Environmental and Social Safeguards and Sustainability Specialist

The Climate and Environment Division of FAO assists member countries in their responses towards the climate change, including the mitigation of climate change as well as the development of adaptive capacities of agriculture, fisheries and forestry to the effects of Climate Change. It provides a coordination role on Climate Change and related climate smart agriculture issues. The Division also serves as a focal point for a multidisciplinary and global approach to bioenergy as well as undertaking work and providing support and guidance on Disaster and Risk Reduction issues.

Reporting Lines

The Consultants will work under the overall technical supervision of the Senior Natural Resources Officer (Team Leader, Safeguards and Climate Risks) and reports directly to a relevant Environmental and Social Safeguards Unit Officer or Programme Officer and/or FAO decentralized Office, as appropriate. When activities are carried out in countries, the consultant will be required to work in close collaboration with the FAO Representation in the relevant country of assignment, as well as the relevant FAO regional office.

Support the implementation of FAO’s Environmental and Social Safeguards policies and procedures and stakeholder engagement requirements in FAO field projects.

Under the direct supervision of a relevant Environmental and Social Safeguards Unit Officer or Programme Officer and/or FAO decentralized Office, as appropriate, the incumbent will support the implementation of the FAO environmental and social safeguards policy and procedures, as well as stakeholder engagement, disclosure and grievance handling in projects and programmes, including\:

• Provide technical support to project implementation teams to ensure compliance with FAO's environmental and social safeguards policies and procedures;
• Review ESIA, Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP), Environmental and Social Management Frameworks (ESMF) and Stakeholder Engagement Plans (SEPs), among others;
• Participate in project preparation and supervision missions, as needed, and provides relevant inputs on environment and social safeguards, including preparation of terms of reference for environment and social impact assessments and necessary environment and social safeguard planning documents;
• Undertake reviews on progress/monitoring reports on environment and social safeguards for ongoing projects;
• Support the capacity building activities of the ESM Unit, in particular the development and delivery of webinar sessions (using Adobe Connect);
• Research, compile and organize information and reference materials from various sources for reports; create spreadsheets and presentations; manage and update databases for mailing lists and other information; and maintain electronic and paper files;
• Plan and facilitate meetings, international workshops, internal and external seminars; act as focal point as needed;
• Support the update of the CBC intranet portal and guarantee linkages with the environmental and social risk management intranet;
• Provide operational support at divisional level in data management tasks, organization of meetings, workshops, webinars, and other requests that may arise;
• Perform other duties as required.

• Advanced university degree in environmental management, natural resource management, social sciences, agriculture or a related field;
• At least 1 year (level C) and 5 years (level B) of relevant experience in natural resources management, environmental and social safeguards implementation or related fields;
• Working knowledge of English and French or Spanish and limited knowledge of one of the other two or Arabic,, Chinese or Russian

• 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, particularly in field positions is desirable;
• Extent and relevance of experience and knowledge in one or several FAO environmental and social safeguards identification and management in development projects;
• Extent and relevance of experience in ESIA, stakeholder engagement, grievance handling and disclosure in FAO and/or in other development organizations, is considered an asset;
• Familiarity with the environmental and social safeguard requirements of the GEF, GCF, World Bank and other major funding organizations, is considered an asset;
• Extent and relevance of experience in the formulation and review of environmental and social management frameworks, impact assessments, management plans and reporting frameworks;
• Extent and relevance of experience in the preparation of training materials and delivery of training.

Candidates will be assessed against the requirements listed above.