Bank Environmental Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges.  For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

Eastern and Southern Africa (AFE) Region

Home to about 700 million of Africa's people, Eastern and Southern Africa is a geographically, culturally and economically diverse region of 26 countries stretching from the Red Sea in the North to the Cape of Good Hope in the South. Children under 18 make up almost half of the total population. The subregion boasts of some of the world's richest human and natural resources and, apart from South Africa, the countries are predominantly raw material exporters. The subregion harbors some of Africa's protracted conflicts, rendering many of its countries fragile, while significant gaps in education, health, and skills development continue to keep people from reaching their full potential. This creates a huge development challenge, impacts heavily on the lives and livelihoods of people, and hinders regional integration and trade. But it also creates an opportunity to work closely with country leaders, civil society, development partners, and young people to chart a brighter course for the future. 

The World Bank's Eastern and Southern Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,200 staff, mostly based in 26 country offices, has been helping countries realize their considerable development potential by focusing on the following priorities:

 Creating Jobs and Transforming Economies: We are working with countries across Africa to stimulate job creation and economic transformation by leveraging all sources of finance, expertise, and solutions to promote investment.
Building up the Digital Economy: We are supporting Africa's vision to ensure that every African individual, business, and government is connected by 2030 - a vision that, if realized, can boost growth by up to 2 percentage points per year, and reduce poverty by 1 percentage point per year in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.
Making Institutions more Efficient and Accountable: Our support helps governments strengthen public policy processes, manage resources effectively, and reinforce fair and reliable delivery of public services.
Investing in People: We are at the forefront of helping African countries accelerate human capital gains and empower women by improving their access to education and skills acquisition, sexual and reproductive health services, and employment opportunities.
Supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation:  In the face of increasing climate-related risks, we are working with African countries to advance efforts to adopt renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and green infrastructure.
Addressing the Drivers of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence: Given the cross-border nature of conflicts in Africa, we are employing an approach that simultaneously focuses on the drivers of fragility while also supporting well-targeted regional initiatives to create opportunities for peace and shared prosperity.
Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent: We are scaling up our work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent that covers both North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Eastern and Southern Africa (AFE) Region: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/eastern-and-southern-africa

Unit Description:

On October 1, 2018, the World Bank launched a new Environment and Social Framework (ESF) to help protect people and the environment in the investment projects that it finances. The effort, now about seven years under implementation, is one of several initiatives, including procurement reform, the gender strategy, and the climate change action plan, undertaken by the Bank to improve development outcomes.

The ESF brings the World Bank's environmental and social (E&S) protections into closer harmony with those of other development institutions, and makes important advances in areas such as transparency, non-discrimination, social inclusion, public participation, and accountability - including expanded roles for grievance redress mechanisms. The ESF helps to ensure social inclusion, non-discrimination, and explicitly references human rights in the overarching vision statement.

As the World Bank Group (WBG) advances with modernizing its ESF approach, a new organizational arrangement has been agreed involving "Makers" (responsible for preparation, implementation support, and monitoring and problem solving) and "Checkers" (responsible for monitoring and risk-based oversight, and identifying and flagging challenges and problems that need to be addressed) to ensure a strengthened approach to risk management on E&S matters. The new arrangements also demonstrate a commitment to promoting "One WBG" and the key role that the Environmental and Social leadership in IDA/IBRD, IFC and MIGA, will play in this effort. 

The Eastern Safeguards Unit (SAEM1) is one of the three units in AFE that manages E&S risks and covers two Country Management Units (CMUs): The Mozambique CMU covering Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, and Seychelles; and the South Africa CMU covering South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia.

The Position - Environmental Specialist

This position is based in Washington, DC and will focus on the use of Digital Tools to help streamline and simplify the Unit's environmental and social risk management work.  This is in addition to the implementation of the World Bank's environmental and social risk management policies (including the Safeguard Policies and the Environmental and Social Framework, or ESF) and building national systems and capacity in this regard.  All World Bank-supported investment projects must meet ambitious environmental, social, health and safety standards. SAEM1 is responsible for providing technical support and oversight into all investment projects to meet these requirements.

Duties & Responsibilities:

This position is based in Washington, DC and will focus on implementing the WBG's environmental and social risk management policies and standards (including the Safeguard Policies and the Environmental and Social Framework) and strengthening borrower systems and institutions. In addition, the position will focus on the use of Digital Tools to help streamline and simplify the environmental and social risk management work under the new E & S structure and Knowledge Bank. 

The Environmental Specialist will have the following key responsibilities:
Ensure the effective integration of environment, health, and safety into the design, preparation, appraisal, and implementation of World Bank-supported    projects, in line with the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), WBG EHS guidelines, IFC Performance Standards, and other good international practices. 
Guide and support clients and counterparts in preparing  E & S instruments to meet ESF and operational policy requirements.
Support timely disclosure procedures and public consultation for all required environmental assessment and management instruments.
Provide guidance on specialized plans (e.g., Biodiversity, waste management (Solid, Hazardous, Healthcare), Occupational & Community health and safety).
Collaborate with other WBG teams to integrate risk management capacity development into sectoral programs.
Work closely with the unit's Lead Environmental and Social Specialists and the CMU ESF Coordinator to ensure quality and consistency in E & S work and risk  management across the region. 
Ensure the effective and responsible use of AI and other Digital tools into environmental and social risk management processes. 
Serve as the Unit's focal point on AI, Data collection and ESF knowledge management tools.
Liaise with the Global Makers on "Tech-for-ESF" program to support E & S Specialists across the project cycle.
Review existing digital tools available for ESF implementation and advise task teams on the selection and integration of appropriate digital tools at each stage of the project cycle.
Support the development or customization of project-specific digital solutions where appropriate.
Deploying and quality-assuring digital tools in support of ESF implementation.
Organize and deliver capacity building, and technical training on the use of Digital Tools in E & S work environmental, health, and safety risk management for national agencies, local governments, and public/private sector practitioners.