Introduction

Since 2023, the Scottish Government has funded the Climate Just Communities (CJC) project in Zambia, a flagship programme under its Climate Justice Fund in Zambia. The CJC project is ending in March 2026, but Scottish Government is running a Request for Proposals for a final year of support to CJC communities from April 2026 – March 2027. The project will develop and deliver, through a participatory approach, a series of interventions that build inclusive and climate change resilient communities in some of the most climate-vulnerable districts of Zambia.

The objectives of the project are to:

• a) Empower communities to identify their own priorities to be addressed through climate justice support and build resilience to the local material and social impacts of climate change;
• b) Empower the most marginalised within communities (including but not limited to marginalisation for reasons related to gender, age, disability or indigenous status) to participate and take action in building resilience to the local material and social impacts of climate change;
• c) Empower communities to advocate for climate justice and local equity;
• d) Create long-term, sustainable change within communities in line with the pillars of climate justice.

NIRAS Group (UK) Ltd is tendering to deliver this follow-on phase of the CJC project in Zambia. To deliver the assignment, NIRAS has developed a consortium of national and international organisations. Local Zambian NGOs function as the Community Delivery Partners (CDPs), responsible for delivering interventions and facilitating community participation at district level.

The project, if awarded, would be implemented across four of the most climate-vulnerable districts in Zambia: Luangwa, Sinazongwe, Shangombo, and Sioma. CJC Zambia to date has delivered interventions to over 30,000 direct beneficiaries in areas including water access; climate-resilient agriculture and livestock management; natural resource management (NRM); disaster risk reduction (DRR); economic development (access to finance, business development); gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI); and climate advocacy.

Role Description

The Environmental Management Lead will be part of the CJC Zambia core team and will be responsible for managing the environmental workstream interventions. The primary objectives of his/her role are to ensure efficient and cost-effective delivery of environment and landscape management, surface water harvesting, soil degradation and erosion control, and Human Wildlife Conflict. S/he will be responsible to ensure climate responsive measures are taken in the process of building climate resilience in the targeted communities.

The Environmental Management Lead’s role is a 100% FTE role based in the NIRAS Zambia Office in Lusaka from 1 April 2026 – 28 February 2027.

Upcountry travel to project sites is anticipated at up to 50% FTE.

The Environmental Management Lead will report to the Deputy Team Leader.

Key Responsibilities:

Overall workstream design, leadership and coordination

• Provide high-level feasible NRM options based on the topology of the target areas, community priorities and available budget.
• Support the CDPs in prioritisation and selection of desired NRM activities, including securing community collaboration for action.
• Provide detailed NRM plans based on community priorities and capacity for collaboration with local government and CDPs.
• Monitor the implementation of the NRM activities and provide technical feedback to CDPs and other short-term technical experts contracted under the workstream.
• Support the delivery of activities through the strategic inclusion of other personnel acting as short-term technical experts to ensure high quality and timely delivery

Options for NRM activities that could be supported by the project:

Environment and landscape management

• Support communities to implement conservation techniques including agro-forestry, tree nursery development (as a sustainable business) and FMNR to restore natural features like wetlands and forest/woodlots for climate adaptation. The Lead will design the overall approach and support the development of training materials for activities to be delivered by a combination of CDP staff, Government staff, and Short-term Technical Assistance.

Surface water harvesting

This is aimed at collecting and storing rainwater that flows over land surfaces (runoff) for later use, preventing erosion and supplementing water supply for irrigation, livestock and domestic needs.

• Promote water collection of rainwater runoff from slopes, fields and artificial areas like roads and rooftop surfaces, e.g. through barriers (field bunds, contour trenches, diches) and channels to direct water to collection points.
• Construct filtration points using silt traps, sand bag filters and poly-lined storage reserves for cleaner water and gravity for water distribution.
• Oversee construction of water storage infrastructure such as sunken ponds, percolation tanks, weirs, mini-dams, pits and traditional systems like Khadins to store water for later use.

Soil degradation and erosion control

This is aimed at controlling soil loss through loss of soil water and wind action, using vegetation, soil management, and physical barriers to prevent soil loss by keeping soil covered, slowing water flow and stabilizing the ground. Interventions may include vegetative solutions (plant-based), soil management and tillage practices and physical and structural control, for instance:

Vegetative solutions

• Promote planting cover grasses, intercropping legumes with cash crops to keep soil covered and roots in the ground.
• Promote establishment of vegetation buffers by planting trees, shrubs and grasses along waterways (riparian buffers) to filter sediments.
• Promote agroforestry and windbreaks by planting rows of trees or shrubs to reduce wind speed and stabilize soil.

Physical and structural control for improved soil health and biomass improvement

• If selected as an option, collaborate with the crop production team on terracing (step-like platforms) on steep slopes to slow water flow and other soil management activities.
• Construct silt fences and check dams to crate temporary barriers (fences) or small stone/earth structures (dams) to trap sediments and slow runoff.
• Support erosion control through geotextile mats on slopes to stabilise soil while establishing vegetation.

Human Wildlife Conflict

This is about the negative interactions where wildlife threatens humans live and needs (livelihoods, safety, property) or vice versa, driven by habitat loss and resource completion, causing losses for both people (financial, health) and animals (injury, death).

• Promote physical barriers such as fences and trenches to protect crops and homes.
• Promote application of deterrents (lights, sirens, natural deterrents like beehives, chillies bombs).
• Establish collaborative approaches with local stakeholders to institute sustainable HWC solutions.
• Develop land-use planning that better integrate human and wildlife needs in development.

Risk Mitigation

• Identifying and mitigating risks associated with environmental management and implementation of environmental control measures.

Training, Collaboration and Capacity Building

• Act as a master trainer for improved land use management in each of the target wards.
• Collaborating with other technical experts including Markets Lead, Irrigation & Crop Production Lead to ensure synergies and alignment between interventions.
• Collaborate with the Procure

• Provide high-level feasible NRM options based on the topology of the target areas, community priorities and available budget.
• Support the CDPs in prioritisation and selection of desired NRM activities, including securing community collaboration for action.
• Provide detailed NRM plans based on community priorities and capacity for collaboration with local government and CDPs.
• Monitor the implementation of the NRM activities and provide technical feedback to CDPs and other short-term technical experts contracted under the workstream.
• Support the delivery of activities through the strategic inclusion of other personnel acting as short-term technical experts to ensure high quality and timely delivery
• Support communities to implement conservation techniques including agro-forestry, tree nursery development (as a sustainable business) and FMNR to restore natural features like wetlands and forest/woodlots for climate adaptation. The Lead will design the overall approach and support the development of training materials for activities to be delivered by a combination of CDP staff, Government staff, and Short-term Technical Assistance.
• Promote water collection of rainwater runoff from slopes, fields and artificial areas like roads and rooftop surfaces, e.g. through barriers (field bunds, contour trenches, diches) and channels to direct water to collection points.
• Construct filtration points using silt traps, sand bag filters and poly-lined storage reserves for cleaner water and gravity for water distribution.
• Oversee construction of water storage infrastructure such as sunken ponds, percolation tanks, weirs, mini-dams, pits and traditional systems like Khadins to store water for later use.
• Promote planting cover grasses, intercropping legumes with cash crops to keep soil covered and roots in the ground.
• Promote establishment of vegetation buffers by planting trees, shrubs and grasses along waterways (riparian buffers) to filter sediments.
• Promote agroforestry and windbreaks by planting rows of trees or shrubs to reduce wind speed and stabilize soil.
• If selected as an option, collaborate with the crop production team on terracing (step-like platforms) on steep slopes to slow water flow and other soil management activities.
• Construct silt fences and check dams to crate temporary barriers (fences) or small stone/earth structures (dams) to trap sediments and slow runoff.
• Support erosion control through geotextile mats on slopes to stabilise soil while establishing vegetation.
• Promote physical barriers such as fences and trenches to protect crops and homes.
• Promote application of deterrents (lights, sirens, natural deterrents like beehives, chillies bombs).
• Establish collaborative approaches with local stakeholders to institute sustainable HWC solutions.
• Develop land-use planning that better integrate human and wildlife needs in development.
• Identifying and mitigating risks associated with environmental management and implementation of environmental control measures.
• Act as a master trainer for improved land use management in each of the target wards.
• Collaborating with other technical experts including Markets Lead, Irrigation & Crop Production Lead to ensure synergies and alignment between interventions.
• Collaborate with the Procure