Environmental and Social Safeguards Associate

This vacancy is advertised using a tiered application process:

• Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
• Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments.
• Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers.
• Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates.

Background

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.

UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) derives its mandate from United Nations General Assembly Resolution 33/147 of 20 December 1978. Called upon by United Nations Member States in that year, UNDP was requested “to improve the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people by identifying their social and economic needs and by establishing concrete projects to that end”.

UNDP’s Palestinian Programmatic Framework (PPF) 2023-2027 sets out a vision of “a world in which all Palestinians can enjoy a dignified life and fulfil their own vision of a unified, peaceful and free society”. The PPF is centered around the concept of “Transformative Resilience” and its three elements: a cohesive Palestinian identity, self-reliance, and ownership and leadership. Over the next three years, UNDP/PAPP will build on its experiences and achievements to make critical contributions to the priorities defined by the Palestinian national development plans and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), through interventions in three programmatic priority areas: i) democratic governance and quality services; ii) inclusive economic opportunities; iii) sustainable natural resources management.

Against the backdrop of the war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, UNDP/PAPP has developed an integrated emergency response and early recovery programme to address the urgent needs of the Palestinian people. Since October 2023, UNDP/PAPP has been working closely with UN, NGO, local and national partners to provide immediate support to the affected population in Gaza across three priorities: 1) critical services and infrastructure, including access to clean water, solid waste management, dignified transitional shelter, and debris removal; 2) emergency employment and support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); and 3) support to civil society organizations (CSOs) for multi-sectoral community services and social cohesion.

The Programme Unit works to support achievement of UNDP strategic objectives to create a world where people and planet thrive together, and to help the Gaza Sub Office act with both ambition and scale to address urgent problems facing UNDP/PAPP as well as global climate deteriorating conditions. Programme staff assist UNDP/PAPP in formulating and implementing programme strategies that go beyond solving immediate development challenges to create future smart and integrated systemic changes in resilience and capacity building within UNDP/PAPP.

The Risk Management Unit sits under the direct leadership of the UNDP Special Representative and is responsible for the delivery of the UNDP/PAPP Adaptive Management and Risk Mitigation strategy. This supports programmatic delivery with a high level of fiduciary accountability, conflict sensitivity, human rights/gender, security, social and environmental standards, and informed decision-making to maximize impact and effective programme management. The Environmental and Social Safeguards Associate will also report to the Head of Gaza Sub-Office, providing direct support to decision making by identifying, assessing and managing Environmental and Social risks throughout the programme cycle.

Responsibilities

Compliance & Risk Management

• Support the screening and social and environmental due diligence of all projects and programmes in accordance with the UNDP Social and Environmental Standards (SES), ensuring timely completion and quality assurance of required SES documentation.
• Review and provide technical feedback on the Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) for all new projects and programmes, Environmental and Social Management Frameworks (ESMFs), Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs), and related safeguard documents to ensure alignment with UNDP SES requirements and donor frameworks (e.g., GCF, GEF, WB ESF, KfW).
• Support the preparation, review, and quality assurance of Social and Environmental Impact Assessments (SEIAs), Strategic Environmental and Social Assessments (SESAs), Environmental and Social Management Frameworks (ESMFs), Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs), and other required SES instruments.
• Support the integration of social and environmental risk management measures, including climate risk, gender equality, human rights, disability inclusion perspectives into safeguard analyses and risk management plans.
• Support in monitoring and identifying safeguards risk register, identify emerging risks, developing mitigation measures, and ensuring appropriate management actions are tracked and updated regularly.
• Provide support to project teams to integrate grievance redress mechanisms (GRM), stakeholder response mechanism (SRM) and community feedback loops into the full project cycle. Ensure high levels of information security related to grievances, allegations and feedback to safeguard the integrity of UNDP/PAPP programming.
• Monitor compliance with national environmental and social regulations, ensuring harmonization with UNDP SES and early identification of related risks and issues.

Oversight & Quality Assurance

• Provide ongoing technical support as part of the IRMU risk management processes to UNDP Project/Programme staff, contractors, consultants, and government counterparts to ensure SES safeguards, requirements, risk identification and mitigation measures are effectively implemented during project execution.
• Support project appraisal committees, mid-term reviews, evaluations, and quality assurance processes, ensuring safeguards are systematically addressed. As required, support field visits and desk reviews to assess SES implementation, identify non-compliance or gaps, and provide actionable recommendations.
• Support the management of SES-related incidents and grievances, including reporting, escalation, monitoring and follow-up, alongside other risk areas as part of the Adaptive Management and Risk Mitigation Strategy and in accordance with UNDP policies and procedures.
• Support the implementation, monitoring, and reporting of Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs), Environmental and Social Management Frameworks (ESMFs), and other agreed mitigation measures to ensure compliance with approved SES commitments and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM).
• Support the operationalization, monitoring, and continuous improvement of the Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) for Gaza and the broader PAPP portfolio, including tracking cases, facilitating timely responses, analyzing trends, and reporting of trends and lessons learned.

Reporting, Documentation & Knowledge Management

• Prepare consolidated SES compliance reports for internal UNDP use and for submission to donors (quarterly, annual, and ad hoc).
• Compile lessons learned, best practices, and case studies related to SES implementation, with emphasis on fragile/conflict-affected contexts.
• Contribute to corporate knowledge platforms (e.g., UNDP Teamwork, regional CoPs) to share country office experiences and tools.
• Support the development and maintenance of a repository of SES-related resources, including templates, guidelines, and training materials.
• Draft policy briefs, presentations, and communication products highlighting the office’s safeguards efforts, achievements, and challenges.
• Contribute to corporate reporting obligations, including the UNDP SES Annual Report, donor compliance reports, and country office results frameworks.
• Maintain and monitor SES and broader ERM tracking systems and compliance dashboards, ensuring timely follow-up of screening requirements, assessments, management plans, incidents, grievances, and corrective actions as part of the UNDP/PAPP Adaptive Management and Risk Mitigation Strategy.

Capacity Building & Awareness Raising

• Support the development, implementation, monitoring, and periodic update of the PAPP SES Capacity Assessment and Action Plan, including identification of capacity gaps, training priorities, and institutional measures to strengthen compliance with UNDP SES and related corporate requirements.
• Provide targeted capacity-building support to project teams, implementing partners, contractors, and consultants to strengthen understanding and application of SES requirements, due diligence processes, stakeholder engagement, and risk management measures.
• Support in designing and delivering training workshops, induction sessions, and on-the-job coaching for UNDP staff, implementing partners, contractors, and stakeholders on SES and donor safeguards.
• Support in developing tailored training modules and checklists for different target groups (Programme staff, engineers, contractors).
• Support awareness raising on cross-cutting safeguard issues such as stakeholder engagement and gender-based violence (GBV) risk management.
• Support in creating communications and outreach materials (manuals, toolkits, e-learning) to promote safeguards understanding across the Programme.
• Actively foster a community of practice within the office to ensure continuous learning and peer-to-peer support on safeguards.
• Support the development, implementation, monitoring, and periodic update of the PAPP SES Capacity Assessment and Action Plan to strengthen institutional capacities and compliance with UNDP SES requirements and related corporate policies.
• Provide targeted capacity development support to project teams, implementing partners, contractors, and consultants to improve the application of SES requirements, social and environmental due diligence processes, stakeholder engagement, grievance management, and risk mitigation measures.

The incumbent performs any other duties agreed to within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the guidance of the Special Representative of the Administrator and direct supervision of the Head of Risk Management Unit, the incumbent will also work closely with the UNDP/PAPP results-based management, risk management, partnership and gender capacities to further strengthen mechanisms at various levels for effective management of risks. Based on a UNDP/PAPP’s Adaptive Risk Management and Mitigation Strategy, these additional specialized capacities – together with the Project Teams – will help ensure projects are delivered with the highest standards of conflict sensitivity; human rights/gender considerations; fiduciary accountability; as well as compliance with social and environmental standards.

Core Competencies

• Achieve Results LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline.
• Think Innovatively LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements.
• Learn Continuously LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback.