Senior Social Development Specialist - Social Sustainability and Safeguard

Akwajobs   (Yaoundé, Cameroon)

Posted : 23 June, 2021

Category : International Trade & Development   Location : Yaoundé, Cameroon

Job type : Full Time

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Description

 Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. Visit www.worldbank.org.

 

Western and Central Africa (AFW) Region

We need the best and brightest talent focused on Sub-Saharan African countries in order to harness the potential and innovation happening across the continent. Africa is a continent on the move, with a young population and a growing market of nearly 1.2bn people. We are committed to making the Africa regional teams into leading innovation hubs..

 Visit https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa

 

CAMEROON COUNTRY CONTEXT

Cameroon is a lower-middle-income country located along the Atlantic Ocean. It shares its borders with Chad, the Central African Republic (CAR), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria. Two of its border regions with Nigeria (northwest and southwest) are Anglophone, while the rest of the country is Francophone. Cameroon is endowed with rich natural resources, including oil and gas, minerals, high-value species of timber, and agricultural products, such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, maize, and cassava. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/cameroon/overview

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND INCLUSION GLOBAL PRACTICE

The Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice helps countries tackle deep rooted social problems stemming from fragility, climate change, exclusion, and the digital age with people centered solutions that build on local values and institutions. (https://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/environmental-and-social-framework/brief/environmental-and-social-standards).

The Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice has adopted a new strategy that aims to promote inclusive sustainable development anchored on three pillars:

* Social Inclusion:

* Social Resilience

*Social Empowerment

POSITION 

SAWS1, one of the two Social Sustainability and Inclusion units in West and Central Africa, is looking to recruit a Senior Social Development Specialist/Senior Social Sustainability and Inclusion Specialist who will be based in Yaoundé, Cameroon and will lead the Bank's expanding Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and social safeguards agenda in the Cameroon Country Management Unit and promote the social sustainability of its investments.

 

Duties and Accountabilities

The Senior Social Development Specialist/Senior Social Sustainability and Inclusion Specialist will provide direct support to clients and Bank teams on social sustainability, social risk management and stakeholder engagement to ensure compliance with the Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), which consists of ten Environmental and Social Standards. Responsibilities will include the following:

 

* Operational work:

a) Lead the interface with the Government of Cameroon in preparation of activities to enhance the social sustainability of WB-supported operations and in resolving project implementation issues, particularly where the project has inadvertently impacted the local community adversely.

b) Supervise and provide technical support to government agencies, including project implementing agencies, on preparation and implementation of project-related social risk management activities and activities to enhance the social sustainability of projects.

c) Provide timely and professionally competent technical review of social assessment products prepared for rural development, infrastructure, private sector, transport, urban, and other projects, as needed.

Supervise activities designed to manage social risks on major projects as a technical expert.

Interact with clients at the policy and operational level.

d) Advise and participate in project teams to help develop operational designs and mechanisms to assess social opportunities, impacts, constraints, and risks related to Bank supported operations.

e)Develop and evaluate proposed technical solutions, and assists in preparation of project design documentation, supporting reports, annexes, etc.

f) Provide cross-support as required to the various teams in the portfolio and monitors adherence to the World Bank Environmental and Social Standards.

g) Guide the preparation of Stakeholder Engagement Plans to ensure that the level of consultations is proportional to project risks and impacts and monitors implementation.

 

Policy work:  

* Lead a dialogue on the implementation of the Environmental and Social Framework with policy makers and government officials, international development partners, civil society, and other stakeholders, and coordinate the Bank's relations with clients on social development.

* Participate in and play a leading role in portfolio reviews on social sustainability and social risk management.

* Make recommendations on strategies and policy options for counterparts in local and central government agencies. Advise government counterpart agencies on policy options for social risk management, particularly resettlement, social risk mitigation planning, and institutional capacity development.

* Work closely with environmental colleagues to enhance the capacity of the client to implement the Bank’s new environmental and social framework for managing project risks and enhancing the sustainability of World Bank-financed projects.

 

Analytical work:

* Evaluate studies and practice related to the development of project documentation; and

* Conduct and contributes to formal and informal analytical advisory activities and research work on key social development issues, notably related to child labor and child protection, local governance and service delivery, gender mainstreaming, and land property and tenure rights.

 

Capacity building:

* Participate in developing sustainable local and national consultation mechanisms and strategies.

* Deliver ESF training on specific social standards and tailored to individual projects to strengthen client capacity.

* Supervise the work of consultants and technical specialists to ensure consistency and conformity to Bank standards.

 

Selection Criteria

 

* Master’s degree or PhD in social sciences (anthropology, sociology, political economy, social development, etc.), and a minimum of eight (8) years of directly relevant professional experience in social sustainability, social standards/safeguards and/or social development (voice and participation, gender, community-driven development, citizen engagement).

* Knowledge and experience in addressing issues covered by the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and social safeguards policies or similar policies in other international finance institutions in complex and challenging settings, and across practices. This includes experience with social assessments and analyzing social risks and impacts on different population groups; involuntary resettlement in different socio-economic contexts and tenure systems; Indigenous Peoples’ issues; coordination of transparent consultative and stakeholder engagement processes; grievance redress mechanisms, integration of relevant planning instruments such as Resettlement Action Plans and Indigenous Peoples Plans in overall project planning and implementation; labor and working conditions (in particular child labor); community health and safety; and cultural heritage.

* Experience in social sustainability and risk management policy development, including dialogue with governments, and collaboration in these areas with other international development agencies.

* Solid understanding of social analysis and the implications of social development on policy, institutions, and operations; experience conducting social development analyses, deriving results that resonate with the client; ability to coach others in the application of the tools.

* Experience with consultative and participatory approaches to project design and implementation while deriving results that resonate with the client.

* Experience developing and monitoring grievance redress mechanisms to ensure accountability and problem-solving in a timely fashion.

* Experience in areas of social inclusion such as gender; conflict, fragility, and violence; and disability.

* Strong operational (task management) and analytical skills and demonstrated ability to translate analytical technical and cross-country knowledge into practical applications and contributions to country and sector strategies.

* Demonstrated experience in interacting with governments to bring about changes to policy.

* Demonstrated ability to anticipate needs in the field and to conduct independent policy discussions with representatives of the government and non-government partners to develop strategies to meet these needs.

* Excellent interpersonal, communication, problem-solving, and team skills, and ability to think innovatively and strategically to find balanced solutions to complex development problems, with a strong client focus.

* Achieves results and identifies mission-driven solutions for the client; acts with integrity at all times to build trust and to create an enabling work environment, whether as a team leader or a team member; recommends and takes decisive action.

* Demonstrated ability to create, apply and share knowledge from a range of sources to strengthen internal and or external client solutions.

* Very high level of energy, initiative, and self-motivation; willingness to travel and work under challenging circumstances.

* Excellent oral and writing skills. Fluency and ability to write well in English is essential.

 

Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe.

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