VCCRP Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) Advisor

VCCRP Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) Advisor

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)

Contract Type: Consultant – contracted for 29 days per year

About the Project

The Vanuatu Community-based Climate Resilience Project (VCCRP) is the largest locally-led adaptation project to be delivered in the Pacific region. VCCRP is designed to reduce climate-related vulnerabilities of communities across all 6 provinces of Vanuatu. This project aims to increase communities’ resilience to climate variability, climate extremes, and other effects of climate change and to build the adaptive capacity required by communities to ensure that the standards of living are not adversely affected by climatic impacts. VCCRP seeks to accomplish this by:

1. developing and implementing scalable, locally appropriate actions to meet immediate and future adaptation needs of communities;

2. strengthening and supporting government and civil society to facilitate local-level adaptation;

3. facilitating dialogue between communities, government, civil society and the private sector on ways to work together to address the challenges that climate change will continue to bring.

VCCRP is managed by a Program Management Unit (PMU) located at the Department of Climate Change (DoCC) within the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC). Project activities will be delivered by Area Council and Provincial-level partners alongside the National Disaster Management Officer (NDMO) at the MoCC, the Department of Local Authorities (DLA) within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA); the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and the Vanuatu Fisheries Department (VFD) within the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity (MALFFB); and the Department of Water Resources (DoWR) within the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MoLNR).

Save the Children Vanuatu (SCV) will be a core implementing partner for VCCRP working closely together with Government of Vanuatu (GoV) to deliver project activities with funding support from the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Role Purpose

The Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) Advisor role will work closely with the PMU for VCCRP, and the project’s implementing stakeholders at the DoCC, the NDMO, the DLA, the VFD, the DARD, and the DoWR to ensure project activities are designed, implemented, and monitored to mitigate adverse impacts to local populations and the environment; to enhance equitable access to development benefits; and to give due consideration to vulnerable and marginalised populations. The ESS Advisor provides technical advice, program leadership, and guidance on ensuring that the project complies with environmental and social safeguards as it relates to climate change resilience-building in Vanuatu and as this aligns to best practices and GCF programming.

While the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation (DEPC) does not have an operational budget as part of the VCCRP, it is still considered to be an important project stakeholder and the ESS Advisor will be expected to work closely with the DEPC to ensure that Vanuatu’s environmental laws, regulations, and best practices for environmental safeguarding are adhered to throughout the duration of VCCRP.

The PMU for VCCRP is located within the DoCC and is responsible for the day-to-day technical support, management and coordination between government ministries and departments at national, provincial and area council level to ensure project plans are implemented in line with project documents and in line with the compliance requirements of the GCF, Accredited Entity and GoV.

Key Areas of Accountability

Technical Leadership

· Ensure that all relevant implementing partners (including the PMU) are sensitized on the Environmental and Social Assessment and Residual Risk Management Plan (RRMP) and receive appropriate training to ensure that implementation and planning of VCCRP activities adheres to environmental and societal / cultural best practices, and is in accordance with existing legislation and regulations in Vanuatu

· Ensure that all relevant implementing parties are sensitized on aspects of the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) and receive appropriate training to fulfil their responsibilities related to the GRM

· Formally monitor and report on the environmental and social performances of all activities aligned with project reporting requirements

· Ensure that implementing parties manage their environmental and social performance in line with the project Residual Risk Management Plan (RRMP)

· Seek opportunities to link ESS safeguards to national safeguarding regulations and capacities. Knowledge of national and regional Environmental and Social Assessment and GCF's Revised Environmental and Social Policy is desirable.

· Conduct comprehensive assessments of environmental and social risks and impacts, including transboundary and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) considerations, for proposed activities seeking Green Climate Fund (GCF) financing.

· Ensure proposed activities comply with the Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) standards of GCF and this policy.

· Sensitize all relevant implementing partners, including the Project Management Unit (PMU), on the Environmental and Social Assessment and Residual Risk Management Plan (RRMP).

· Provide appropriate training to ensure that the planning and implementation of Vanuatu Climate Change and Resilience Program (VCCRP) activities adhere to:

o Environmental and social best practices.

o Existing legislation and regulations in Vanuatu.

Project Implementation

· Manage the project’s residual risk management plan (RRMP), including developing processes for oversight of implementing parties, reporting against the plan, and updating the plan as appropriate

· Lead the application process of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) as required by DEPC for specific project activities, or facilitate other required safeguarding processes for environmental and social risk-screening

· Lead the development and implementation of the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) for the project

· Support the application of the Save the Children and donor safeguards (including risk screening) in programmatic activities

· Raise awareness amongst target communities on the VCCRP Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM).

· Ensure RRMP shall inform all procurement processes, planning of activities, and development of ToRs to ensure appropriate safeguard measures are captured.

· Screen project activities that involve community-based participatory approaches or activities that may potentially impact the environment.

Project Quality

· Contribute to the development of guidance on gender-equity and social-inclusion sensitive monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEAL)

· Support the development of an evidence-base for gender equity and disability inclusive approaches, both integrated and standalone

· Ensure real-time lessons learned are integrated into the project for improvement and/or course correction of the interventions, with the implementation team and in agreement with the PMU

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