Recruitment of Social Safeguard Specialist — ECOWAS Regional Electricity Access Project (ECOREAP)

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

The Gambia

ECOWAS-REGIONAL ELECTRICITY ACCESS PROJECT (ECOREAP)

Loan No./Credit No./ Grant No.: IDA/ D4080

Assignment Title: Social Safeguard Specialist. (As per Procurement Plan): GM-NAWEC-387345-CS-INDV

The ECOWAS Regional Electricity Access Project (ECOWAS-REAP) funded by the World Bank is a series of projects that aims to increase people's access to reliable energy services, which is one of the major challenges in the ECOWAS region. It builds on the ECOWAS Rural and Peri-Urban Electrification Master Plan, designed to meet the short- and medium-term needs of the Member States in terms of access to electricity as well the regional interconnection projects funded by the World Bank under the ECOWAS Power Generation and Transmission Master Plan implemented by WAPP.

The proposed project is the first of two in a series of projects (SOP) to provide access to 1.1 million people in Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and The Gambia. The project will finance the expansion of medium- and low-voltage networks from the high-voltage substations of the Gambia River Basin Development Organization (Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Gambie, OMVG) and Senegal River Basin Development Organization (Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal, OMVS) to transform their power sectors and enable them to achieve their common objective of delivering more power to more consumers.

In line with the Above, The Gambia Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in relation with the World Bank plan to recruit a Social Specialist to work on relevant project activities.

• Scope of Work Safeguards Specialist’s overall responsibility will be ensuring strict compliance of project preparation and implementation activities with social safeguards regulations of the financing institutions and Gambian legislation.

In general, he/she will be responsible for providing advice and technical assistance to the project and all stakeholders to ensure acceptable quality of social risk and impact management in accordance with the World Bank's operational policies and EHS guidelines and, where applicable, national regulations in The Gambia

Activities to be performed by the Social Safeguards Specialist include but are not limited to the following:

• Ensure the diffusion of the project's safeguard instruments and contribute to the stakeholders' appropriation.
• Provide overall technical social safeguards oversight for the project preparation and implementation under the general management of the PIU Coordinator.
• Participate systematically in the development of terms of reference (TOR) for the conduct of specific social assessments and other social studies (i.e., RAP and/or Audits, etc.) of the Project.
• Evaluate the gaps between Gambian legislation and the World Bank’s standards on social issues, including compensation, eligibility, vulnerability, etc.…
• Focus will be on social risk management, including measures for addressing inclusive stakeholder engagement, social accountability, social inclusion, conflict reduction, addressing disadvantage and vulnerability, restoration of livelihoods, gender mainstreaming and considerations in risk management, and familiarity with social methodologies, and other social issues that may arise in the project. Familiarity addressing gender-based violence (GBV)/sexual harassment exploitation and abuse (SHEA) is also preferred.
• Participate in the selection process of service providers to carry out environmental and social studies and be involved in the implementation and/or control/monitoring of social safeguards during the works.
• Providing necessary coordination and relevant input into preparation of Environmental and Social Impacts Assessment (ESIA) and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for projects under preparation and implementation.
• Conduct a quality review of documents related to social and environmental activities carried out at the sub-project level and facilitate the process of approval and disclosure of safeguard instruments (i.e. RAP, ESMP-C, RGM, etc.) and their implementation (i.e. payment of compensation, social support for PAPs, with particular attention to vulnerable groups including women, youth and the elderly, the disabled, etc.), in accordance with current national regulations and the World Bank's environmental and social standards.
• Ensuring that bidding documents and contracts include necessary social safeguards provisions.
• Ensure the development and quality of the C-ESMPs and other instruments for mitigating social risks and impacts and gender and vulnerability aspects by the companies in charge of the works and their approval by the Owner Engineer and/or IC.
• Conduct/participate, together with the environmental safeguard specialist, in supervision missions to verify and attest to the status of implementation of social safeguards, as well as gender, social inclusion, vulnerability, etc.
• Supervise and monitor contractors’ performance in handling specific social issues; provide corrective instructions as needed.
• Prepare relevant parts of required social monitoring reports, including reports on ESMP implementation status.
• Undertake regular field visits to project sites to assess social impacts and verify social monitoring information provided in the reports of contractors and implementing partners, including photo documentation as applicable.
• Keep accurate records of social supervision of project activities in a systemic manner that allows easy search-and-find of all documents upon request of [project management entity], the World Bank, and national authorities.
• Supervise and participate in the implementation of stakeholder consultations and coordinate the implementation of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.
• Suggest appointing stakeholder focal points to facilitate and sustain engagement with stakeholders.
• collaborate with the Environmental Department and the competent authorities on the Project's compliance with national regulations in terms of social safeguards, gender, vulnerability and social development.
• Analyzing project implementation reports to ensure that all work is completed in full compliance with Safeguards Policies; supervising contractors’ performance in handling specific social issues, such as GBV/SHEA/VAC (and monitoring measures related to the Codes of Conduct); providing corrective instruments as needed.
• Monitor the development, dissemination, accessibility, and functionality of the project's Grievance Redress Mechanism, in particular the settlement of disputes and conflicts arising from the implementation of the RAPs and the C-ESMPs, and propose appropriate corrective measures; ensure the consolidation of data and periodic reporting in conjunction with the Dispute Settlement Committee and all other relevant stakeholders Ensures that complaints related to GBV/ASR/HS are properly handled,
• Ensure that national environmental and social procedures are applied to project activities, and that the implementation of management plans complies with environmental and social standards relevant to the project.
• ensure that the project complies with social safeguard measures before work starts (implementation of RAPs, disclosure of GRM, etc.).
• participate in and ensure the implementation of the recommendations (relating to social safeguards, gender and social development aspects) of the aide-mémoires of project implementation support missions carried o with the World Bank.
• contribute, in collaboration with the Environmental, Gender/SEA/HSs Safeguards Specialist, and at the Coordinator's request, to any other activities such as building the technical capacity of the various stakeholders (technicians, service providers, recipient communities, etc.) in safeguards, development of a code of conduct relating to specific aspects of the project (i.e. gender and development, gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, occupational health and safety, forced/child labor, etc.). REPORTING LINE/COMMUNICATION

• The consultant shall report to the Project Coordinator, PIU and work cross-functionally and closely with PIU staff and other pertinent authorities, and development partners.
• Other activities, as instructed by the PIU Coordinator. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Master’s degree in social sciences such as political science or policy, sociology, anthropology, gender studies, social assessment studies, or related fields (with experience in areas relevant to social safeguards such as land acquisition or resettlement, vulnerable groups and individuals, gender, livelihoods, participation and civic engagement, social impact analysis, assessment of social risks).
• At least 5 years’ experience in the region in compliance with social safeguards policies including involuntary resettlement.
• Good knowledge of the relevant regulations/directives and operations of multilateral development organizations and executing agencies.
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge of Bank operations and social safeguard policies, especially, experience and familiarity with complex safeguard work.
• Proven experience and skills in managing projects.
• Proven capacity to work across multiple stakeholders, including government entities, civil society organizations (CSOs), local communities, and the private sector.
• Demonstrated experience in the World Bank project cycle and procedures.
• Fluent in English with excellent written and oral skills.
• Advanced computer skills and full proficiency in the use of relevant software applications in using computers and software such as Microsoft Office suite.
• Participate in capacity-building training to strengthen competencies as need be.
• Work with GBV consultant to strengthen capacity on addressing GBV/SHEA/VAC risks in the project.
• Knowledge of local language like Mandinka, wollof, fula, or serere is a requirement since the project is intervening in rural areas.
• Familiarity with risks and mitigation mea