VAC-11523 Health, Safety, Social and Environmental Senior Associate (Social Development)

The United Nations Office for
Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations,
supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding,
humanitarian and development projects around the world.  UNOPS supports partners to build a better
future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and
sustainability of peace building, humanitarian and development projects.  Mandated as a central resource of the United
Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and
infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United
Nations organizations. 

Project Information

The project was
established due to the significant, ongoing drought exacerbating water access
issues which has created an emergency situation in rural areas across southern
and central Afghanistan. Inadequate availability of efficient irrigation
contributes to the food insecurity crisis. The project objective is to improve
access to the quality of water supply and surface water irrigation services in
selected rural and drought affected areas and regions.

The project will finance the provision of off-grid solar systems and,
where applicable, emergency energy efficient equipment to support surface water
irrigation in the selected areas. This will include installation of solar pump
systems, and battery systems in high priority areas. These solar water pump
systems will be installed to supply for irrigation to meet the needs of farmers
pumping the surface water in identified rural areas. Solar pumps used for
irrigation purposes will only pump surface water from rivers that have
permanent water bodies and not from seasonal rivers.

2. Key Functions 

Specific responsibilities and duties include, but are not limited to

• Support compliance with all project Environmental and Social instruments, including the E&S Management Framework (ESMF), Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) and any activity-specific E&S instruments.
• Conduct training on Environmental and Social compliance aspects/issues for the UNOPS Team and the Private Energy Service Companies (PESC)s.
• Conduct Social Assessments where applicable and integrate findings into the E&S compliance and project components.
• Assist with the preparation of subproject specific E&S mitigation measures, ensure measures are included in partner Request for Proposals, Bills of Quantities and contractual agreements.
• Ensure that the Facilitating Partners and contractors maintain all proper documentation of E&S safeguards measures to confirm all due processes have been followed.
• Receive E&S reporting from Facilitating Partners and contractors and prepare E&S reports for submission to the World Bank.
• Conduct monitoring and supervision field trips to subproject sites.
• Monitor ESS-related data in the project’s MIS database and make sure that related data is accurate.
• Respond to Third Party Monitoring Agents’ reports on ESS related issues.
• Set up and implement the Project Grievance Redress Mechanism.

• Report to Project Manager.

N/A

N/A

Education:

●Completion of Secondary education is required.

●A first-level university degree (e.g. Bachelor) / or
an advanced university degree (e.g. Masters) in Social Science, Development
Studies, Community Development or other relevant discipline is preferred.  

b.
Work Experience:

●A minimum of 7 years of experience in social
safeguards or other related fields is required.

●Experience working with the World Bank, UN agencies or
other donor agencies, government ministries, and/or non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) are valued.

●Knowledge of environmental safeguards compliance is
desirable.

●Knowledge of UN systems/policies/norms for social
safeguards is an asset.

C.
Language Requirements:                   

●Excellent knowledge of both written and oral English
is required.

●Fluency in Pashto and/or Dari is desirable.