Risk Analyst – Social and Environmental Standards

Details

Mission and objectives

UNDP is the United Nations largest agency with a mandate to eradicate poverty, through sustainable and inclusive human development. UNDP has been in Nigeria since the country became independent in 1960 providing capacity building and policy development support to the Federal Government of Nigeria in areas of Governance & Peace Building, Inclusive growth, and Sustainable Development.
UNDP continues to support the government in the implementation of development interventions aimed at meeting medium to long term goals enshrined in National and Subnational development plans as well as the Sustainable Development Goals. The goal of UNDP is to improve the lives of the people of Nigeria, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, and to ensure a future that offers equality, dignity, and opportunity for all. UNDP works in partnership with the federal Government of Nigeria, development partners, UN agencies, civil society and local communities to help identify local solutions to meet global and national development challenges through a range of interventions that combine UNDP’s expertise and comparative advantage in the areas of Governance & Peace Building, Inclusive growth and Sustainable Development.

Context

UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards (SES) underpin our 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 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. All guidance on UNDPs Social and Environmental Standards can be found in the SES Toolkit.
The results to be delivered by the Risk Analyst-Social and Environmental Standards will provide key risk management and SES compliance capacity for the Country Office, helping ensure UNDP delivers on its commitment to protect people and the environment across all programming and avoid inadvertent harm.
Results will facilitate a new phase in SES implementation across the country programme, transitioning from a siloed and projectized approach to SES implementation to a programmatic approach that ensures oversight, alignment, and shared learning.
UNDP’s stakeholders and partners are increasingly requiring that we demonstrate implementation of safeguards, including as a condition for funding. Additionally, this capacity provides an opportunity to strengthen UNDP’s offer to partners on the application of environmental and social safeguards for risk-informed development. Therefore, the results delivered by the Programme Specialist also aim to ensure continued funding and strengthened reputation of UNDP as a leader in sustainable development programming.
Under the guidance and supervisor of the Team Leader, Environment and Energy, the UNV Risk Analyst-Social and Environmental Standards will be responsible for first layer oversight (of the aforementioned portfolio), capacity building and knowledge management to strengthen SES implementation across the Country Office portfolio, from programme and project design through implementation and lead the CO SES working group. The Risk Analyst-Social and Environmental Standards will not be responsible for the preparation and execution of SES instruments during NIM project implementation (as this is a project execution function under the Implementing Partner) but will rather quality assure project-level safeguards instruments prepared by the project teams, and monitor, advise and oversee the project teams in executing the relevant safeguard management measures.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader, Environment and Energy , also with guidance from Team Lead, Programme Management Support Unit (PMSU) the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
A. SES Oversight and Quality Assurance
• Conduct a quality review of early drafts of SESPs (or “pre-SESPs”) to ensure proper identification and categorization of risk.
• Advise project design team and/or PMU on needed social and environmental as-sessments/management plans and safeguards expertise, including review of related ToRs. (e.g. ESIA, ESMP, ESMF, IPP, RAP, SEP, relevant ToRs, etc)
• Confirm validity of any SESP exemptions.
• Quality assure final SESPs prior to submission to PAC or Project Board (for Nature, Climate and Energy Vertical Fund projects, clearance will be prior to submission for Headquarters “Safeguards Clearance”).
• Support recruitment, onboarding and oversight of safeguards consultants to the pro-ject management units hired to support SES execution in projects.
• Quality assure draft and final SES documentation for projects (e.g., ESIA, ESMP, ESMF, IPP, RAP, SEP, relevant ToRs, etc) to ensure they meet technical standards and requirements (for Nature, Climate and Energy Vertical Fund projects, clearance will be prior to submission for Headquarters “Safeguards Clearance”).
• Support project teams in responding to HQ/RBx SES oversight reviews and relevant audit/investigation/evaluation findings.
• Identify risks for which additional technical support may be needed through the Global Policy Network, Regional Bureau, or external consultants (e.g., through Ex-pRess roster) and opportunities for projects to cost share needed expertise.
• Undertake safeguards oversight missions, as needed and per projects’ M&E plans etc.
• Quality assure safeguards sections of progress reports and evaluations (e.g., donor reports, annual progress reports, GEF PIR/GCF APR, mid-term and final evalua-tions) and contribute substantively where in line with the oversight function (e.g. in support of relevant Team Lead)
• Track progress of high/substantial risk and other priority projects’ implementation of required SES elements (ESIA, GRM, stakeholder engagement, disclosure, FPIC, etc.).
• Regularly scan available data on SES implementation across the portfolio to identify emerging risks or High/Substantial Risk projects that may require additional over-sight and support.
• Escalate issues to second layer oversight (RBx and BPPS Nature, Climate, Energy team, where relevant) and advise CO senior management on safeguard risks where needed.
B. SES Capacity Building
• Conduct a CO capacity assessment to identify baseline quality of SES documenta-tion, capacity needs, priority risks, and opportunities.
• Develop and coordinate implementation of an action plan to strengthen SES imple-mentation across the aforementioned portfolio, clarifying the oversight and quality assurance process, roles and responsibilities, and a learning plan.
• Ensure CO SES action plan is aligned with and contributes to global/regional SES implementation plans.
• Support regular SES capacity development, awareness raising, trainings and other learning opportunities for the CO team and implementing partners.
• Ensure the Stakeholder Response Mechanism is established and operational at the CO level.
• Ensure project-level grievance mechanisms are established within the project gov-ernance structure and that relevant safeguard risks are monitored by Project Boards.
• Establish roster of national social and environmental safeguards consultants.
• Support and advise senior management in their engagement with partners and stakeholders (including affected people, implementing partners, donors) on issues related to the SES.
• Advise and support senior management on any SECU/SRM cases.
• Prepare communication materials and products that can be used to communicate the SES and UNDP’s Accountability Mechanism with partners and project affected people.
• Present on the SES and Accountability Mechanism at inception workshops and sup-port on-boarding of project-level safeguards experts.
• Conduct an assessment of national capacities/safeguards to identify key gaps be-tween the SES with guidance on how these gaps should be approached across the portfolio, as well as entry points for capacity building and use of national systems.
• Review national grievance redress mechanism (GRM) capacities/entry points related to the CO portfolio.
C. SES Knowledge Management
• Engage and coordinate with SES experts in Headquarters (including second layer oversight provided by RBx and BPPS Nature, Climate, Energy team and SES policy owner, BPPS Effectiveness Group) and other regions to ensure consistency in policy interpretation and oversight.
• Document lessons learned, including from cases where things went wrong as well as good models of SES implementation.
• Track and share precedents that have implications for the entire portfolio to ensure an aligned and consistent approach (e.g. identification of indigenous peoples).
• Share lessons learned across the portfolio and also with regional, global teams to facilitate learning.
• Maintain a library of project safeguards documents and examples that can be used as reference points.
• Engage with CO Gender Specialist and/or Gender Focal Team to document and share lessons learned and good practice related to gender-related risks, including analysis of national gender and social inclusion issues and how these can be ad-dressed across the portfolio.
• Coordinate exchange between project-level safeguards experts to facilitate shared learning, consistency across the portfolio, and identification of opportunities to cost-share or combine efforts on risks faced by multiple projects.
• Engage in safeguards networks and partnerships, including with UNCT, to ensure learning and exchange on safeguards with partners and UNDP’s leadership role in this area.
• Prepare an annual report on SES implementation in the office, capturing key lessons learned and recommendations for how to strengthen SES implementation moving forward.