Environmental and Social Safeguarding Coordinator Libya Benghazi

Overview

Lead the Environmental and Social Safeguarding initiatives in NRC Libya operations.

You have:

• Degree in Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Renewable Energy, Architecture, or related fields. A second degree in social science, development, or gender is a plus.
• At least 4 years of relevant experience, preferably in humanitarian or development programs.
• Strong knowledge of World Bank Environmental and Social Standards (or similar frameworks like KfW, AFD).
• Experience drafting or reviewing environmental and social assessments, ESMPs, and monitoring tools.
• Familiarity with NEAT+, solar energy projects, or similar environmental screening tools.
• Fluency in Arabic and English (written and spoken).
• Strong coordination, training, and facilitation skills.
• Essential behavioural competencies include strategic thinking, empowering and building trust, managing resources to optimize results, handling insecure environments, planning and delivering results, initiating action and change.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a global humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee.

Join us in assisting millions of people in areas where others cannot, tackling some of the world's most dangerous and difficult crises. Bring your skills and dedication to an organisation recognised for providing high quality aid and for defending the rights of refugees and internally displaced people.

At NRC, we give responsibility to employees at all levels and foster professional growth and innovative teams. You can expect a supportive culture and an open dialogue with management. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Together, we save lives and rebuild futures.

Safeguarding is central to NRC’s work. We expect all employees to:

• treat everyone with respect and dignity

• contribute to building a safe environment for all

• never engage in any form of exploitation, harassment and specifically sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH)

• always report. NRC has a zero-tolerance approach to inaction against exploitation, abuse and SEAH

Background

NRC started working in Libya in 2017 due to the instability and conflict that affects the country. Since then, NRC has escalated the response to support internally displaced Libyans, returnees, and host communities. The programme implementation focusses on the delivery of Education, shelter and livelihoods activities in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata. NRC is scaling up its advocacy and rapid needs assessment capacity to improve the protection environment for the most vulnerable communities in Libya and to support them in accessing durable solutions.

At NRC, we are committed to inclusive, accountable, and sustainable humanitarian programming. The Environmental and Social Safeguarding (ESS) Coordinator plays a key leadership role in ensuring that NRC’s projects protect both people and the environment while meeting international standards.

You will lead the development and implementation of an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) across shelter, infrastructure, and livelihoods programs—ensuring that NRC’s projects respect local communities, minimize risk, and are environmentally sound.

This is a high-impact technical coordination role, well-suited to women with backgrounds in engineering, social science, energy, or environmental disciplines—especially those interested in safeguarding, compliance, and sustainable development in humanitarian settings.

Qualifications

We welcome applicants with diverse professional journeys, including those from the humanitarian, development, renewable energy, infrastructure, or social development sectors.

Competencies are important for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

1. Professional competencies

These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance:

• Degree in Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Renewable Energy, Architecture, or related fields. A second degree in social science, development, or gender is a plus.
• At least 4 years of relevant experience, preferably in humanitarian or development programs.
• Strong knowledge of World Bank Environmental and Social Standards (or similar frameworks like KfW, AFD).
• Experience drafting or reviewing environmental and social assessments, ESMPs, and monitoring tools.
• Familiarity with NEAT+, solar energy projects, or similar environmental screening tools.
• Fluency in Arabic and English (written and spoken).
• Strong coordination, training, and facilitation skills.

Don’t meet every single requirement? We still encourage you to apply. We value diverse experiences and are committed to building gender-balanced, locally led teams.

2. Behavioural competencies (max 6)

These are personal qualities that influence how successful people are in their job. NRC’s Competency Framework states 12 behavioural competencies, the following are essential for this position:

• Strategic thinking
• Empowering and building trust
• Managing resources to optimize results
• Handling insecure environments
• Planning and delivering results
• Initiating action and change

Performance Management

The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the NRC Performance Management Manual. The following documents will be used for performance reviews:

• The Job Description
• Goals and Performance Plan
• The NRC Competency Framework

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical focal point for environmental and social safeguarding across NRC’s Libya operations.
• Lead the implementation and quality control of NRC’s ESMF and risk mitigation measures.
• Coordinate with internal teams, donors, and contractors to ensure compliance with environmental and social standards.
• Provide training, coaching, and field support to NRC staff and implementing partners on ESS tools and approaches.
• Liaise with the donor’s E&S focal point and ensure regular, timely reporting on all safeguarding requirements.
• Support risk categorization, assessment design, and monitoring of sub-projects, especially infrastructure and cash-based interventions.
• Promote gender-sensitive, inclusive practices in community engagement and environmental planning.
• Compliance with and adherence to NRC policies, guidelines/handbooks, and E&S safeguarding donor requirements.
• Regularly visit project sites to monitor E&S implementation, engage with communities, support technical teams, and carry out spot checks. Support for safe and secure field travel is provided.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 9 months ago - Updated 8 months ago - Source: nrc.no