Regional Environmental and Social Safeguards Coordinator

Position:  Regional Environmental and Social Safeguards Coordinator 

Location:     Kigali, Rwanda with travel around the region 

Reports To: Technical Director of Rights and Communities 

Collaborators: Regional Community Conservation Coordinator, other regional technical and program teams 

Start date:    Immediate 

Duration:     Full-time 

Background 

The Wildlife Conservation Society is an international NGO headquartered at Bronx Zoo in New York City, USA, working to save wildlife and wildlands and to meet global challenges in over 60 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the world’s oceans. WCS believes that conservation of nature and natural resources is essential to life on earth, the future of humanity, and the wellbeing and cultural identities of Indigenous Peoples and traditional and local communities.  

Program Overview 

The Central Africa and Gulf of Guinea program is one of the largest of WCS’s 13 Global Regional Programs, spanning Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, and Gabon. This is a rapidly growing program with a diverse and expanding portfolio of donors, partners, and projects. The region presents a set of complex conservation challenges to biodiversity and their habitats and WCS country programs are addressing these through a number of initiatives including protected area management, community engagement, sustainable livelihoods, policy reform and sustainable financing. WCS recently formally established its regional hub in Kigali, Rwanda which hosts a growing team of technical specialists and regional management to support our country programs and field offices. 

Purpose 

The purpose of the Regional Environmental & Social Safeguards Coordinator is to support WCS Central Africa and Gulf of Guinea regional, country, and site teams in the practical application of WCS’s Environmental and Social Safeguarding Framework and related policies. The Coordinator will help teams identify, assess, and address environmental and social risks in ways that are technically sound, responsive to field realities, and consistent with WCS and donor standards. 

This is a hands-on advisory and problem-solving role, not solely a compliance function. The Coordinator will be expected to engage directly with country and site teams, critically assess how safeguards are functioning in practice, identify emerging risks or implementation weaknesses, and proactively develop practical solutions. Particular attention will be given to human rights, the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, land and natural resource use, law enforcement, stakeholder engagement, grievance mechanisms, and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). 

The position will also take a proactive lead in reviewing donor requirements and developing appropriate safeguard instruments and materials. The Coordinator will report to the Technical Director of Rights & Communities for Central Africa and work closely with the Regional Community Conservation Coordinator, country and site teams, program development staff, the Africa Protected Areas Management Unit (APAMU) and the WCS Global Rights + Communities team. 

Key Responsibilities 

Regional Safeguards Support  

• Provide support and guidance on the implementation of environmental and social safeguards procedures and initiatives at the country program and site levels throughout the region which align with WCS global and international standards 

• Review, outline and monitor various donor requirements (e.g. EU, KfW, GCF, GEF, etc.) and lead or support development of materials, risk assessments, etc. in response to donor requirements including those implemented with government, civil society, and UN agencies. 

• Provide direct support to country directors, site directors, and program managers in maintaining current environmental and safeguards protocols and rolling out the implementation of new protocols, procedures, and mechanisms as necessary 

• Promote and support the adherence and implementation of WCS’s global environmental and social safeguards policies at the national and site level, with a strong emphasis on a rights-based approach and gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) 

• Work directly with country and site teams to understand operational realities and translate safeguard policies and donor requirements into practical, context-appropriate measures that can be implemented and monitored at the site level.  

• In coordination with R+C regional staff, proactively identify emerging environmental and social risks, implementation weaknesses, or unintended consequences of conservation activities and work with relevant teams to develop feasible and timely solutions.  

• In coordination with R+C regional staff, apply critical judgment when reviewing safeguard instruments and project implementation, going beyond procedural compliance to assess whether proposed measures are appropriate, effective, and responsive to the rights and concerns of affected people.  

• In coordination with R+C regional staff, provide practical advice on complex issues at the intersection of conservation, human rights, community rights, natural resource use, security, and law enforcement.  

Safeguards Implementation 

• Conduct or support environmental and social risk and impact assessments, working closely with project teams and affected rights-holders to understand the local context, identify both direct and indirect risks, and develop practical mitigation and monitoring measures (in coordination with ongoing monitoring efforts).  

• In coordination with R+C regional staff, provide technical guidance on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and other potentially marginalized groups, including culturally appropriate engagement, FPIC, land and natural resource rights, participation in decision-making, and measures to prevent exclusion or adverse impacts.  

• Support teams to identify and address human rights risks associated with conservation activities, including protected-area management, access and use restrictions, law enforcement, community engagement, livelihood activities, and benefit-sharing in coordination with the R+C regional team.  

• Support the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of accessible and trusted grievance redress mechanisms, including analysis of grievance data to identify recurring or systemic problems and recommend corrective action.  

• Provide guidance to field teams on FPIC and other participatory decision-making processes, helping teams determine when FPIC is required and supporting processes that are meaningful, culturally appropriate, properly documented, and reflected in project decisions in coordination with the R+C regional team.  

• Support timely and appropriate responses to safeguard incidents and allegations, including initial risk analysis, documentation, coordination with relevant teams, corrective action planning, and follow-up. 

Safeguards Reporting and Compliance 

• Support the country program and site teams to ensure all projects and programs align with WCS and donor environmental and social safeguards standards 

• Oversee the completion and monitoring of environmental and social safeguards frameworks (e.g. ESSF/ESIA/EMMP) across all sites; 

• Develop and maintain a regional database that tracks all impact assessments, E&S risk and mitigation plans, reports, and reviews; 

• Monitor not only the completion of safeguard instruments and mitigation measures, but also whether they are being implemented effectively and are producing the intended results for affected people; 

• Critically review project proposals, risk assessments, management plans, and donor deliverables to identify gaps, inconsistencies, unrealistic assumptions, and potential unintended impacts, and recommend practical improvements;  

• Analyze safeguard, grievance, and incident data to identify trends and systemic issues requiring management attention or changes in program implementation. 

Capacity building 

• Lead on capacity building for staff and partners to build knowledge and skills on environmental and social safeguards 

• Disseminate lessons learned and best practices from the safeguard's implementation throughout the region and other regions or departments (e.g. APAMU), as relevant 

• Design training modules and train field teams based upon a gap analysis of existing tools and capacity gaps, including addressing donor specific requirements.   

• Track and document E&S training for country programs and sites to ensure staff have up-to-date safeguards training. 

Core Competencies 

• Practical judgment: Able to interpret safeguard standards in relation to complex field realities and develop measures that are both technically credible and operationally feasible.  

• Critical thinking: Able to question assumptions, identify gaps or unintended consequences, distinguish substantive risks from procedural issues, and reach well-reasoned conclusions based on available evidence.  

• Initiative and accountability: Proactively identifies problems, proposes solutions, follows issues through to resolution, and raises significant risks promptly without waiting for detailed direction.  

• Problem-solving: Works constructively with field and management teams to develop realistic solutions, particularly where safeguard requirements, conservation objectives, community priorities, and operational constraints may not easily align.  

• Field orientation: Comfortable engaging directly with field teams, community representatives, Indigenous Peoples, government partners, and other stakeholders, including in remote or challenging operational contexts.  

• Constructive challenge: Able to provide clear, candid, and evidence-based advice, including when this requires challenging existing practices or recommending changes to planned activities.  

• Collaboration: Builds trusted working relationships while maintaining the independence and professional judgment necessary for an effective safeguards function.