International Environmental Safeguards Specialist

Contract

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Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN Women provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women in South Sudan supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026 and the corresponding UN Women South Sudan Strategic Note (2022-2026), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in South Sudan, focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s economic empowerment; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in South Sudan including the government, civil society and women’s organizations, youth, UN agencies, and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Currently, UN Women in partnership with the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare and the Office of the Vice President (Gender and Youth Cluster) is implementing a project that aims at promoting the social-economic empowerment of women and adolescent girls in South Sudan. The project called “South Sudan Women’s Social and Economic Empowerment Project (SSWEEP)”, is currently implemented in 10 states and 2 administrative areas in South Sudan focusing on promoting women’s access to economic opportunities, protection, and access to GBV information and services and strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare to effectively implement its mandate of promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. The project has four (4) components, namely: a) Community Empowerment Support to Women and Girls, b) Establishment of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Facility (WEOF), c) Scaling up services for Survivors of GBV, and d) Institutional strengthening focusing on the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, the Office of the Vice President, Gender and Youth Cluster, Project Management Unit (PMU) and related national institutions.

The Environmental Safeguards (GESS) Specialist is responsible for executing the environmental safeguards program in accordance with national regulations, UN WOMEN and World Bank safeguard requirements as detailed in the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan and related social and environmental instruments prepared for the project.

Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Country Representative and direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Environmental Safeguards Specialist will be required to monitor and report on the SSWSEEP environmental safeguards risks, compliance with project instruments and guidelines, environmental screening, and staff capacity building in consultation with Ministry of Gender Child and Social Welfare Project Management Unit.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main duties and responsibilities of the Environmental Safeguard Specialist are to:

Manage the implementation and management of all environmental safeguard activities under SSWSEEP:

• Develop a detailed SSWSEEP environmental safeguards work plan including the activities, roles, and responsibilities of project staff, partners, and stakeholders;
• Lead in the oversight of the implementation of environmental risk management and compliance with Government and Project Environmental and Social Safeguards guidelines in consultation with the World Bank and Project Management Unit;
• Support the project to mainstream the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) in the project life cycle, e.g., monthly/quarterly meetings whichever is the case, M&E, reporting system of the project, and supervision missions by the project leadership;
• Ensure proper implementation of the ESMF and the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) by the contractors and monitor the work of the contractors on the site;
• Provide specific technical advice on risk mitigation measures for environmental safeguards and operational activities related to the project;
• Monitor the project's environmental safeguard issues, identify implementation bottlenecks, propose feasible solutions, and develop and monitor an agreed action plan;
• Develop an action plan for the completion of all commitments in the project Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP)and all other environmental requirements including national requirements of the Ministry of Environment and other relevant authorities;
• Ensure that all environmental and health and safety mitigation measures are being fully adhered to during the implementation of all components of the project and that effective environmental supervision and monitoring are in place;
• Monitor financial resources and accounting on environmental safeguards to ensure the accuracy and reliability of financial reports;
• Prepare progress reports (progress against planned activities) on environmental safeguards;
• Perform tasks in QUANTUM - the Integrated financial and management system.

Coordinate the Provision of Essential Services Project:

• Provide support for strengthening the collaboration and linkages amongst different teams within the SSWSEEP project, social safeguards, environmental safeguards, and M&E to achieve project results;
• Work closely with the Social Development Specialist and GBV Specialists to ensure the full integration and harmonization between the environmental requirements and the social aspects;
• In coordination with the social safeguards specialist, follow up on environmental-related complaints and ensure resolving relevant ones while properly documenting the process in line with the World Bank and UN Women requirements on the topic;
• Coordinate and follow up with Third-party monitoring (TPM) agency on the site visit reports. Verify the deviations tracked by TPM and rectify the deviations;
• Coordinate and monitor regular environmental safeguards capacity development of consultants, and Contractors during project implementation, including conduct of project awareness, communication, and sensitization activities.

Manage technical assistance and capacity development for project staff, partners, and contractors:

• Provide technical advice and guidance on the implementation and monitoring of all environmental safeguards under the SSWSEEP;
• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support the implementation of environmental safeguards plans and respond to any potential problems;
• Identify capacity-building needs of staff, and partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training, and capacity development initiatives;
• Develop training materials and deliver trainings on ESMF requirements and apply its tools to the relevant staff of the project, beneficiaries, and stakeholders;
• Develop/update the environmental safeguard and support the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) training manuals and conduct training sessions for project staff and stakeholders;
• Ensure all site engineers and relevant project staff are trained in the proper application of the ESMF, ESMP, SEA/GBV risk mitigation plan and its components.

Manage the monitoring and reporting of the project’s environmental safeguards:

• Manage the monitoring of all environmental safeguards, and related budgets, using results-based management tools;
• Oversee field missions and review reports on environmental safeguards, and monitoring missions;
• Write quarterly reports and progress reports, focusing on results, outputs, and outcomes related to environmental safeguards and submit to the Programme management unit (PMU), Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare;
• Contribute to office donor and UN Women reports;
• Be responsible for monitoring the environmental safeguard issues of all construction sub-projects with the field staff and relevant contractors;
• Ensure the environmental safeguard compliance and support the functionality of the grievance redress mechanism (GRM) , and its outcome is included in the regular reporting mechanism;
• Maintain environmental records and information showing the compliance of the different project activities (including accidents and incident logs) to the national environmental legislations and World Bank standards;
• Ensure that all environmental commitments in the ESCP are being fulfilled in high quality and promptly by contractors while implementing sub-project works and activities on site.

Manage advocacy, knowledge-building, and communication efforts:

• Develop and review background documents, briefs, and presentations related to environmental safeguards;
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to environmental safeguards as necessary;
• Assist in documenting best practices and lessons learned in environment management at construction sites, and share it with senior management in UN Women, Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare/PMU, and World Bank for their effective random check of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and ESMP;
• Develop knowledge management strategies, products, and methodologies on environmental safeguards under the SSWSEEP;
• Attend environmental safeguard seminars such as those held by the government, World Bank, and organizations;
• Maintain close linkage for the flow of information amongst UN Women, Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare/PMU, and World Bank regarding environmental safeguard issues in project implementation;
• All the tasks above will be undertaken using a gender responsive approach.

Deliverables:

• Final environmental safeguards management plan in place;
• Environmental screening document reviewed and in place;
• Redress document reviewed and Environment and Social Grievance Redress mechanism in place;
• Implementation of environmental risk management instruments as per the Environment and Social Commitment Plan;
• Participation of UN Women in all environmental and social safeguards meetings;
• All staff and field teams knowledgeable of ESRM instruments and safeguards issues;
• Implementation of sub-projects in compliance with the ESMP;
• Regular Reporting on environmental safeguard issues.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Accountability.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Ability to lead Stakeholder Engagement at community and national levels.

Functional Competencies:

• Strong knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues;
• Strong knowledge of environmental risk management and broader safeguard issues;
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with government representatives of Member States (donor and program);
• Strong knowledge in gender mainstreaming principles and practices in environmental safeguards, protection and accountability to affected populations;
• Strong negotiating skills;
• Knowledge and understanding of the UN system and familiarity with inter-governmental processes will be an asset;
• Strong IT skills, including databases, extranet, and office software packages.
• Strong analytical and interpersonal skills;
• Ability to negotiate and interact with implementing partners to ensure compliance with the national and project specific Environment and Social Risk Management polices and instruments;
• Knowledge of National environment and/or social policies and requirements and the World Bank/UN Women environment and social frameworks;
• Experience in working in fragile and conflict affected environments.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Environmental Management, Natural Resources Management/ Conservation Biology from a recognized University/Institution; or
• A first-level University degree (bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in the related fields with an additional 2 years of relevant experience will be given due consideration instead of a Master’s degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years’ experience as an environment specialist in public civil works projects and/or development projects and/or emergency assistance and/or social development is required;
• Experience in oversight and monitoring of implementation of environmental and risk management plans at the project level;
• Skills in Project Management is required;
• Experience in gender equality and women's empowerment;
• A project/program management certification would be an added advantage;
• Previous experience with the UN or World Bank-funded projects is desirable;
• Experience in supervisory work on-site of contractors or working on the implementation of infrastructural projects is an asset;
• Knowledge of environmental safeguards and best practices is an asset.

Language Requirement:

• Fluency in English required;
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

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