Republic of Rwanda

NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EXPORT DEVELOPMENT BOARD

JOB ADVERTISMENT

NAEB VACANT POSITION FOR RECRUITMENT

The National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) would like to recruit self-motivated and qualified candidates to fill the following position.

Post: Environmental Specialist/PSAC (1)

Job Profile

• Master’s degree or post graduate degree in environment, Environmental Science, Environmental Development, Environmental impact Assessment, Natural Resources Management, environmental economics, development,

or

• Bachelor in environmental studies or agriculture with minimum of five years professional experiences in implementation of social and environmental interventions and or standards
• At least four years of relevant professional experience working on Environmental/Environmental Development, Environmental safeguards, environmental management interventions, social and environmental standards and impact assessment relating to community development.
• Technical background and experience in developing safeguards for agriculture, land use and management projects.
• Proven record on similar documentation work at the National level.
• Demonstrated knowledge of climate change issues in Rwanda
• Excellent drafting, documentation and communication skills in English.
• Promote the highest standards of ethics and integrity.
• Demonstrated capacity to produce high quality technical reports.

Job Description

Under the direct supervision of Operations Manager, the Environmental Specialist will perform the following duties & Responsibilities:

• Area (1): Project SECAP risk management instruments Implementation support
• Continuously review and update the developed project SECAP risk management instruments in line with current SECAP developments;
• Support the NAEB in the co-ordination, management and implementation of the project SECAP risk management instruments in compliance with the SECAP Policies and the Government of Rwanda Environmental standards.
• Support the NAEB in the development and rolling out of a SECAP risk management monitoring and reporting system against the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESCMF) provisions.
• Support the project line ministries, and all responsible parties to achieve the maximum SECAP risk management efficiency in their assigned tasks;
• Support the project to ensure that safety and health concerns of the workers and the general public are addressed during pre- construction, construction and implementation phases of the project civil works;
• Provide assistance to NAEB and applicant communities in screening of proposed sub-projects and assigning environmental category;
• Visit proposed sub-project sites to assess baseline conditions, assess potential site-specific impacts and ensure systematic environmental safeguards compliance in all PSAC interventions under the auspices of NAEB/PSAC Project
• Advise on anticipated environmental impacts and possible mitigation measures, and on the relevant type of environmental review to be undertaken and documentation to be prepared (e.g. sub-project specific Environmental Assessment and/or Environmental Management Plan);
• Provide technological, institutional and operational policy support in strengthening NAEB/PSAC Project Environmental Safeguards policy and action plan and facilitate its effective and tangible integration in the NAEB/PSAC Project annual Operational Plans;
• Provide on-time environmental assessment, analysis and advice to inform annual work planning and budgeting across NAEB/PSAC Project’s priority value chains.
• Review sub-project specific environmental documentation and give recommendations as needed, to applicant communities and designers, for finalizing the documents;
• Participate in evaluation of sub-project proposals and advise on environmental eligibility and acceptability of proposals, based on guidance provided in the ESCMF and on personal experience;
• Working with NAEB Procurement staff, ensure that environmental compliance is incorporated as appropriate in contracts for goods and services (mainly civil works contracts) and ensure that contractors are fully aware of their responsibilities in this regard;
• During implementation of the approved sub-projects, undertake regular environmental monitoring and supervision in order to verify whether and how provisions of the project ESCMF and sub-project specific ESMPs are followed by all relevant stakeholders (designers, contractors, beneficiaries);
• Report regularly to the NAEB Coordinator in writing on the results of monitoring visits, promptly identify any environmental issues or cases of incompliance, and make recommendations for dealing with those issues. In conjunction with the NAEB Coordinator, discuss compliance status and measures to re-establish compliance with contractor s and/or beneficiaries as appropriate, including agreeing on specific steps and timing for any remediation/corrective actions;
• Closely collaborate with technical staff and management team proejct to ensure that environmental measures are incorporated at all stages of sub-project preparation and implementation, including site selection, sub-project design, preparation and evaluation of bidding documents and bids, preparation and supervision of contracts;
• Provide contribution to the NAEB’s regular progress reports on the project implementation.
• Area (2): Establish a Grievance Redress Mechanism in Line with the ESCMF requirements.
• Develop the project grievance redress/feedback mechanism and design the complaints register using an established methodology in consultation with the NAEB;
• Co-ordinate the formation of Grievance Redress Committees before the commencement of construction or any identified potentially impactful activities to resolve issues;
• support the establishment and training of a selected focal person within the NAEB to handle Grievance Redress issues and facilitate the resolution of issues;
• Technically support the NAEB in creating awareness of the Grievance Redress Mechanism amongst all the stakeholders through public awareness campaigns; and support dissemination of information to the concerned local communities as proposed in the ESCMF.
• Develop a system to document information on grievances and redress and progress for monthly/quarterly reporting.
• Area (3): Support in the co-ordination of training and awareness raising activities
• Support in the efficient co-ordination regarding SECAP Instruments considerations to be taken into account in the sub-project preparatory activities;
• Proactively orient applied research work to fill knowledge gaps in the project and NAEB and obtain feedback on environmental safeguards and development issues related to agricultural exports development interventions;
• Provide up-to-date strategic and technical advice to strengthen the capacity of NAEB/PSAC Project management and member staff to design, implement and monitor agricultural export development and PSAC interventions with strong environmental safeguards dimensions.
• Support the identification of the capacity and training needs of the NAEB, the Ministry, District Offices and other Responsible Parties regarding:
• Training all farmers in proper Fertiliser application regimes and encouragement to use organic fertilizers
• Training the Farmers in climate change adaptation approaches
• Training the cooperatives in Group Dynamics, Gender equality, youth engagement and other socially related subjects.
• Training of SPIU, NAEB, NAEB District Focal Persons, District Administration Staff, Proximity Extension Staff and farmers in Environmental and natural resources Management, Waste management, etc
• Training in Pesticides, and integrated pest management
• Advise on the co-ordination of the delivery of the requisite training.
• Area (4): Advise/guide the consultant firms firms recruited to develop the SECAP risk management Instruments (ESCMF, ESMPs, IPMP, ERA, etc) on appropriate standards in line with IFAD’s SECAP and the Government of Rwanda Environmental standards
• Supervise the development of the requisite SECAP risk management Instruments (ESCMF, ESMPs, IPMP, ERA, etc) for the PSAC.
• Provide guidance to the firms to ensure that the SECAP risk management Instruments identify and assess social and environmental impacts of the project and its area of influence; evaluate alternatives; consider appropriate avoidance, mitigation, management, and monitoring measures; address all relevant issues related to the SECAP Policies and Standards;

Key Competences

• Strong analytical skills, ability to think strategically, analyze and synthesize diverse environmentally related data and information.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently, articulate issues and recommend solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written English, French and kinyarwanda language skills.
• Ability to travel frequently on field required.
• Good team player who can work as a member of a multi-disciplinary, motivate and lead group efforts and network effectively