Social and Environmental Safeguards Specialist
Suva
- Organization: UNV - United Nations Volunteers
- Location: Suva
- Grade: Mid level - UN International Specialist Volunteers
-
Occupational Groups:
- Social Affairs
- Environment
- Nuclear Technology
- Closing Date: Closed
Details
Mission and objectives
The UN Development Programme is the lead UN agency fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in more than 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.
In the Pacific, UNDP provides regional and country support to ten countries (Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) and regional support to five countries (Cook Islands, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tokelau), together with a total population of 2.4 million.
UNDP is guided by a Sub-regional Programme Document for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories 2018-2022, which in turn contributes to the achievement of an overarching UN system-wide Pacific Strategy. The Programme is shaped to assist countries to advance the global 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda tailored to each country's priorities, through focus on data, policy prioritization, participatory planning, and budgeting and monitoring - and with accelerated action to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UNDP seeks to target the most vulnerable i.e. people experiencing hardship, the marginalized living in remote rural areas, those who are vulnerable to climate and disaster risks, as well as women and youth excluded from socio-political and economic participation. UNDP adheres to an inclusive, pro-poor and human rights-based approaches that leverage cross-practice, multi-disciplinary expertise of UNDP.
In the Pacific, UNDP provides regional and country support to ten countries (Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) and regional support to five countries (Cook Islands, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tokelau), together with a total population of 2.4 million.
UNDP is guided by a Sub-regional Programme Document for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories 2018-2022, which in turn contributes to the achievement of an overarching UN system-wide Pacific Strategy. The Programme is shaped to assist countries to advance the global 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda tailored to each country's priorities, through focus on data, policy prioritization, participatory planning, and budgeting and monitoring - and with accelerated action to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UNDP seeks to target the most vulnerable i.e. people experiencing hardship, the marginalized living in remote rural areas, those who are vulnerable to climate and disaster risks, as well as women and youth excluded from socio-political and economic participation. UNDP adheres to an inclusive, pro-poor and human rights-based approaches that leverage cross-practice, multi-disciplinary expertise of UNDP.
Context
The UNDP Multi Country Office (MCO) in Fiji, through the Management and Performance Oversight unit under the overall guidance of the Resident Representative provides effective oversight of programme and project management and ensuring the Office’s compliance with UNDP policies. The unit coordinates the implementation of the MCO Gender Strategy and Action Plan, gender mainstreaming efforts and coordination of the gender seal work across MCO. It also provides overall guidance on Programme resource management, portfolio management, pipeline development, project Quality Assurance (QA), focusing on results and target setting, monitoring, multi-year work planning, development effectiveness, and efficiency and donor reporting (annual and project). The unit further provides cost-efficiency analysis of the country programme delivery and capabilities required, consolidates MCO financial planning and financial and resource management performance and undertakes monitoring and addressing issues related to management performance trends identified by Integrated Financial Dashboard (IFD), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Audits, Quality Assurance reviews, Vital signs, Harmonized Cash Transfer (HACT), Transparency portal, and other corporate and regional tools and structures.
UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards (SES) underpin our support for sustainable development. The starting point to ensure these standards are applied through UNDP’s project-level Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP), which is a requirement for projects. The Social and Environmental Safeguards Specialist will provide key risk management and SES compliance capacity for the Fiji Multi Country Office helping ensure UNDP delivers on its commitment to protect people and the environment across all programming and avoid inadvertent harm.
UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards (SES) underpin our support for sustainable development. The starting point to ensure these standards are applied through UNDP’s project-level Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP), which is a requirement for projects. The Social and Environmental Safeguards Specialist will provide key risk management and SES compliance capacity for the Fiji Multi Country Office helping ensure UNDP delivers on its commitment to protect people and the environment across all programming and avoid inadvertent harm.
Task description
Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Management Specialist, the Social and Environment Safeguards Specialist will undertake the following tasks:
1. SES Policy Compliance
• Support MCO in ensuring Programmes and Projects are meeting the quality standards while they conduct Social and Environmental Screening in accordance with SES Policy Guidelines
• Provide recommendations to Senior Management in identifying avenues for improvement towards SES Standards
• Liaise with MCO Gender Specialist, Project Civil Engineers/ Gender Specialists and Regional Bureau Team to enhance the measures leading to improvement to SES Policy compliance in Project implementation
2. SES Oversight and Quality Assurance
• Support the Programme/ Project team to conduct a thorough quality review of early drafts of Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) to ensure proper identification a categorisation of risk in design and implementation stages of Programme/ Projects.
• Provide technical support to Programme/Project teams to carry out needed social and environmental targeted assessments and management plans in a timely manner.
• Proactively track progress of moderate/substantial/high risk and other priority projects’ implementation of required Social and Environmental Standards and provide technical support to Programmes/ Projects in course correction if the assessments and management plans are not mitigating the high substantial risks.
• Provide technical support to MPO in overseeing and quality assurance to MCO annual SESP action plan.
• Work closely with Project Engineers especially with the Projects working on Construction components.
• Keep an oversight and provide inputs to the Management on the status of project level grievance redress mechanisms and give recommendations for improvement.
3. SES Capacity Building
• Work with the Team Lead to conduct a MCO capacity assessment to identify baseline quality of Social and Environmental Standards documentation, capacity needs, priority risks, and opportunities.
• Support the Team Lead in developing and coordinating the implementation of an action plan to strengthen implementation across the MCO priority outcomes, clarifying the oversight and quality assurance process, roles and responsibilities, and a learning plan.
• Support regular capacity development, awareness raising, trainings and other learning opportunities for the CO team and implementing partners.
• Support in conducting an assessment of national capacities/safeguards to identify key gaps, with guidance on how these gaps should be approached across the MCO priority outcomes.
• Formulate training models and conduct training sessions for partners and programmes/projects of moderate/substantial/high risk.
• Guide projects to develop a robust Grievance Redress Mechanism as well as Project Engineers for developing/ designing civil engineering related Monitoring and Reporting template.
4. SES Knowledge Management
• Document lessons learned and best practices to facilitate learning
• Track and share precedents that have implications for the entire portfolio to ensure an aligned and consistent approach (e.g. identification of indigenous peoples).
• Maintain a database of project safeguards documents and examples that can be used as reference points.
• Work with the team to prepare an annual report on Social and Environmental Standards implementation in the office as well as progress made on the annual action plan, capturing key lessons learned recommendations for how to strengthen implementation moving forward.
1. SES Policy Compliance
• Support MCO in ensuring Programmes and Projects are meeting the quality standards while they conduct Social and Environmental Screening in accordance with SES Policy Guidelines
• Provide recommendations to Senior Management in identifying avenues for improvement towards SES Standards
• Liaise with MCO Gender Specialist, Project Civil Engineers/ Gender Specialists and Regional Bureau Team to enhance the measures leading to improvement to SES Policy compliance in Project implementation
2. SES Oversight and Quality Assurance
• Support the Programme/ Project team to conduct a thorough quality review of early drafts of Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) to ensure proper identification a categorisation of risk in design and implementation stages of Programme/ Projects.
• Provide technical support to Programme/Project teams to carry out needed social and environmental targeted assessments and management plans in a timely manner.
• Proactively track progress of moderate/substantial/high risk and other priority projects’ implementation of required Social and Environmental Standards and provide technical support to Programmes/ Projects in course correction if the assessments and management plans are not mitigating the high substantial risks.
• Provide technical support to MPO in overseeing and quality assurance to MCO annual SESP action plan.
• Work closely with Project Engineers especially with the Projects working on Construction components.
• Keep an oversight and provide inputs to the Management on the status of project level grievance redress mechanisms and give recommendations for improvement.
3. SES Capacity Building
• Work with the Team Lead to conduct a MCO capacity assessment to identify baseline quality of Social and Environmental Standards documentation, capacity needs, priority risks, and opportunities.
• Support the Team Lead in developing and coordinating the implementation of an action plan to strengthen implementation across the MCO priority outcomes, clarifying the oversight and quality assurance process, roles and responsibilities, and a learning plan.
• Support regular capacity development, awareness raising, trainings and other learning opportunities for the CO team and implementing partners.
• Support in conducting an assessment of national capacities/safeguards to identify key gaps, with guidance on how these gaps should be approached across the MCO priority outcomes.
• Formulate training models and conduct training sessions for partners and programmes/projects of moderate/substantial/high risk.
• Guide projects to develop a robust Grievance Redress Mechanism as well as Project Engineers for developing/ designing civil engineering related Monitoring and Reporting template.
4. SES Knowledge Management
• Document lessons learned and best practices to facilitate learning
• Track and share precedents that have implications for the entire portfolio to ensure an aligned and consistent approach (e.g. identification of indigenous peoples).
• Maintain a database of project safeguards documents and examples that can be used as reference points.
• Work with the team to prepare an annual report on Social and Environmental Standards implementation in the office as well as progress made on the annual action plan, capturing key lessons learned recommendations for how to strengthen implementation moving forward.
This vacancy is now closed.