VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT 

SAFEGUARDS AND GENDER OFFICER

BACKGROUND

The objective of the "Improving Adaptive Capacity and Risk Management of Rural Communities in Mongolia" project is to strengthen resource-dependent rural population and their climate resilience through feasible adaptation measures for maintaining ecosystem services. The project plans to achieve its goal by conjoining the main activities: a) enhanced climate-informed planning for land and water use localized to the aimag level, b) ecosystem-based adaptation measures to protect land and water resources c) building herder capacity to pursue climate-resilient livelihoods. The primary outputs are as followed:

·         Integrate climate information into land and water use planning at the national and sub-national levels;

·         Scaling up climate-resilient water and soil management practices for enhanced small-scale herder resource management

·         Build herder capacity to access markets for sustainably sourced, climate-resilient livestock products.

The project funded by Green Climate Fund (GCF) and implemented by UNDP. The implementing partners of the project are the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry. The project will start in March 2021 and run until the end of 2027. The target areas are focused on four aimags Zavkhan, Khovd, Dornod and Sukhbaatar, which are vulnerable to climate change and cover a range of ecological zones. The project is expected to benefit an estimated 800,000 people (approximately 130,000 direct and 800,000 indirect beneficiaries), of whom 50% are women.

The MET is looking for successful candidates for the following position:

Position:                                     Safeguards and Gender Officer

Location:                                    Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Duration:                                   One year (with possibility of extension)

        Application deadline:           11:59pm, Sunday, November 24, 2024

Organizational setting

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the National Project Coordinator, the Safeguards and Gender Officer (SGO) will have the responsibility for the implementation of the Environment and Social Management Framework and Gender Action Plan of the project following UNDP's Social and Environment Screening Procedure (SESP) and Gender policies as well as national policies and regulations as appropriate. The SGO will be an environment and gender inclusion expert with experience in in-depth social analysis and local community engagement. The SGO will work closely with the Project Knowledge Management, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer on project implementation, reporting, monitoring, evaluation and communication.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Ensures the provision of safeguards and gender management of project activities:

·         Ensure effective implementation of Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF) and Gender Action Plan of the project;

·         Monitor progress in development/implementation of the project ESMF and GAP, ensuring that UNDPs SES and Gender policies are fully met, and the reporting requirements are fulfilled; Screening the application of UNDP SES and GCF ESS to all project activities;

·         Oversee/develop/coordinate implementation of all safeguard and gender-related plans;

·         Review the SESF and GAPs annually, and update and revise corresponding risk log; mitigation/management plans as necessary;

·         Ensure environmental and social risks are identified, avoided, mitigated and managed throughout project implementation;

·         Provide professional advice and guidance on environmental management and gender related legal analysis and advise to PMU;

·         Ensure budget estimation to implement the ESMF and GAP and its allocation to the Annual Work Plan of the project;

·         Review the core documents with a gender perspective, i.e., Opportunity and Risk Analysis on PPCP;

·         Value Chain Analysis; Climate Change Impact, Vulnerability, and Risk Assessment;

·         Climate, Risk, and Adaptation Profiles.

Ensures gender sensitive planning

·         Ensure the integration of gender-consideration in all parts of the project cycle, including implementation, monitoring and evaluation and reporting;

·         Promote gender-sensitive planning and implementation, particularly climate change vulnerable communities such as female herders and female-headed households' involvement to RUGs and RUAS;

·         Initiate for gender mainstreaming for existing policies water/land management policies, soum level development plans, resource use agreements, etc.;

·         Ensure that good practices and lessons learnt from gender mainstreaming activities related to climate change adaptation evidenced though the project is shared effectively amongst stakeholders and inform policy/decisions at national and sub-national levels;

·         Ensure the project is sustainable and inclusive, disaggregate data about the project's primary target beneficiaries, herder households, who are vulnerable to climate change, by various attributes can cover the needs of vulnerable people such as single-and female-headed households, men, women or youth with disability, etc.;

·         Ensure balanced inclusion of both men and women members of households to the RUGs and HPOs and other governance mechanisms from gender equality perspective will be put in place, such as PPCP agreement templates including gender-sensitive clauses;

·         Mainstream gender into local-level policies, i.e., PPCP agreements; Soum Level Development Plans; Resource Use Agreements (RUA); Watershed Plans.

Ensure partnership activities at project level

·         Collaborate with the existing initiatives within UNDP Mongolia, and those of other development partners and relevant government interventions;

·         Prepare a comprehensive stakeholder engagement plan to ensure it is Socially Inclusive and Gender Responsive; Assist and provide guidance to PMU and aimag level PMU with day to day compliance of the SESF and GAP;

·         Ensure gender-balanced participation in trainings;

·         Ensure gender-responsive stakeholder analysis and consultations and ensure that they are complete and comprehensive.

Ensure social and environmental grievances are managed

·         Ensure social and environmental grievances are managed effectively and transparently;

·         Develop and implement the Grievance Redress Mechanism, and Complaints Register of the project;

·         Act as the focal point at the PMU on Grievance Redress issue and facilitate the resolution of the problems within the PMU;

·         Provide awareness of the Grievance redress mechanism amongst all stakeholders.

Ensure reporting, monitoring and evaluation of ESMF and GAP

·         Work with the M&E officer to ensure reporting, monitoring and evaluation fully address the safeguard and gender issues of the project;

·         Ensure SESF and GAP requirements to any tender documents;

·         Review and auditing EMSF and GAP and its procedures at least every two months;

·         Ensure gender-responsive M&E and reporting.

Documents to be submitted as part of the application:

·         Personal CV, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

·         Notarized proof of academic qualifications

·         Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology, if applicable, on how they will approach and complete the assignment.

·         Copy of passport or identification card

Address:

Tod tower 1002, Ankara Street, Chingeltei district

15160, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Web: www.mecc.gov.mn

Phone: +976 75057507

Web: www.gcf-rural.mn  

Email: application@gcf-rural.mn

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATION: by 11:59 PM, Sunday, November 4, 2024