Senior Social Development Specialist

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Description

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• Provide high quality technical social risk management support to task teams, Borrowers and clients regarding the identification, preparation and implementation of social risk management measures, ESF compliance and other efforts to enhance the social sustainability of projects in close coordination with the Regional Safeguards Coordinator (RSC) and CMU coordinator. This support may include providing guidance in the preparation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs), resettlement action plan (RAP), social impacts assessments (SIAs) and corresponding social management plans (SMPs), Resettlement Frameworks (RFs) Environmental and Social Commitment Plan, Stakeholders Engagement Plan (SEP), and Labor Management Procedures (LMP), indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP), Security Management Plan, etc.
• Proactively carry out dialogue regarding the implementation of the ESF and other areas of SSI work program (i.e., social sustainability and inclusion, voice, and accountability) with policy makers and government officials, international development partners, civil society, and other stakeholders and advise counterparts on technical options for social and inclusive development including institutional development strategies.
• Build capacity with clients on issues related to safeguards/ESF and broader SSI issues, including clients’ monitoring and evaluation of social development activities and outcomes and high-quality training and other learning events related to social assessments, social safeguards, and broader social development issues.
• Manage challenging cases of social risk management including responding to complaints and support overall compliance with the World Bank ESF.
• Provide guidance for management regarding project related complaints and work to resolve them directly with the task team, RSC, Regional Safeguards Advisor, Grievance Redress Service (GRS), Operations Policy and Country Services (OPCS) and the PM.
• Develop sustainable local and national consultation mechanisms and strategies.
• Identify ways to improve overall quality, consistency and due diligence as it pertains to social development and the ESF across the portfolio and liaise with other social development specialists and other Global Practices, to develop and promote the use of consistent approaches to social assessment and risk management.
• Participate in portfolio reviews on selected social risk and social sustainability and inclusion issues.
• Provide technical cross-support as required to other teams across the CMU portfolio for social risk management and to share knowledge and experience.
• Work closely with environment colleagues to enhance the capacity of the client to implement the Bank’s ESF.

• Support work on the mainstream social development agenda, including providing analytic inputs to operational activities, with an emphasis on social sustainability, inclusion and cohesion, youth, and migration.
• Support work to develop new areas of focus and business around social sustainability and inclusion issues that emerge in the context of growth and transition (gender, youth, employment, migration, etc.).  
• Contribute to the development of learning products/activities such as Technical Assistance, internal BBLs, guidance notes, peer learning events.
• Initiate and lead innovative studies, formal and informal analytical advisory activities, and research work regarding key social development issues, notably related to social inclusion, local governance and service delivery, gender mainstreaming and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment (SEA/SH), land property valuation and tenure rights, labor issues such as child and forced labor, people living with disabilities or other areas of social risk management.
• Actively participate in and contribute to Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA), Systematic Country Diagnostics (SCDs), Country Partnership Frameworks (CPFs), Development Policy Operations (DPOs) and other corporate products as relevant on the full range of SSI topics and advise on the social sustainability of the portfolio, including gender, beneficiary feedback and safeguards issues, etc.

• Identify potential partnerships as well as new opportunities for engagement around social development aimed at advancing social development in general and social risk management in Ghana
• Participate as an active member of the Country Office and Country Team as well as the CMU Coordinator team.
• Work independently under general direction of the PM, RSC and provide guidance and technical support for junior staff, in close collaboration with SSI staff in Ghana
• Travel regularly to field sites as needed. Sites may be in remote areas with very limited facilities.

• Advanced university degree (Masters or PhD) in relevant social science (e.g., Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, and Political Science) or related fields.
• At least 8 years of knowledge and professional experience in addressing issues covered by the World Bank’s ESF and social safeguards policies or similar policies in other international finance institutions in complex and challenging settings.
• Experience with the preparation, implementation and monitoring of Stakeholder Engagement Plans (SEPs) as well as other safeguard instruments such as the Labor Management Procedures (LMP), SEA/SH Action Plan and Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM).
• Experience with social assessments and analyzing social risks and impacts on different population groups; involuntary resettlement in different socio-economic contexts and tenure systems; coordination of transparent consultative and stakeholder engagement processes; grievance redress mechanisms, integration of relevant planning instruments such as Resettlement Action Plans in overall project planning and implementation; labor and working conditions community health and safety; and cultural heritage.
• Experience in social sustainability and risk management policy development, including dialogue with governments, collaboration in these areas with other international development agencies, corporate reviews and policy development and improvement efforts.
• Experience leading complex cross-cutting analytical work related to social sustainability and inclusion.
• Ability to present complex social development and ESF/safeguards issues to task teams and Bank audiences, and to engage effectively with government counterparts, the private sector, project beneficiaries and civil society.  
• Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving, communication and team skills, and ability to think innovatively and strategically to find balanced solutions to complex development problems, with a strong client focus. 
• Acting with integrity at all times to build trust and to create an enabling work environment, whether as team leader or team member.
• High level of energy, initiative, and self-motivation; willingness to travel and work under challenging circumstances. 
• Ability to work across practices, work in cross-thematic teams, foster teamwork, and mentor junior staff. 
• Excellent oral and writing skills in English.

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