Safeguards Specialist

Organizational Setting

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve food security and nutrition. FAO’s goal is to achieve food security for all and ensure that people have regular access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to lead active and healthy lives. With 195 Members (194 countries and the European Union), FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide. FAO Country Offices, operating under overall corporate guidance and in line with the FAO Strategic Framework, provide policy advice and technical support to countries in FAO’s mandated areas. They work through partnerships, resource mobilization and active country programmes to deliver technical assistance, strengthen national capacities and provide core services, while fully observing international standards of accountability and results-based management. The offices deliver on national programmatic priorities as articulated in their respective Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs), aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), and ensure effective and efficient operations with adequate human and financial resources.

FAO supports member countries in addressing biodiversity loss, forest degradation and climate change through integrated land-use planning, strengthened governance and institutional frameworks, and the promotion of sustainable, climate-resilient livelihoods for customary landowners, ensuring inclusive and participatory approaches that generate long-term socio-economic and environmental benefits. The Safeguards Expert will support FAO Papua New Guinea’s GEF-funded projects, including GCP/PNG/011/GFF and GCP/PNG/11105/GFF, which aim to address biodiversity loss, forest degradation and climate change through integrated land-use planning, strengthened governance, and the promotion of sustainable, climate-resilient livelihoods for customary landowners, while ensuring inclusive and participatory approaches and long-term socio-economic and environmental benefits. In this context, the incumbent will ensure the effective application of environmental and social safeguards across project interventions, support inclusive stakeholder engagement, integrate gender and social inclusion considerations, and strengthen community-based approaches to sustainable landscape management.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will be under the overall supervision of the Head of Office, FAO Papua New Guinea, and under the programme guidance of the relevant Project Coordinators/Project Managers, responsible for the project’s socio-economic and gender issues, including customary landowner and community mobilization. S/he will contribute technical expertise with partner organizations and service providers on the assessment and analysis of socio-economic and gender situations in the project target provinces.

Technical Focus

The Safeguards Specialist will provide technical leadership on environmental and social safeguards, socio-economic and gender integration, and community engagement within FAO-supported projects in Papua New Guinea. The role focuses on the development, validation and implementation of safeguards instruments (ESMP, EMP), facilitation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), strengthening inclusive land-use governance, and ensuring gender-responsive and socially inclusive project delivery. The incumbent will support socio-economic assessments, stakeholder engagement, and capacity building of protected area management structures, while ensuring compliance with safeguards policies and standards of FAO and resource partners, including GEF.

Tasks and responsibilities

Socioeconomics\:

• Within the context of the project, develops capacity of Protected Area (PA)/Community Conservation Area (CCA) management boards in key skill areas, for example in protected areas planning and management and monitoring, establishment of benefit sharing mechanisms and working with local communities;
• Conduct a Rapid Assessment of project PAs in regard to social and participation issues and management capabilities of management boards;
• Vet protected area management priorities established in Management Effectiveness Tracking Tools (METTs) and PA operational management plans to address those threats; present for community input and potential project mitigation and/or collaborative management support;
• Identify and counter any potential areas of conflict between PA/CCA stakeholders and Management Boards;
• Responsible for the project’s socio-economic activities including socioeconomic assessments, social impact assessment, and socioeconomic changes analyses and potentials for PA collaborative management;
• Support the M&E Officer on socioeconomic data collection and stakeholder analysis for monitoring socioeconomic changes and providing regular updates on socio-economic trends;
• Support the Stakeholder Communication, Knowledge Management and Learning Officer in developing knowledge-based products and briefing papers including participation in knowledge sharing and reflection events (internal and external) to share experience and learning.

Safeguards\:

• A workplan with priority actions and required resources estimated covering the months allowed for under this consultancy, spread across the life of the project;
• Facilitation of FPIC in all target landscapes and communities, ensuring it meets FAO and GEF requirements;
• Consultative validation of the Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF) Environment and Social Management Plan (ESMP) and Ethnic Minorities Plan (EMP) copies of which will be submitted by FAO to its HQ safeguards unit for information and updating, as necessary, of the GAAP and EMP;
• Develop the Environment and Social Management Plan (ESMP) and Ethnic Minorities Plan (EMP) through the comprehensive consultation and validation process, which will be submitted by FAO to its HQ safeguards unit for review. Finalize and update the ESMP and EMP as necessary.
• Preparation and delivery of a safeguards-theme day suitable workshops, with a special focus on women and ethnic minorities;
• An agreed capacity building focused plan for relevant staff and partner institutions;
• A working list of tools, guidance, data, resources, contacts, and potential institutional counterparts at national level, and other information useful for safeguards, gender and ethnic minority protection and empowerment for the Project;
• Establishment and maintenance of a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) and Grievance Log;
• Participation in and contribution to the Safeguards Community of Practice to be established by the Regional Coordination and Technical Support Project (RCP);
• All tasks required to ensure delivery of the major safeguards and gender related activities of the Project, with special reference to the ESMP and EMP;
• Ensuring the application of protocols of FAO within the Project (together with project management) regarding FAO policy on Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and advise on a monitoring protocol, in consultation with FAO experts;
• Identify the most relevant tools and capacity building opportunities on the topic of land governance in forest ecosystem, including the application of FAO’s related Voluntary Guidelines, in particular in terms of the implications for working effectively with women;
• Conduct desk reviews of relevant documents to support the development of an inception report and progress reports;
• Explore and recommend meaningful methods to include men, women, boys and girls and people with disabilities from diverse ethnic groups in the project activities through regular interaction with partner organizations, local government, and participating communities;
• Support the M&E Officer in the integration of gender-responsiveness aspects into the M&E system and processes to ensure that gender and inclusivity are reflected in output, outcome, and impact level indicators.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in social sciences, environmental management, natural resource management, development studies, gender studies or a related field
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in environmental and social safeguards, socio-economic assessments, gender and social inclusion, or community-based natural resource management
• Working knowledge of English
• National of Papua New Guinea

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work with diverse stakeholders, including government, communities, and development partners
• Extent and relevance of experience in environmental and social safeguards frameworks, including ESMP, EMP and ESMF development and implementation
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating FPIC processes and community consultations, particularly with indigenous communities and customary landowners
• Proven experience in socio-economic assessments, social impact analysis, and stakeholder engagement in development or conservation projects
• Knowledge of gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI), including integration into project design, implementation and M&E systems
• Familiarity with grievance redress mechanisms (GRM), safeguards compliance, and FAO/GEF or similar international standards
• Experience in capacity building of local institutions, community groups, or protected area management boards

Selection Criteria

• Working knowledge of the official language of Papua New Guinea would be an asset

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION