Safeguards and Compliance Manager

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, biodiversity, and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is providing US$14.8 million to the Government of Angola for the project “Strengthen Management and Climate Change Resilience in Angola's Conservation Areas for Sustainable Development”, one of fifteen Child Projects under the Global Wildlife Program (GWP) Phase II. The project is financed through the GEF Trust Fund and the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and as such includes 13 outcomes related to climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, capacity development and knowledge management. These outcomes will be achieved within seven years and are distributed among four project components which include: (i) strengthening the resilience of local communities to climate change; (iii) improving conservation area management and wildlife conservation; (ii) enhancing the technical and institutional capacity of climate change and conservation institutions, and; (iv) facilitating project monitoring, knowledge management and sharing of lessons learned. Conservation International GEF Agency (CI-GEF) is the Implementing Agency for this project and will work in close collaboration with executing agencies, including CI-Angola, the International Caucus Conservation Foundation (ICCF), the National Institute of Biodiversity and Conservation Areas (INBAC), and African Parks, who play a critical role in operationalizing activities on the ground.

Mainstreaming environmental and social safeguards across all project components is crucial to ensure compliance with CI and GEF policies, national regulations, and international best practices. This approach guarantees that interventions not only achieve biodiversity and climate resilience objectives but also uphold principles of equity, transparency, and risk mitigation. The Safeguard and Compliance Manager, who will be part of the Project Management Unit (PMU), will be responsible for embedding these safeguards throughout the project lifecycle, planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting, while supporting executing agencies to meet safeguard standards consistently for the above-mentioned project.

POSITION SUMMARY - This position is based in Luanda, Angola

The Safeguards and Compliance Manager will support the implementation, management, and capacity building of CI-GEF ESMF requirements at the project level. Comprised of policies, standards, procedures, guidance, capacity-building processes, and a grievance redress mechanism, the CI-GEF ESMF is designed to avoid or mitigate adverse environmental and social impacts in projects.

Under the supervision of the Project Technical Director, the Safeguards and Compliance Manager will support project adherence to the CI-GEF ESMF standards and a human rights-based approach in conservation and project day-to-day monitoring requirements.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide input, analysis, and support to operationalize all environment and social safeguard elements already developed for the GEF-7 project in Angola in alignment with the CI-GEF ESMF requirements, including policies, procedures, guidance, tools, and approaches at the strategic, operational, and country levels.
• Provide technical guidance to project teams in the preparation and timely submission of safeguards screening forms, safeguard plans, work plans, quarterly reports, and annual reports to address social and environmental risks during project development and implementation.
• Ensure that the project adequately integrates all safeguards plans, including an appropriate safeguards budget, and flow down of safeguards responsibilities in grant agreements and contracts.
• Assess national and institutional safeguards policies and frameworks to determine risks and opportunities with funding partnerships.
• Assist in the design, implementation, and monitoring of a safeguards and gender capacity building program, including the development of training materials.
• Participate in and organize awareness-raising, capacity-strengthening, and knowledge exchange activities related to safeguards and gender for CI staff, project teams, executing partners, and stakeholders.
• Participate in relevant safeguards subject area networks and stay updated on safeguards standards pertinent to conservation and climate change adaptation.
• Provide support in the development and dissemination of safeguards and gender related Knowledge Management Products.
• Periodically collect and analyze data related to safeguards performance indicators for the region and performance reviews of the CI-GEF ESMF and CI Safeguards System implementation.
• Provide support to the effective operation of project-level grievance redress mechanisms, including assisting in dealing with complaints from external parties affected by CI projects concerning the application of safeguards.
• Provide support in the effective implementation of stakeholder engagement strategies, including engagement with autochthonous peoples and other stakeholders within the project landscape.
• Oversee the operations of the multi-stakeholder committee, with support from the Community Engagement Officers.
• Ensure that all project safeguard plans are up to date and implemented, including the limited Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, Gender Mainstreaming Plan, Accountability and Grievance Mechanism, and Autochthonous Peoples Plan, among others.
• Oversee the preparation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) and the development of associated management plans for relevant project activities in line with CI-GEF ESMF requirements.
• Conduct a needs assessment of the implementing partners' capacity to implement all of the relevant safeguards plans and undertake capacity building exercises.
• Support each executing agency to develop and implement its safeguard plans.
• Monitor and report on the implementation of safeguard plans throughout the lifespan of the project.
• Undertake other tasks may be assigned according to organizational needs or as determined by the supervisor.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Normal office environment.
• Frequent travel to the project site and other office locations.
• Flexible working hours will be discussed during the interview process, aligned with the requirement to be available to work across time zones.
• This is a fixed-term assignment, with potential for extension based on performance and funding.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in environmental science or a related field, such as international development or social sciences.
• 4 to 6 years of experience working with project and program design, monitoring, and compliance of public or private donor-funded projects in the area of environment, conservation, and/or development, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Knowledge and experience in designing, applying, and monitoring environment and social safeguards (stakeholder engagement, gender mainstreaming, grievance mechanism).
• Strong understanding of the social risks and impacts, particularly the inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized peoples, gender equality, autochthonous peoples, benefit-sharing, conflict, and grievance redress.
• Relevant experience with gender-responsive programming, including the design and implementation of gender action plans.
• Strong capability to communicate with government agencies, local communities, civil society organizations, autochthonous peoples, and other stakeholders.
• Excellent cross-cultural and people skills, commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at both a project and institutional level.
• Ability to work independently and /or remotely, to meet deadlines and commitments.
• Strong interpersonal skills and capacity to work in team environments, including building productive partnerships across a diversity of stakeholders.
• Attention to detail and discretion in the discussion of sensitive risk-related issues.
• Excellent Portuguese oral and written communication skills, including public speaking.

Preferred

• Excellent English oral and written communication skills.
• Relevant post-graduate qualifications

To apply for this position, please submit a resume and cover letter.

Application Deadline: April 13, 2026 (11:49 PM EST). Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis

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