MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The USAID Development Assistance Specialist (Mission Environmental Officer) provides a high level of technical guidance on environmental compliance, as follows:
A. Mission Environmental Officer (MEO) (55%)
The Specialist serves as a technical advisor to the Mission, ensuring its portfolio of programs/projects/activities is in compliance with Reg. 216, USAID Environmental Procedures, and with host-country government environmental and social safeguard regulations. The Specialist provides substantive guidance to the Front Office, Technical Offices, Agreement Officer’s Representatives/Contracting Officer’s Representatives (AORs/CORs), and implementing partners (IPs) on environmentally sensitive work, such as agricultural development, tertiary roads, land restitution, and protected areas management. The Specialist facilitates efficient program/project/activity implementation in all sectors by ensuring high-quality documentation for environmental compliance; reviewing and approving environmental compliance throughout the activity lifecycle, scopes of work, and activity descriptions; and identifying environmental compliance concerns, with suggested approaches to achieve compliance.
The Specialist reviews environmental analyses and documentation (i.e., Initial Environmental Examinations [IEEs], Requests for Categorical Exclusions [RCEs], Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plans [EMMPs], Environmental Assessments [EAs], etc.) from all Teams for quality, rigor, and adherence to USAID regulations, policies, procedures, and guidance. The Specialist is the primary liaison between the Mission and the Regional Environment Advisor (REA), the regional Bureau Environment Officer (BEO), and the Agency Environmental Coordinator (AEC) on all environmental matters, leading communication and facilitating approvals by USAID/Washington for all procurement actions under the Mission’s portfolio.
The Specialist provides strong team membership in the review, approval, and monitoring of Mission activities’ compliance with Reg. 216, reviewing and approving all sub-activities and quarterly reports in the information system.
B. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) (35%)
The MEO works with Mission staff to support regular and effective monitoring of the environmental and social compliance aspects of development activities, periodically monitoring programs/projects/activities through office reviews and field visits. The MEO supports staff and IPs in carrying out their activity monitoring responsibilities. The Specialist ensures the development of and effective oversight of Mission document tracking information systems, including all environmental compliance (IEEs, RCEs, EMMPs, EAs).
The Specialist supports proper and timely reporting, e.g., environmental compliance reports required in the Operation Plan, by regularly monitoring information systems, noting the need for new documents, status of pending documents, and any outstanding issues, e.g., projects where no environmental compliance field monitoring is being conducted.
The Specialist participates directly with Mission staff to remedy outstanding issues and keeps Mission management and the regional BEO informed of issues and resolutions.
The Specialist travels to all areas of the host country and/or the Region to conduct field visits to support USAID technical leads in monitoring environmental compliance, evaluating mitigation measures, and assessing the overall environmental impact of the implementation of programs/projects/activities. The Specialist acts as an advisor, providing feedback to IPs, identifying problems, and offering technical recommendations and potential solutions for full compliance.
C. Capacity Building (10%)
The Specialist leads assessments of capacity-building shortfalls and identifies effective and efficient training delivery approaches to build the capacity of USAID and IP staff, and host-country counterparts. The Specialist assists staff in identifying and obtaining additional environmental expertise and resources to meet environmental and social compliance needs.
The Specialist develops training methodologies and/or serves as a lead trainer for formal courses and workshops; provides mentoring and on-the-job training to staff, particularly AOR/CORs and IPs, to ensure environmental compliance requirements, policies, and procedures are known and followed.
The Specialist develops networks and shares best practices with other Mission and Regional MEOs and Environmental Officers; provides MEO technical support to other Missions as needed. The Specialist works closely with the regional Bureau Environmental Officer to communicate requirements, policies, procedures, guidance, best practices, and updates, and supports development of and improvements to various communications tools, such as webinars, newsletters, websites, etc.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION
To be considered for this position, offerors must meet the following minimum qualifications:
Education (PASS/FAIL)
Note: Additional education may NOT be substituted for experience.
• The work requires a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science or Engineering, Ecology, Integrated Sustainable Development, Natural Resources Management, or a closely related field.
Prior Work Experience (PASS/FAIL)
Note: Additional experience may NOT be substituted for education.
• A minimum of three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in an area involving application of environmental impact assessment or closely related regulations, standards, policies, and best practices in a developing-country setting is required.
• This experience must demonstrate the ability to prepare and/or review environmental scoping statements, environmental impact assessments, and implement environmental management plans.
CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: October 09, 2024 / 11:59 PM, Philippine Standard Time (PST)
