Environmental and Social Safeguards Officer - Heart of Conservation Initiative

About the role

The Environmental and Social Safeguards Officer leads the implementation and monitoring of the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) and the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) for the Heart of Conservation Initiative (HCI), a 5-year global project supporting Indigenous Peoples and local communities in accessing sustainable finance for territorial stewardship. Based in Cambodia, Kenya or Brazil, the role reports to the Project Manager in the Global Coordination Unit and works closely with Indigenous and local community partners.

Key responsibilities

• Integrate WWF's Environmental and Social Safeguards Framework into the project, including annual ESS screening, budget and work plan reviews, stakeholder consultations and safeguard document approvals.
• Support Component 1 partners with their annual ESS screening and mitigation planning, tailoring support to each partner's context.
• Advise on environmental and social risk management and mitigation measures, in collaboration with the GESI officer.
• Train project staff and partners on ESS (WWF and Project ESMF).
• Participate in GCU missions and technical visits and work with the GEF Agency specialists on policy compliance.
• Work with the MEL officer to embed ESMF and SEP indicators in M&E plans and to prepare semi-annual ESS reporting.
• Help establish and run a grievance redress mechanism, and support the development of Livelihood Restoration Plans where needed.
• Implement stakeholder engagement and contribute to semi-annual stakeholder engagement reporting.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in sociology, anthropology or a related social science, or natural resources management; advanced degree highly preferred.
• At least 7 years of relevant experience in social sciences, including at least 5 years on Indigenous Peoples or local community issues, especially environmental and social safeguards.
• Culturally sensitive collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and proven experience in conservation or development projects.
• Fluent English; Spanish, French and/or Portuguese strongly preferred.
• National of the host country (Brazil or Kenya) or willing to relocate to Cambodia; visa sponsorship and relocation are not provided for Brazil or Kenya.

Required skills

• MS Office; ArcGIS and/or other biodiversity and habitat analysis tools (e.g., R) are a plus.
• Qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
• Stakeholder consultation, facilitation and participatory planning.
• Willingness to travel regularly to partners.