Senior Environmental & Social Development Specialist in Agribusiness (South America Region)

The Senior Environmental and Social Development Specialist will advise clients and teams on managing E&S risks in line with IFC Performance Standards and Sustainability Policy. The goal is to ensure compliance and maximize the impact of IFC-supported investments and advisory services. This role reports to the Regional Manager, with the DI Regional Team Leads as the primary supervisors.

Roles and Responsibilities

Early Screening, Due Diligence, Portfolio supervision:

• Lead or support the assessment of E&S issues/risks in new investments and select advisory engagements in manufacturing, agribusiness, and supply chain.
• Identify and develop risk mitigation measures and value-add solutions that support clients in addressing identified issues; advise on structuring, appropriate mitigation measures and contractual alignment of interest to address risks and impacts.
• Provide clear and responsive guidance to IFC investment teams on E&S risk management in project decision-making and processing considering E&S risk issues, including clear communication to teams and management throughout the investment cycle.
• Discuss and support formulation of E&S legal conditions for projects legal agreements.
• Proactively monitor portfolio clients and engage with clients to achieve compliance. Clearly document and communicate any outstanding or emerging gaps between client performance and IFC requirements, and related risks to IFC.
• Support industry teams and clients in response to CAO and IEG requests, leading discussion with CAO and IEG officers
• In coordination with industry and CEG advisory teams, build capacity with clients on issues related to E&S issues, including clients’ monitoring and evaluation of E&S activities and outcomes.
• Contribute to portfolio analysis to identify systemic issues and assess trends; or of policy nature and propose policy adjustments as needed.
• Contribute to regional supervision program reviews and quarterly reports.

Upstream, Advisory Services and PPP support:

• On basis of portfolio analysis, help identify systemic bottlenecks existing in the market that prevent adequate E&S risk management in key markets. In collaboration with Upstream officers and advisory teams, help develop upstream activities by using technical experience and expertise.
• Work proactively to identify opportunities for advisory engagements that result in greater development impact and value for the client; Provide expert input into new IFC advisory offering.
• Provide support to PPP projects including identifying key E&S risks associated with the projects against the requirements of IFC’s Performance Standards, define the scope of work for E&S Studies, support the selection of consultants for the development of such studies, and review interim and final studies for alignment with IFC Performance Standards, accurateness, and completeness. 

Knowledge Management:

• As needed, participate in cross-regional and global teams responsible for the preparation of policy interpretation notes on E&S topics and contribute to the corporate knowledge base by analyzing and disseminating lessons learned from project work.
• Participate in forums or conferences to showcase IFC experience, approach and value proposition.
• Prepare management briefs of relevant E&S matters.
• Provide guidance to more junior staff and Short-Term Consultants (STCs) working on E&S risk management and supervise the timeliness and quality of their work, in coordination with Regional Team Lead.

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Selection Criteria for Senior Environmental Social Development

• Master’s degree or equivalent in agribusiness, environment management, engineering, climate change, social or other relevant disciplines
• Minimum of 8 years of professional experience working on E&S due diligence in the international context, with strong preference for experience in the private sector working across different industry sectors.
• Experience working E&S Policies and Standards. Experience with IFI and/or World Bank Group Standards preferred.
• Working experience in emerging markets, ideally in fragile and conflict environments.
• Willingness to travel regularly in emerging market countries.
• Strong analytical skills, ability to think strategically, analyze and synthesize diverse information sources, and draw conclusions from sometimes limited data.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously under tight deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to changing circumstances, organize and prioritize deliverables, and maintain attention to detail
• Ability to communicate effectively and concisely on complex environmental and social issues in spoken and written form, in a manner that can be understood by non-experts. English is essential, additional language skills such as Spanish and Portuguese are highly desirable.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including the ability to relate well with a wide range of internal and external parties (including senior staff, management, IFC’s accountability mechanism and clients) and develop solutions in potentially tense or conflicting situations.
• Ability to work effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural team, influence and negotiate point of view within teams.
• Exemplary project management skills and ability to manage multiple tasks under tight deadlines.
• High personal integrity and emotional intelligence, with demonstrated ability to handle sensitive matters in a discreet and respectful manner. Diplomatic approach and calm under pressure.

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