Job #
| 101059 | |
| Job Title | Environmental Specialist (Juba, Sudan) |
| Job Family | Environment |
| Location | Juba, Sudan |
| Appointment | Local Hire |
| Job Posted | 17-May-2010 |
| Closing Date | 07-Jun-2010 |
| Language Requirements | English [Essential] |
| Appointment Type |
| Background / General description |
The World Bank is seeking to recruit an Environmental Specialist with proven operational and analytical experience to join its field–based team based in the World Bank office in Juba, Southern Sudan. This assignment is a one-year term position with a scheduled start date of August 1, 2010, or soonest thereafter. This is a locally recruited position that will not have expatriation benefits. Note: This is a trust funded coterminous position. If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment, however they must have a re-entry guarantee to the current unit at the end of the assignment. All others will be offered a 1 year renewable term appointment. Qualified male and female candidates of diverse background (gender, religious, ethnic, etc) are encouraged to apply. Background Sub-Saharan Africa, with a population of around 782 million people in 47 countries, is home to 36 of the world’s poorest countries. Making headway against poverty in sub-Saharan Africa continues to present the world with its most formidable development challenge. The Africa Region is committed to working with Africans and other development partners to make faster progress toward the MDGs, particularly cutting poverty levels in half by 2015. The Region is comprised of approximately 1750 staff members of whom over 60% are based in the Region's 37 field offices. The strategic thrust of the Environment and Natural Resources group within the Africa Region includes sustainable land, water, forest, coastal and marine management; climate change adaptation and mitigation and related disaster risk management; environmental governance; and ensuring sound environmental design and implementation of all projects and programs in the Africa region, including addressing environmental issues in key natural resource extraction and large infrastructure projects, and protecting regional and global public goods. Sudan is the largest country in Africa by land area, with rich natural resources and an estimated population of 39.2 million in 2008. The opening of the historic Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005 has opened an unprecedented window of opportunity in Sudan to turn the devastation of years of war, displacement, and underdevelopment into a new era of peace and prosperity. One of the main provisions of the CPA include the creation of a semi-autonomous region of Southern Sudan, within an overall federal structure that also includes substantial transfers of powers from national to state level. Southern Sudan has emerged from a civil war that has had diverse negative consequences for the economy and its people. Immediately after the coming into force of the CPA in 2005 the World Bank, the United Nations and other partners assisted the Government of Southern Sudan to develop a framework (called The Joint Assessment Mission) for sustained peace, development and poverty eradication, which is being supported by domestic efforts and resources, as well as development partners. The JAM focuses on a couple of key themes including the consolidation of peace, facilitation of broad-based human and economic development and promotion of environmental sustainability. Linking Southern Sudan’s rebirth to environmental sustainability is in recognition of the fact that competition over access to resources—especially land and water—has been a key driver of conflict, and a review of policies and practices in these areas will be important to consolidating peace. The livelihoods of most Southern Sudanese are based on the natural environment, and most of the country’s energy is generated from biomass sources. The role played by natural resources in Southern Sudan’s conflicts and in the livelihoods of the people highlights the need to address the country’s environmental issues in a comprehensive and sustainable manner. Desertification, land degradation, loss of biological diversity, deforestation or the pollution of land and water resources through excessive exploitation, inappropriate agricultural and livestock practices, extraction of minerals and fossil fuel, if not attended to, could have a negative impact on Southern Sudan’s prospect for economic and social development, the health of its people, the richness and diversity of its ecosystems, as well as its agricultural potential and food security. Thus, environmental concerns, in line with Goal 7 of the MDGs, should be integrated into planning, so as to ensure long-term sustainable development and avoid additional costs in the future. As of January 31st 2010, donor and GoSS commitments to Southern Sudan through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Southern Sudan (MDTF-SS) established under the CPA and JAM are about $1.34 billion ($587.8 million from MDTF donors and $941.9 million from GoSS). The Southern Sudan MDTF portfolio cuts across a range of sectors including: Infrastructure (water supply, health, energy, irrigation and transport); Human Development (health, HIV/AIDS, education and social projects), Commercial Agriculture; Public Sector Governance, and Financial and Private Sector. The Government of Sudan is investing heavily in the extractive industry and energy (hydropower) sectors through funds it secures from bilateral sources, especially from China and Malaysia. These funds are also used to finance oil and mineral exploitation in areas within Southern Sudan. Investments in hydropower development have also been planned for Southern Sudan. The Bank has been endorsed as the administrator of the MDTF-SS and there has been agreement with the GoSS and the MDTF donors that the Bank’s fiduciary guidelines, i.e., procurement, financial management and safeguards will be applied to operate and disburse MDTF-SS funds. The World Bank's environmental and social safeguard policies are a cornerstone of its support to sustainable poverty reduction. The objective of these policies is to prevent and mitigate undue harm to people and their environment in the development process. These policies provide guidelines for Bank and borrower staffs in the identification, preparation, and implementation of programs and projects. The effectiveness and development impact of projects and programs supported by the Bank has substantially increased as a result of attention to these policies. A recent review of the Bank’s portfolio in a number of client countries from an environmental and social assessment point of view indicated an opportunity to enhance the implementation support (supervision) on safeguards, and to establish and maintain a roster of experts familiar with World Bank Safeguards policies. A new disclosure policy in the World Bank also provides new opportunities to work much closer with the government, partners and civil society on environmental and social assessment. The core values guiding our work are passion for our mission of sustainable development and poverty reduction, putting the needs of the client at the center of all our activities, trust and respect as a common currency, intellectual rigor and curiosity, honesty and integrity, teamwork, openness to learning and the courage to admit we do not always have the answer. |
| Duties and Accountabilities |
An Environmental Specialist with a strong operational background is needed to join the World Bank team based in Juba, Southern Sudan. The primary duties are to provide ongoing support to: (i) the environmental safeguards assessment work in Southern Sudan, and (ii) the natural resources sector programs in Southern Sudan, including fisheries, forestry, sustainable land management and water resources sectors. Specifically, the selected candidate will: Provide technical leadership on the environment assessment agenda, and lead coordination of environmental safeguards review and implementation support of the portfolio in the World Bank Juba Sub-office; Provide practical guidance on environmental assessment institutional capacity building within the broader country environmental governance (including the extractive industry sector) context; Provide practical solutions and technical assistance to the government on issues related to environmental assessment and safeguards; Establish a constituency (or roster) of environmental assessment practitioners in Southern Sudan with the aim of enhancing the quality of environmental management within the World Bank portfolio; Contribute to broader strategic discussions in determining the contribution of sustainable environment and natural resources management to Southern Sudan’s portfolio; Contribute in any ongoing and upcoming dialogue with the GoSS, development partners and others on the range of environmental and natural resource management issues (extractive industry, energy, transport, agriculture, fisheries, forestry & wildlife, water resources, ecotourism, climate change and disaster risk management); and Work with organizations within and outside the Bank to advance knowledge development and knowledge diffusion in these areas. |
| Selection Criteria |
Have a minimum of a Master’s degree in environmental engineering, environmental assessment, or natural resources management; Have had at least five years of relevant work experience on both ‘green and brown environmental issues’; Have solid knowledge of Southern Sudan policies for environmental assessment, and familiarity with the ten World Bank Safeguards policies; Knowledge of environmental and natural resources economics, management, and climate change and climate adaptation; Exhibit trustworthiness, integrity, dedication, perseverance, flexibility and a “can-do” attitude; Demonstrated record of strong and independent analytical skills and research support work; Demonstrated attention to detail and quality assurance Exhibit good time management skills and ability to multi-task and work to achieve results under time pressure and stress ; Ability to work effectively in a team-oriented, multi-cultural environment; Strong interpersonal skills and ability to develop effective relations within and outside the Bank, and to promote collaboration within the team to meet Department and Regional objectives; Good understanding of Bank operational processes and procedures a strong advantage; |