UNIDO is seeking an Environmental and Social Safeguard Specialist for a project in Zambia. The project aims to improve skills for decent employment in Zambian Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) in critical mineral value chains.

Responsibilities or duties

The ESSS will be responsible for preparing an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) in accordance with UNIDO's Environmental and Social Safeguards Policy and Procedures (ESSPP), relevant national legislation, and international good practice. This includes developing a detailed ESMP with cost-effective measures to minimize, mitigate, or eliminate adverse project impacts, ensuring risks are identified, assessed, managed, monitored, and reported. Key duties include assessing and analyzing potential environmental and social risks, preparing an implementation-oriented ESMP with practical measures, and developing a stakeholder engagement approach and Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM). The role also involves reporting and stakeholder consultation, including validation and finalization of the ESMP.

Qualifications or requirements

An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in environmental science, natural resource management, social safeguards, or an equivalent discipline is required. Alternatively, a first-level university degree or advanced technical college diploma with an additional 7 years of relevant professional experience is acceptable.

Experience needed

At least seven (7) years of relevant professional experience is required. This includes demonstrated experience in preparing Environmental and Social Management Plans, Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, or related safeguard instruments. Sound knowledge of Zambian or similar Southern African environmental, mining, and labour legislation, and EU/UNIDO donor policies is necessary. Experience in stakeholder engagement, grievance redress mechanisms, and gender and social inclusion assessments is also required. Proven experience in the extractives/mining sector and/or artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), ideally in Southern or East Africa, is desired. Excellent knowledge of environmental and social risk management, mitigation, and monitoring approaches in the context of skills development/TVET and/or small business development technical cooperation projects is desired. Experience working with UN agencies or international development organizations is desired.

Languages

Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of Bemba and/or any other local language in Zambia is an asset.

• Assess and analyse the potential environmental and social risks and impacts associated with project activities, including support to training institutions, community outreach activities, technical assistance to ASM operators, and the provision of grants, equipment and technologies to beneficiaries.
• Desk review of existing literature and studies, including the project DoA, the signed E&S Screening Template, ESMP and ESMF Templates, national ASM/mining and labour regulations, and UNIDO's ESSPP.
• One field visit to potential project sites including ASM operations, training centres in the selected provinces.
• Environmental and social risk assessment and analysis, including identification of potential environmental, occupational health and safety, labour, gender, community health and safety, and social inclusion risks associated with project activities and beneficiary support mechanisms.
• Assessment of existing stakeholder engagement and grievance management arrangements.
• Prepare an implementation-oriented ESMP.
• Develop practical and proportionate measures to avoid, prevent, minimize, mitigate and monitor environmental and social risks and impacts identified during project implementation, ensuring compliance with UNIDO safeguard requirements and relevant national regulatory frameworks.
• Consolidate the implementation-oriented ESMP, including management measures, monitoring requirements, institutional responsibilities, capacity-building needs, reporting arrangements and other instruments necessary to guide environmental and social risk management throughout the project lifecycle. Particular attention shall be given to environmental and social due diligence, screening and risk management requirements for ASM beneficiaries receiving project support.
• Develop a stakeholder engagement approach, including identification and analysis of interested and affected stakeholders, consultation requirements, information disclosure measures and a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) to ensure concerns and complaints related to project activities can be raised and addressed.
• Support UNIDO PMU in conducting meaningful stakeholder consultations during the ESMP preparation process and ensure that stakeholder feedback is appropriately reflected in the final ESMP.
• Validation / presentation of the final report to the PMU, LTA, PDM and relevant national counterparts.
• Finalization and submission of the ESMP incorporating comments received during the review and validation process.

• Environmental and Social Management Plan preparation
• Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
• Stakeholder engagement
• Grievance redress mechanisms
• Gender and social inclusion assessments
• Risk management and mitigation
• Monitoring and reporting
• Capacity building and training
• Communication

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in environmental science, natural resource management, social safeguards or an equivalent discipline.
• Alternatively, a first level university degree or an advanced technical college diploma combined with additional 7 years of professional hand-on experience directly relevant to the expertise required.