Within UNDP’s Global Policy Network (GPN), the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices and ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes. BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.

The Social and Environmental Standards (SES) underpin UNDP’s support for sustainable development. The objectives of the standards are to:

• Strengthen the social and environmental outcomes of Programmes and Projects
• Avoid adverse impacts to people and the environment
• Minimize, mitigate, and manage adverse impacts where avoidance is not possible
• Strengthen UNDP and partner capacities for managing social and environmental risks
• Ensure full and effective stakeholder engagement, including through a mechanism to respond to complaints from project-affected people

The starting point to ensure these standards are applied is through UNDP’s project-level Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP), which is a requirement for proposed projects. The objectives of the SESP are to: (a) integrate the SES Overarching Principles (human rights, gender equality and environmental sustainability); (b) identify potential social and environmental risks and their significance; (c) determine the Project's SES risk category; and (d) determine the level of assessment and management required to address potential social and environmental risks and impacts (SES Toolkit).

The consultant will be based in the Regional Bureau for Africa’s Programme Risk Management Team. PRMT is overseeing and supporting 44 country offices in the Sub-Saharan African region. The consultant will work closely with programme colleagues in the Regional Hub, the RBx Safeguards Focal Point(s) and the BPPS Policy Specialist for Social and Environmental Standards.

The consultant will support oversight of the implementation of SES requirements, from project design through implementation, in high-priority and “High Risk” projects (e.g. GEF, GCF, crisis, SECU cases, others) in the sub-Sahara-Africa region. This will include quality assurance, spot-checking, and advising on measures to be taken to ensure effective implementation of the SES. The consultant will also facilitate learning across the region and beyond, tracking and sharing lessons learned.

1.Support implementation of regional SES action plan

• Ensure a regional baseline is established to assess overall SES implementation and quality (applying corporate methodology and indicators).Regularly scan available data on SES implementation across the region to identify emerging risks or High Risk projects that may require additional oversight and support.
• Ensure that new projects prepare the SESP or appropriately claim the exemption
• Conduct quality review of draft SESPs to ensure they meet technical standards and requirements, verify proper risk categorization, and to build internal capacity on SES.
• Identify common risks, capacity needs, challenges across the region and support the development of strategies to address these issues. Monitor and report on the number of high- and substantial risk projects, their increase or decrease over time. Keep a register of ad-hoc requests from COs.
• Support SES capacity development and trainings in the region and in COs.
• Provide adhoc support as needed to address SES capacities and emerging issues in the region, and other aspects of the regional SES action plan.

2.Targeted technical oversight and quality assurance for high risk and high priority projects

• Identify high risk/priority projects and advise on SES considerations as early as possible;
• Review draft and final SES documentation for projects (e.g. SESP, ESIA, ESMP, ESMF, IPP, RAP, SEP, etc) to ensure they meet technical standards and requirements;
• Advise regional and/or CO colleagues on new social and environmental risks or changes to project risk categorization;
• Identify issues on which additional technical support may be needed through the Global Policy Network or external consultants (e.g. through ExpRess roster);
• Undertake safeguard oversight missions, as needed.
• Track progress of high risk/priority projects’ implementation of required SES elements (ESIA, GRM, etc.).
• Upon request, support CO’s in advising implementing partners on SES-related issues and providing direct technical support.

3.Support corporate accountability, reporting, coordination and learning across regions

• Engage and coordinate with SES experts in Headquarters (Nature, Climate, Energy team and Effectiveness Group) and other regions to ensure consistency in policy interpretation and advice and share lessons learned and avoid duplication of efforts.
• Prepare an annual report on SES implementation in the region (applying corporate methodology and indicators), including statistics on the increase/decrease of high and substantial risk projects, requests etc.
• Convene regional and CO colleagues, and escalate issues as needed to the RBx and BPPS to ensure decisions are taken at the appropriate levels.
• Document lessons learned, including from cases where things went wrong as well as good models of SES implementat

4. Institutional Arrangement

• The consultant will work home-based with mission travel;
• The consultant will report to the chief of the RBA Programme Risk Management Team
• The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for execution of the tasks under this assignment;
• Given the global consultations to be undertaken during this assignment, the consultant is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability for such consultations taking into consideration different time zones; and
• Payments will be made upon submission of a detailed time sheet and certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by the Supervisor on days worked (with a “day” calculated as 8 hours of work) and outputs delivered. If the quality does not meet standards or requirements, the consultant will be asked to rewrite or revise (as necessary) the document before proceeding to payment.

Corporate:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical

standards;

• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; and
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Technical:

• Demonstrated expertise in the development and quality assurance of safeguards instruments (e.g. ESIAs, ESMPs, ESMFs, IPPs, GRMs, RAPs)
• Excellent skills related to stakeholder engagement;
• Experience implementing social and environmental safeguards at the project level and providing technical support to implementing partners

Functional:

Communications

• Able to communicate effectively in writing to a varied and broad audience in a simple and concise manner.

Professionalism

• Capable of working in a high- pressure environment with sharp and frequent deadlines, managing many tasks simultaneously;
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills; and
• Exercises the highest level of responsibility and be able to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner.

Teamwork

• Works well in a team;
• Projects a positive image and is ready to take on a wide range of tasks;
• Focuses on results for the client; and
• Welcomes constructive feedback.

Education: Master’s degree in field related to international development, environmental science, anthropology or similar field. [max. 15 points]

Experience: 

At least 10 years of experience related to social and environmental safeguards, including impact assessment and management. [max. 20 points]

At least five years of experience in applying social and environmental due diligence in project level implementation and management. [max. 20 points]

Extensive experience in the sub-Sahara Africa region. [max. 10 points]

Language Requirements: Fluency in French and English