifying mitigation measures, indicators, responsibilities and timeframe • Strengthening the technical capacity of the local safeguards team on safeguard implementation through continuous training and coaching

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements:

• University degree in Environmental Sciences/Environmental Studies, Environmental Engineering, relevant environmental postgraduate qualification or related fields with solid foundation in environmental and social safeguards. • A minimum of five (5) years’ experience in in environmental and social risk assessment. • Working knowledge (level C) of English and limited knowledge (level B) of one of the other FAO languages. For PSA, working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results focus • Teamwork • Communication • Building effective relationships • Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in Environmental Risk Assessment. • Knowledge of Environmental and Social Standards • Experience in Stakeholder Engagement and Consultation. • Experience in Report Writing and Communication Data Analysis and Interpretation: Posses adept at gathering, analysing and interpreting environmental data, including environmental impact assessments, environmental monitoring reports, and other relevant information Proficiency in development of ESMP and E&SRM in the project cycle • Environmental Impact Assessment certificate from an accredited environmental training and certified entity. • Computer proficiency Working knowledge of English (level C) of English