1. ROLE OVERVIEW :
We are looking for an Environmental and Social Specialist to join ESS (Environmental and Social Sustainability), Africa’s premier advisory services firm focused on sustainable development and management of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks in Africa and emerging economies.

This role offers the chance for someone with plenty of creativity and drive to join a dynamic, growing team that is focused on making sustainability happen on the ground.

We believe in implementation, not just writing endless reports and assessments that rarely get actioned.
As such, we assist financial institutions and private companies in understanding where gaps in their project compliance lie in relation to international standards (such as the Equator Principles and IFC Performance Standards) and national legislation, as well as identifying opportunities to maximise positive project aspects.
Once gaps are ascertained, we provide on-going, site-based support to address gaps and develop capacity within the organisation.

You will be an integral part of the ESS team, working in tandem with colleagues based across Africa and emerging economies.
The role offers plenty of scope for career advancement, especially if you are an excellent writer, a strong business developer and/or someone who excels at implementation on the ground.
We are particularly interested in excellent report and proposal writers who can work equally at ease in both English and French.

The role includes working on international projects within a variety of sectors, including:

Financial services and lending institutions, including international financial institutions such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), African Development Bank (AfDB) etc.
Mining
Energy and renewables
Agribusiness
Manufacturing.

2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES :
The Environmental and Social Specialist will have the following responsibilities:

- Provide advice and inputs on projects internationally with a variety of clients
- Undertake Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) due diligence studies in line with compliance frameworks
- Provide support to organisations in developing teams and implementing activities to meet compliance standards
- Prepare scope of works and manage consultants to undertake key studies (baseline, ESIA, critical habitat etc.)
- Advise and provide inputs on sustainability and environmental projects
- Develop sustainability targets and implement measures to attain targets
- Prepare sustainability strategies and other key reports in line with GRI and similar reporting standards
- Develop and implement robust Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) to ISO 14001 / EMAS standard, as well as other key systems, plans and reporting structures
- Undertake other related studies, planning, reporting and activities as required
- Liaise with client management staff and employees to ensure requirements are appropriately implemented
- Build and maintain strong relationships within ESS to maximise interdisciplinary problem-solving
- Provide guidance and develop capacity with colleagues across the organisation on sustainability issues, including mentoring of international staff members.

3. SKILLS :
- The right candidate should possess and be able to demonstrate the following skills in order to adequately respond to the requirements of the role:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Fluent English and French (additional African languages a bonus)
- Strategic thinking, analytical and research skills
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Experience in training and capacity building
- Advanced IT skills – Excel, Word, PowerPoint
- Ability to produce high quality documents.

4. QUALIFICATIONS / EXPERIENCE :
The preferred candidate will possess some or all of the following qualifications / experience:

Qualifications:
- Educated to Bachelor degree level, preferably with 2:1 degree and in an environmental, social or sustainability-related discipline
- Masters, preferably in an environmental, social or sustainability-related discipline
- Five or more years of experience working in consulting and/or management role
- Prior experience working on projects in Africa and emerging economies
- Membership of a professional body e.g. IEMA, IES

Experience:
- Developing strategic documents for companies
- Writing policies and procedures
- Experience conducting audits and verification of sustainability data
- Environmental management systems (e.g. ISO 14001) and/or other management systems
- Sustainability implementation to integrate sustainability considerations into core business processes and procedures
- Experience in setting, measuring and analysing ESG / sustainability KPIs and targets
- Reporting according to key standards i.e. GRI, SASB etc.
- Benchmarking
- Thought leadership
- Engagement with stakeholders e.g. senior management, external bodies and standards, clients etc.
- Provision of training and development.

5. APPLICATION DETAILS :
- To summarise, we are looking for an independent self-starter who is able to produce high quality documents, is confident enough to research and collate information, and can work with colleagues to bring together reports.
While we are location agnostic, our headquarters is based in Dakar, although much of the time our team members work remotely from home.
It is important that you speak and write perfectly in English and French, and have a strong desire to work in sustainability and ESG risk management.