Rwanda: Social Safeguards Coordinator

Feb 13, 2021 | Wildife Conservation Society
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The Wildlife Conservation Society is an international NGO headquartered at Bronx Zoo in New York City, USA, working to save wildlife and wild lands and to meet global challenges in over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the world’s oceans. WCS believes that conservation of nature and natural resources is essential to life on earth, the future of humanity, and the wellbeing and cultural identities of Indigenous Peoples and traditional and local communities. To this end, WCS has developed a robust Social Safeguarding framework and policies for implementation in its field programs in partnership with community, government and private sector stakeholders. Across our various field programs, implementation of this framework is being localized in order to respond to specific social and cultural contexts. Specifically, in Central Africa, our work to conserve critical wildlife and wild places directly engages Indigenous Peoples such as the Bayaka, Batwa, and Mbuti peoples as well as their Bantu neighbors, all of whom have deep connection with their lands in and around protected areas.

The purpose of the Central Africa Regional Social Safeguards Coordinator is to support the WCS regional team, country programs and field programs in the localization and implementation of our Social Safeguarding framework and policies. This position also requires taking a lead in reviewing and developing appropriate materials to comply with donor requirements. The position will coordinate closely with the country programs, field program focal points, the Regional advisory and management team, the Office of General Counsel, and the WCS Global Social Safeguards Management Team. Principal responsibilities are:

  1. Grievance Redress Mechanisms. The Social Safeguards Coordinator will work with field teams and focal points to oversee GRM design, roll out, and monitoring across our field programs in the region. WCS is implementing innovative grievance mechanisms in the protected areas we manage in order to facilitate due process in effective handling and resolution of grievances and claims relating to (i) suspected violations by WCS or partner staff of human rights, social safeguards, and other policies; (ii) perceived negative impacts of WCS’s activities at a WCS site; (iii) other complaints related to carried out by WCS or its partners the actions of a government agency, private sector company, or civil society group that is not a partner of WCS operating within WCS sites. These GRMs will be consistent with site-based management policies, fit for purpose to redress site-specific issues within a local (and, as appropriate regional) structure, and fully aligned with WCS’s global social safeguard policies and mechanisms. The Coordinator will build on existing pilot work for a Central Africa GRM template and scale up GRM implementation across our field programs and protected area management sites in the sub-region. The Coordinator is responsible for developing systems to ensure quality control and compliance for all site-based GRMs in Central Africa; track and monitor implementation; further develop procedures and policies, as needed to support effective deployment of the GRM; and create learning materials and other communication/reporting, on an as-needed basis. The person is expected to share lessons learned across the portfolio of WCS’s 13 Global Regions.
  2. Free, Prior Informed Consent and Community Rights-Based Approaches. WCS uses FPIC where conservation actions may impinge on communities’ access to and management of natural resources within their traditional territories. For example, approaches advocated by WCS to improve natural resource management systems, require meaningful engagement of and consultation with traditional rights-holders to ensure these communities understand their rights in the context of the work, their access to accountability is assured and that WCS and its partners follow best practices consistent with international standards and WCS’s own policies. The Coordinator is expected to develop materials on best practices drawing on existing resources, provide training, mentoring and implementation support to WCS field programs on FPIC approaches and to help incorporate FPIC in new programming. Where FPIC is not appropriate, a Community-Rights Based Approach should be in place. The Social Safeguards Coordinator will support teams to ensure they understand the principles of a CRBA to conservation, and have knowledge and skills to embed these CRBA principles and best practices into project design and work plans.
  3. General Social Safeguards Support. The Coordinator will work with the regional team to embed social safeguards into all aspects of program design and implementation. This includes, but is not limited to:
    • Support preparation of human subject research proposals for review by WCS’s IRB
    • Remain current on donor social safeguard requirements and lead or support development of materials, risk assessments, etc. to ensure WCS field programs are compliant with donor requirements including those implemented with government, civil society and UN agencies
    • Develop Monitoring and Evaluation and reporting systems for sites and country programs for social safeguard compliance.
    • Develop communication materials on social safeguards.
    • Design training modules and train field teams based upon an analysis of existing tools and capacities, including addressing donor specific requirements. Develop monitoring systems for country programs and sites to ensure staff have up-to-date training.
    • Integrate social safeguards into new funding proposals.
    • Lead development of gender policy and gendered approaches for Central Africa landscapes, with the support of the Global program SSMT
    • Support the regional team on key rights-based initiatives, identifying new partners, promoting best practices, and communicating with our stakeholders on social safeguards.

Experience and qualifications

  • Post graduate qualification in environmental science or social sciences
  • At least 5 years of experience in developing, implementing and monitoring social safeguards for projects in developing countries
  • Demonstrated experience working with Indigenous Peoples and local communities
  • Experience in grievance redress mechanism development, social safeguarding management plans or applying international standards in different national contexts
  • Excellent communication skills and proven ability as a team player
  • Ability to work on tight timelines and manage heavy workload
  • Fluency in English with French or Swahili language skills highly desirable.
  • Field experience in conservation and/or working in Africa highly desirable

How to apply

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications, skills and experience, should apply by emailing a detailed application/cover letter and CV together with the names and contact information of three references to: africaapplications@wcs.org. Please include “Social Safeguards Coordinator” in the subject line of your email. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.

If you have any queries related to this position please contact: africaapplications@wcs.org

Application Deadline: 20 February 2020