Senior Environment & Climate Change Specialist at African Development Bank - AfDB

Duties and responsibilities
The Senior Environment and Climate Change Specialist will work under the general supervision and guidance of the Manager, Environment and Climate Change (ONEC.3). His/her core duties/responsibilities will include the following:

Policies, strategy, and frameworks:

•     Contribute to the development of Bank policies and strategies in close collaboration with other Bank experts;
•     Review and contribute to the mainstreaming of environment and climate change issues, including safeguards, into projects and/or initiatives developed by Bank experts in departments within and outside of the Vice Presidency for Infrastructure, Private Sector and Regional Integration (OIVP).

Compliance with environmental and social requirements

•     Ensure compliance of operations with the Bank’s environmental and social safeguards, policies, and guidelines consistent with the Bank’s Integrated Safeguards System (ISS);
•     Provide technical guidance to clients on the preparation of necessary documentation, including but not limited to Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs), Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs), Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs), Environmental and Social Management Frameworks (ESMFs) and Environmental and Social Management Systems (ESMSs).
•     Prepare Request for Categorization Memorandum (RCM)  for project categorization; ESIA/RAP, ESMP and ESMF Summaries before submitting to the Environment and Social Safeguards and Compliance Division (ORQR.3) and posting on Bank’s website;
•     Prepare Climate Screening Memorandum, and propose adaptation measures and mitigation measures as appropriate;
•     Prepare and/or contribute to technical reports and other environmental and social and climate change documentation required in processing Bank operations;

Project management:

•     Support Department’s staff in identifying, preparing and implementing programs, projects and project’s components to address environment and climate change issues including the promotion of activities and investments in sectors that have enable climate change mitigation and/or adaptation;
•     Support Department’s staff in supervising programs, projects and project’s components to address environment and climate change, including responding to monitoring and reporting project cycle requirements.

Resource Mobilization:

•     Contribute to the coordination of Environment and Climate Funds within the Bank;
•     Support the mobilization of resources for the implementation of environment and climate change interventions by developing partnerships with existing sources of finance, international conventions, and donors; and,
•     Help RMCs and Sponsors access Climate and Environmental Finance tools, and help develop and implement Bank’s in-house financial tools.

Knowledge Development:

•     Keep on top of climate change and environment issues by being well informed of evolving steps with respect to the climate change international agenda.
•     Undertake any other task as the Director ONEC and/or the Manager ONEC.3 may assign.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience

•     At least a Master’s degree in disciplines related to environment, climate change, economics, development studies; 
•     Preferably a minimum of five (5) years relevant professional experience in development of environment and climate change operations, project management, policy formation, capacity building;
•     Proven writing and analytical skills in designing relevant operations; ability to initiate innovative approaches and originality at work; sound analytic, conceptual and strategic thinking;
•     Updated knowledge of the critical environment and climate change issues;
•     Proven ability for team-working and multi-tasking; great facilitation, communication and computational skills; resourcefulness, attention to details and client orientation;
•     Flexibility to undertake field missions to Regional Member Countries;
•     Ability to communicate and write effectively in French and/or English, with preference for capabilities in both languages; and,
•     Competence in (or ability/willingness to become quickly familiar with) the use of various tools available and applied by the Bank such as SAP, and fluency in standard MS office applications (Word, Excel, Power Point).