IDB2867 - Senior Environmental Safeguards Specialist

Job Purpose

(i) provide specialized support and expertise to Country Operations Managers, Operational Team Leaders (OTLs) , Project Management Specialists and Executing Agencies (EAs) in in the Regional Hubs in identifying, mainstreaming and monitoring environmental and safeguard aspects/concerns in Bank operations during the identification, preparation, appraisal, implementation, and completion stages (throughout project lifecycle) through providing environmental safeguards support to the Bank-funded projects and programs and/or integrating environment and nature-positive activities in both private and public sectors.

(ii) ensure incorporation of necessary environmental safeguards or components as appropriate and improve projects sustainability and quality-at-entry in the relevant sector.

(iii) Provide support and report to the ESS Lead to coordinate the operationalization and implementation of IsDB's environmental and social safeguards (ESS) policy.

(iv) contribute to the evaluation, improvement and dissemination of IsDB’s ESS policy; and (v) contribute to the formulation, development and effective implementation of IsDB’s strategic initiatives relevant to ESS including knowledge products, capacity building activities, and provide high level advisory, guidance and tools to the Regional Hubs and Member Countries.

Key Accountabilities

Strategic and Operational Planning and Implementation:

• Contribute and participate in project appraisal, design as well as processing and approval process as team member along with relevant regional hub. Lead provision of input on environmental aspects (including safeguards and co-benefits identification).

• Contribute and participate in Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) formulation, country dialogue and engagements with relevant departments at HQ and regional hub.

• Lead in the development of strategic policies, plans, guidelines, analytics and other products related to environmental safeguards and aspects within the climate change and environment division and with other Global Practices in Director General – Global Practices and Partnerships Complex.

• Co-lead Communities of Practice (CoP) relevant to ESS (and more particularly environmental safeguards) and environment/biodiversity, which entails providing intellectual leadership on positioning the Global Practice (GP) internally and externally in relevant domains.

• Provide advisory on GPs work on environmental safeguards and cobenefits, identifying staff and learning needs and setting competencies and standards for their global, regional and country-specific solution areas.

• Provide expert advisory on the delivery of selected global engagement products on environmental safeguards and co-benefits, and when needed, directly lead and participate in country dialogues and deliverables (such as those related to UN Convention for Biodiversity or Desertification), in addition to capacity building workshops in Member Countries. 

Safeguard Policy and Compliance Monitoring:

• Lead the monitoring of environmental safeguards policy compliance of IsDB projects during implementation.

• Identify, and report on projects with high environmental safeguards sensitivity.

• Participate in safeguard policy/Bank Procedure (BP) review and update as needed and contribute to the Bank consultation and submission approval process, taking the lead on environmental safeguards aspects.

• as needed liaise with clients, non-government organizations (NGOs), development partners, and within IsDB, including coordinating responses to NGOs’ complaints.

• Support in taking charge of public information and disclosure initiatives.

• Build and maintain strategic partnerships with other leading works on safeguards within the IsDB and Academia, MDBs and other key partners, outside IsDB, on relevant research/analysis, events and outreach. 

Capacity Building:

• Identify, assess, and monitor overall capacity building needs on environmental safeguards and co-benefits within the Bank, including Regional Hubs, and among clients.

• Develop and administer as needed technical assistance (TA) and other training programs for capacity building. 

Strategic Partnership:

• Work, in coordination with the Climate Change and Environment Division and others, on the leading work on environmental safeguards and cobenefits within the IsDB, and academia, MDBs and other key partners, outside IsDB, on the relevant research/ analysis, events and outreach.

• Liaise with the international climate/environment finance institutions, such as International Climate Initiative (IKI), Green Climate Fund (GCF), Global environmental Facility (GEF) and other relevant institutions and coordinate fundraising for the relevant IsDB projects with strong environmental cobenefits. In addition, prepare approach papers, reports and statements on the rationale and activities to be supported by donor funds.

Knowledge Sharing & Innovation:

• Track external issues and processes relevant to the best practices in environmental safeguards. Keep abreast of external developments and provide technical support to management on engagement in key external processes on these issues. This includes, but not limited to, IsDB partnership with specialized UN agencies, multilateral development banks, bilateral finance institutions.

• Coordinate forums for knowledge generation, exchange and dissemination on issues of environmental safeguards across the bank functions (with relevant GPs and Regional Hubs).

• Coordinate knowledge generation and advisory on environmental safeguards with external stakeholders of relevance to IsDB’s activities, but not limited to, Member Country agencies, IFIs, think tanks and consultants.

• Work with safeguards team to identify areas of work beyond safeguards where environmental safeguards and environmental sustainability may be catalyzers for new lending products.

• Contribute significantly to activities for advocacy, dissemination and knowledge building relating to IsDB’s ESS policy, with a special focus on environmental safeguards.

Reporting & Communication:

• Contribute to the preparation of progress reports on thematic related activities in compliance with the Bank rules and procedures. 

Education, Experience & Certification

Academic and Professional Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences/Management (Natural Resource Management, Geography, Biology, Ecotoxicology, Agricultural Sciences, Environmental Management, etc.) or any related field.

• Higher Degree (Master’s/PhD) preferred.

• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience (of which 4 years are in a developing country context)

• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of the environmental safeguard’s policies/standards, procedures and practices.

• Demonstrable professional experience in Environmental and Social Assessment (ESA), namely in preparing and implementing relevant environmental safeguards instruments, including Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA), Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), Environmental and Social (ES) Audit, Hazard and Risk Assessment, lifecycle analysis, emergency response plans...

• Experience working with IFIs/Development Agencies/Multilateral Development Banks preferred.

Skills & Necessary Knowledge

 • Demonstrable analytical skills to assess institutional and country capacity and to design / review practical arrangements for implementing complex projects’ environmental safeguards aspects.

• Demonstrated ability to contribute to high-level analytical work and policy dialogue in IsDB Member Countries.

• Planning & organizing / project management skills

• Analytical thinking

• Problem solving

• Sound knowledge of Environment Finance.

• Report Writing skills.

• Presentation Skills.

• MS Office skills. 

Languages

• English (Mandatory)
• Arabic (Preferred)
• French (Preferred)