International Consultant- Environmental and Social Safeguards and Reporting Specialist - CST II

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WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles. Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis. We are committed to promoting diversity and the principle of equal employment opportunity for all our employees and encourage qualified candidates to apply irrespective of religion or belief, ethnic or social background, gender, gender identity and disability.

JOB DETAILS

Job Title: Environmental and Social Safeguards and Reporting Specialist Grade: CST II Type of contract: Consultancy Duration: 11 Months Duty Station: Kabul Vacancy Number: 830425 Date of Publication: 21 Nov 2023 Deadline of Application: 05 Dec 2023

ABOUT WFP

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The hunger crisis in Afghanistan is unfolding at a rapid pace, with 15 million of population now facing acute food insecurity. Work opportunities are shrinking, with most households now reporting just one day of work per week. This comes on top of the worst drought in years, which is especially concerning for the 85 percent of the population who rely on agriculture for livelihoods. Preventing and mitigating a drastic increase in hunger and malnutrition is the aim of WFP in Afghanistan which can only be achieved through the scaled up and sustained complementary food security and nutrition interventions, combined with a scale-up of resilience interventions to safeguard gains. WFP has embarked on a significant month on month scale-up of its crisis response and resilience programmes across the country, ensuring that the programme is delivered at the right scale and time, targeted to the right areas. WFP is also actively following up on evolving trends to pre-empt hotspots, while guaranteeing quality and maximum impact of the programme through the monitoring of these hotspots to be able to support continued donor advocacy.

JOB PURPOSE

WFP strives to be a leader in environmental sustainability within the UN system. In pursuit of this goal, WFP adopted a new Environmental policy in February 2017, and an Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework (ESSF). The Policy commits the organization to avoiding unintended harm to the environment, its beneficiaries, or any other affected populations as a result of our operations and programmes, and to maximize environmental benefits. The ESSF contains 3 tools: a set of environmental and social standards, risk screening of activity design and mitigation/ management plans (safeguards), and an environmental management system (EMS) consistent with the international standard ISO 14001. Collectively, these three elements are known as WFP's Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework (ESSF).

The Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Service is supporting all programme regions to identify Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) Advisors for short-, medium or long-term contracts to help roll out and mainstream the application of environmental & social safeguards across country strategies and programmes.

In particular, the ESS Specialist in the Afghanistan Country Office will perform the following tasks on relevant programme areas, with an initial focus on an IFI (World Bank) funded Safety Net: (i) provide technical support to WFP and partners teams in applying safeguards measures and tools (both during formulation and implementation phases); (ii) train WFP’ staff and partners on the compliance and application of the WFP’s and donors’ related safeguards; (iii) support the development of technical and training material for the implementation of the ESSF, including technical guidance on mitigation measures by also liaising with other WFP’s units; (iv) ensure compliance with corporate reporting requirements and donors’ requirements on the ESSF and safeguards; and (v) support the integration of strategic environmental and social safeguards assessments within country strategic plans.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

1. Technical Support: Support the application of the WFP and (as applicable) donor standards on environmental & social safeguards tools (including risk screening) to programmatic activities; Support the application of the safeguards’ requirements in new proposals to donors (including IFIs); Check the extent to which alternative screening tools are aligned with WFP’s standards/tools; Provide advice during project implementation and response, to promote adherence to WFP’s environmental and social standards; Support the elaboration and review of Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) when required; Revise Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) of high-risk projects when required; Support the formulation of environmental and social safeguards assessments in broader programme planning and strategy processes, including at CSP level as relevant.
2. Capacity Building and Training: Promote awareness of WFP's potential environmental and social impacts and of the safeguards framework as a tool for systematically managing those impacts; Train WFP and partner staff on the application of, and compliance with the Environmental and Social Safeguards requirements through online and face to face training sessions; Collect and share best practices to promote ongoing engagement and improvement.
3. Strategic Direction and Guidance: Seek opportunities to link WFP safeguards to safeguard regulations and capacities; Support the application of safeguards throughout the project implementation cycle within the country offices; Seek opportunities to access regional and country- specific funding sources to increase the involvement of local stakeholders.
4. Monitoring: Monitor engagement in the implementation of environmental &social safeguards; Identify and record risks in a corporate digital platform and relevant performance dashboards and scorecards; Support reporting on the application of the WFP Safeguards in the Annual Country Reports, and in relevant donor reporting as required.
5. Reporting: Support the Country Office in reporting on the Safeguards for the IFIs, guiding both the Programme and partnerships teams in ensuring this is monitored and reported as part of the reporting structure, draft relevant report sections in coordination with the relevant teams in the CO. Support related inputs to the Annual Country Report, specifically the section on Environmental Sustainability Section (1. Environmental and social safeguards; and 2. Environmental sustainability in operations).

Deliverables:

• Improve the capacity-building at Country Office’s level by providing training, guidance, and technical support;
• Provide ESS support to developing new country strategies, programs and proposals and ensure that donor requirements in relation to ESS are adequately addressed, implemented, and budgeted for;
• Ensured that the formulation of new Country Strategic Plans includes a strategic assessment of environmental and social risks and provide technical support as required;
• Elaborate and revise Environmental & Social Management Plans (ESMPs) where required, and support Environmental & Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) for high-risk projects when/if required;
• Support reporting on the application of WFP’s safeguards for both specific projects - IFIs and others as relevant and for activity implementation;
• Perform other ESS-related duties as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

• An advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in one of the following areas: Environmental Studies, Environmental Management, Engineering, Agriculture, Social Science, International Studies, Human Rights, or a related field;
• Additional education in a complementary field (e.g. additional education in social science when the first degree was in environmental science - or vice versa) would be an advantage;

Experience:

• At least 5 years of post-graduate experience in areas related to: environmental and social sustainability, environmental and social safeguards,
• Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA), or corporate sustainability for national and/or international environmental and social safeguards frameworks and regulations;
• Experience in developing and delivering training;
• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions, would be an advantage;
• Work experience with the UN, particularly with WFP or WFP’s donors and Private sector, would be an advantage;

Knowledge and Skills:

• In-depth understanding of environmental and social sustainability and how they link with food security and humanitarian operations (including previous experience on Environmental and Social Impact Assessments and Management Plans elaboration and implementation);
• Excellent training skills or public speaking skills;
• Proven ability to work and coordinate and communicate across multiple teams and with offices in remote locations.

Language:

• Excellent written and spoken English (level C) is a requirement; working knowledge of a second official UN language is an advantage.

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. We want to ensure the recruitment process is fully accessible. Please contact us at [email protected] to advise us of any accessibility needs you may have.

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WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.