Environmental and Social Development Specialist

Environmental and Social Development Specialist Job #: req35534 Organization: World Bank Sector: Safeguards Grade: GF Term Duration: 3 years 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Lilongwe,Malawi Required Language(s): English Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 2/16/2026 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity on a livable planet. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.
Eastern and Southern Africa (AFE) Region
Home to about 700 million of Africa’s people, Eastern and Southern Africa is a geographically, culturally and economically diverse region of 26 countries stretching from the Red Sea in the North to the Cape of Good Hope in the South. Children under 18 make up almost half of the total population. The subregion boasts of some of the world’s richest human and natural resources and, apart from South Africa, the countries are predominantly raw material exporters.
The subregion harbors some of Africa’s protracted conflicts, rendering many of its countries fragile, while significant gaps in education, health, and skills development continue to keep people from reaching their full potential. This creates a huge development challenge, impacts heavily on the lives and livelihoods of people, and hinders regional integration and trade. But it also creates an opportunity to work closely with country leaders, civil society, development partners, and young people to chart a brighter course for the future.  The World Bank’s Eastern and Southern Africa Region, comprised of approximately 1,200 staff, mostly based in 26 country offices, has been helping countries realize their considerable development potential by focusing on the following priorities:
• Creating Jobs and Transforming Economies: We are working with countries across Africa to stimulate job creation and economic transformation by leveraging all sources of finance, expertise, and solutions to promote investment.• Building up the Digital Economy: We are supporting Africa’s vision to ensure that every African individual, business, and government is connected by 2030 – a vision that, if realized, can boost growth by up to 2 percentage points per year, and reduce poverty by 1 percentage point per year in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.• Making Institutions more Efficient and Accountable: Our support helps governments strengthen public policy processes, manage resources effectively, and reinforce fair and reliable delivery of public services.• Investing in People: We are at the forefront of helping African countries accelerate human capital gains and empower women by improving their access to education and skills acquisition, sexual and reproductive health services, and employment opportunities.• Supporting Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation:  In the face of increasing climate-related risks, we are working with African countries to advance efforts to adopt renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and green infrastructure.• Addressing the Drivers of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence: Given the cross-border nature of conflicts in Africa, we are employing an approach that simultaneously focuses on the drivers of fragility while also supporting well-targeted regional initiatives to create opportunities for peace and shared prosperity.• Building Partnerships and Working across the African Continent: We are scaling up our work on regional integration, taking a holistic view of the continent that covers both North and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Eastern and Southern Africa (AFE) Region: 
On October 1, 2018, the World Bank launched a new Environment and Social Framework (ESF) to help protect people and the environment in the investment projects that it finances. The effort, now about seven years under implementation, is one of several initiatives, including procurement reform, the gender strategy, and the climate change action plan, undertaken by the Bank to improve development outcomes.
The ESF brings the World Bank’s environmental and social (E&S) protections into closer harmony with those of other development institutions, and makes important advances in areas such as transparency, non-discrimination, social inclusion, public participation, and accountability – including expanded roles for grievance redress mechanisms. ESF helps to ensure social inclusion, non-discrimination, and explicitly references human rights in the overarching vision statement.
As the World Bank Group (WBG) advances with modernizing its ESF approach, a new organizational arrangement has been agreed involving “Makers” (responsible for preparation, implementation support, and monitoring and problem solving) and “Checkers” (responsible for monitoring and risk-based oversight, and identifying and flagging challenges and problems that need to be addressed) to ensure a strengthened approach to risk management on E&S matters. The new arrangements also demonstrate a commitment to promoting “One WBG” and the key role that the Environmental and Social leadership in IDA/IBRD, IFC and MIGA, will play in this effort.  
The Eastern Safeguards Unit (SAEM2) is one of the three units in AFE that manages E&S risks and covers two Country Management Units (CMUs): The Kenya CMU comprising of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Somalia; and the Tanzania CMU comprising of Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. SAEM2 (i) provides upfront advisory and analytics towards enhancing country environmental and social systems; (ii) supports other global practices in meeting the objectives and requirements of Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) in their operations, and (iii) is responsible for quality assurance on all environmental and social risk management instruments for the region.  
The Position:  Environmental and Social Development Specialist
The Environmental and Social Development Specialist will support the World Bank’s engagement in Malawi, and potentially other countries in the region. As part of a multidisciplinary team, the Specialist will advise on environmental and social risk management and ensure that Bank-financed projects are inclusive and sustainable in line with the Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework. The position is based in Lilongwe, Malawi. 
Duties and Accountabilities:
As a core member of World Bank Task Teams, the Environment and Social Development Specialist will advise Task Teams and clients in various sectors, and support project designs and implementation, making sure that Bank-assisted projects are inclusive and present clear and implementable measures for addressing environmental and social risks whilst finding opportunities to enhance the development outcomes of Bank financed operations in East Africa. The specialist will lead and promote the ESF agenda in the design and implementation of projects in East Africa.
The specialist will lead and promote the ESF agenda in the design and implementation of projects. The Specialist will have the following key responsibilities:
• Ensure the effective integration of environmental and social due diligence as defined by World Bank Group (WBG) Environmental and Social Management Framework, safeguards policies as well as international good practice documents (e.g. Equator Principles) into the design, appraisal and implementation of WBG supported projects and analytical work.
• Provide Environmental and Social advice to client and counterpart organizations, project teams and WBG management with regard to preparation and implementation of E&S instruments and tools which include but are not limited to: Environmental and Social impact assessments; regional, strategic and cumulative E&S assessments; environmental and social management frameworks and thematic subject plans, including plan for monitoring, reporting and evaluation; public consultation plans; Stakeholder Engagement Plans (SEP) Grievance Redress Mechanisms (GRM); and Labor Management Procedures (LMP), and specific plans related to natural habitats conservation, natural resource management, pest management, forest management, dam safety and international waterways management etc. Such advice will be based on a detailed analysis of baseline conditions, project scope and impacts, requirements from national legal and institutional frameworks and, and compliance with the WBG’s ESF and operational policies.
• Conduct environmental and social due diligence and prepare Environmental and Social Risks Review Summaries (ESRS); Environmental and Social Commitment Plans (ESCP); and contribute to Project Appraisal Documents and operational manuals (e.g., Environmental, Social, Health and Safety Risk Management Manual). This also includes completing necessary administrative activities used by the Bank to track and monitor environmental and social performance of projects.
• Review environmental and social TOR for E&S instruments and tools including assessment products and E&S instruments prepared by clients for other Bank Global Practices, such as Education, Health, Social Protection, Water, Transport and Energy, and private sector development. In this regard, provide timely feedback and suggestions to clients on measures for ensuring such instruments are in line with the Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework.
• Participate in project preparation, appraisal, and supervision, including actively participating in operational missions and reporting on ESF compliance. support the resolution of emerging issues to ensure results on the ground and project implementation progress.
• Contribute to policy dialogue, portfolio reviews, and analytical work on environmental and social sustainability and risk management with internal and external clients. 
• Maintain active engagement with stakeholders, identify partnerships, and support ESF development initiatives.
• Ensure timely reporting on ESF compliance, proactive monitoring, management, and preparation of relevant ESF risk management briefs.
• Contribute and provide support to practice teams responsible for the preparation of policy notes, Systematic Country Diagnostics (SCD), Country Partnership Frameworks (CPF), Country Policy and Institutional Assessments, Development Policy Lending (DPL), sector studies, and research and policy development activities as well as analytical advisory activities and research on ESF related issues.
• Contribute to enhancing the capacity of the client countries to implement the Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework for handling project risks and enhancing the sustainability of World Bank financed projects, especially in low-capacity contexts.

Selection Criteria

• At least a Master’s degree in environmental or social sciences (environmental science, Natural Resources Management, Environmental planning and management, Environmental economics, Development Studies, Social Anthropology, Sociology), or related discipline is required. 

• A minimum of 5 years of full-time relevant professional experience in environmental and social management, or environmental and social risk assessment and mitigation in Eastern and Southern Africa and/or elsewhere in Sub-Sahara Africa is required with experience in Malawi preferred.  • Knowledge and experience in environmental risk assessment and management of environmental and social compliance including occupational health and safety in investment projects involving civil works.  

• Technical experience in environmental and social risk assessment, mitigation management and compliance related to infrastructure projects.• Knowledge and demonstrated competence in operationalizing the global sustainability frameworks of International Finance Institutions (IFIs) such as the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework, IFC’s Environmental and Social Performance Standards, the African Development Bank’s Policies and Standards and/or standards of other Development Partners.

• Proven ability to engage effectively with Government, private sector, project beneficiaries and civil society.• Experience in the preparation of environmental safeguard/risk management documents of the lending projects of the WBG or other international organizations Ability to present complex environmental and social risks and sustainability issues in a simple way to people of different technical backgrounds. Fluency in English is required (writing, speaking, listening and reading).

• Fluency in Chichewa is Preferred. • Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving skills, and ability to think innovatively and strategically to find solutions to complex development problems within a team.

• Readiness for frequent travel within Country duty station and the AFE region.