Environmental Specialist

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East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) Region:

EAP is a large and diverse region, ranging from Small Island States of the Pacific to the Philippines and China! Despite substantial economic growth and poverty reduction, the EAP region faces huge development challenges. Growth has been uneven across and within countries, institutions still need strengthening, and most countries are heavily affected by climate change. The Bank plays a significant role on global public goods, including climate, biodiversity, water pollution, and health. The COVID pandemic, and more recently food and energy price increases are compounding the impact of the global economic slowdown. The World Bank Group is seen as a premier development institution in the Region, with a leadership role on analytical and advisory services as well as financing. 

East Asia and the Pacific Region: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/ea

Environment Department:

The Environment Department (ENV) is located within the World Bank’s Planet Group. We provide expertise, technical assistance and financing to help low- and middle-income countries manage land, sea and freshwater natural resources in a sustainable way to help create jobs, improve livelihoods, enhance ecosystem services, decrease pollution and increase resilience to climate change. Over 360 ENV staff working across the globe help set developing countries on a clean, green growth trajectory for resilient economies and healthy communities.

ENV has five key business lines consisting of lending and non-lending services in (1) Forests, Landscapes and Biodiversity; (2) Blue Economy; (3) Pollution Management, Environmental Health and Circular Economy; (4) Environmental Economics, Policies and Institutions; and (5) Environmental Risk Management. 

ENV has three broad and distinct functions:

• Provide clients with lending and non-lending services aimed to support ENV’s key business lines 
• Support effective environmental risk management and sustainability by managing risk at the project level and creating opportunities to advance sustainable development, in part through the implementation of the World Bank’s environmental risk management policies; and 
• Work closely with other sectors to mainstream environmental considerations into their policies, strategies, and operations 

The SEAE2 unit is one of the three ENV units in East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region, and covers three country units (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos PDR; Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei; and Thailand and Myanmar). The unit comprise around 30 staff, mostly based in Country Offices. The Environmental Specialist will provide environmental risk management support and report to the SEAE2 Practice Manager. This position is based in Manila, Philippines office. 

Duties and Accountabilities:

• As the assigned Environmental Specialist, contribute to the preparation of lending operations during project identification, preparation, and appraisal stages, and ensure that environmental issues are addressed early in the process by undertaking careful environmental analysis as per the Bank’s ESF, associated information disclosure, and public consultations/stakeholder engagement requirements.

• Advise Task Teams on the interpretation and application of the ESF/ESSs.

• In coordination with the assigned Social Specialist, provide advice to client and counterpart organizations and project teams regarding the preparation of environmental, social, health and safety assessments, frameworks, and mitigation/management plans, stakeholder engagement plans and strategies, grievance management systems, labor management procedures; and other specific plans and procedures as required by applicable Bank policies. 

• Provide guidance and capacity support to clients in the preparation of relevant project cycle documentation, including by assisting borrowers in drafting Terms of Reference (TORs) for the preparation of environmental assessment, planning and management instruments; guiding the client in completing the assessment and planning process; and supervising their implementation, including review of monitoring reports and follow-up. 

• Provide timely input, as applicable, to Bank project documents related to environmental aspects, including Environmental and Social Review Summaries (ESRS) as well as EHS sections of Project Concept Notes (PCNs), Project Information Documents (PID), Project Appraisal Documents (PADs), Aide Memoires (AMs), and Implementation Status Reports (ISRs).

• Advise and support clients in commissioning required assessments (including developing terms of reference) and ensuring that necessary environmental, health and safety management plans and measures are appropriately reflected in works’ bidding and contract documents where applicable, and in developing and implementing appropriate supervision and monitoring arrangements for the necessary E&S plans and measures.  

• Supervise World Bank approved projects under implementation in terms of project specific environmental, health and safety (EHS) requirements and performance (i.e., project implementation stage). This will include site visits, review of monitoring reports, discussions with clients and stakeholders, and building of effective working relationships with the borrower/project implementation agency to ensure proper understanding and implementation of the policies and to constructively resolve emerging issues and compliance challenges.  

• Participate in ongoing and future analytical work related to Philippines’s national systems for environmental and social assessment and management, including in dissemination and follow on client engagement related to priority recommendations for systems strengthening.   

• Proactively identify needs for strengthening of client capacity or systems on environmental, health and safety management aspects, and work with other colleagues to design and implement efforts aimed at strengthening that capacity. 

• Support the SEAE2 Practice Manager and the Philippine, Malaysia, and Brunei (PMB) Country Management Unit (CMU) ESF focal point in preparing communications to be conveyed to management of the PMB CMU and engaging in internal strategic discussions on environmental issues as needed.

• Provide operational support to ENV-led operations or activities in Philippines on an as-needed basis.

• Carry out other tasks as requested by the PM such as for example contribute to the organization of training or knowledge management and knowledge sharing events.