JOB ALERT: Natural Resources Management Specialist at the World Bank

The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It uses financial resources and extensive experience to help our client countries to reduce poverty, increase economic growth, and improve quality of life. To ensure that countries can access the best global expertise and help generate cutting-edge knowledge, the World Bank Group is constantly seeking to improve the way it works. Key priorities include delivering measurable results, promoting openness and transparency in development, and improving access to development information and data.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Natural Resources Management Specialist
Job #: 172350
Location: Abuja
Job Family: Environment
Job Type: Professional & Technical
Grade: GF
Recruitment Type: Local Hire
Background/General Description
Sustainable environment and natural resources management (ENRM) is at the heart of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) poverty agenda. Biodiversity and natural resources constitute the social safety net of the poor, representing a food bank and often their only source of livelihood. Sustainable ENRM promotes a green clean, and resilient world where natural resources – from forests to fisheries, freshwater, oceans, coastal zones and ecosystems – are managed to support livelihoods and strong economies. Sustainable ENRM builds a world better prepared for shocks and global challenges, helping countries limit their exposure to resource scarcity, more-volatile weather patterns, and the long-term consequences of climate change.
The Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice (GENDR) of the World Bank has been set up to deliver on the opportunities, benefits and outcomes offered by enhanced management of the environment and natural resources. The ENR GP has close to 300 operations under management, representing $7 billion, and a growing pipeline of new investments under active development. 
ENRM activities in Sub-Saharan Africa represent a substantial part of the ENR GP Portfolio. Sub-Saharan Africa, with a population of around 875 million people in 47 countries, is home to 36 of the world’s poorest countries. Making headway against poverty in sub-Saharan Africa continues to present the world with its most formidable development challenge. 
GENDR covers the following business lines:

• GREEN: Forests, Watersheds & Sustainable Landscapes – managing renewable natural capital across landscapes;
• BLUE: Marine, Coastal & Aquatic Resources – unlocking the wealth of marine, coastal and fresh water economies;
• BROWN: Pollution Management & Environmental Health – reducing pollution to improve environmental conditions;
• Clean and Resilient Growth: – fostering economics and institutions for sustainable and sustained growth; and
• Environmental Risk Management & Sustainability: Managing risks and creating opportunity to advice sustainable development, also known as environmental safeguards.

Within GENDR, two units cover these business lines in the Sub-Saharan Region. One unit covers West and Central Africa and the Indian Ocean islands (GEN07) and the other one covers Eastern and Southern Africa (GEN01). Specifically, these two units develop and manage operations and analytical work in a variety of areas such as forestry, biodiversity, watershed management, fisheries, coastal zone management, pollution management, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. 
In addition, these units provide environmental safeguards services to operations funded by the World Bank across all sectors. Considering that most of the projects carry environmental and social impacts, these units are also tasked with ensuring that environmental safeguards are addressed in an efficient and credible manner. 
GEN07 supports national and local governments and communities to improve sustainable management of natural resources and improve preparedness to natural disasters in 26 countries grouped in the following seven Country Management Units: Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal (AFCF1); Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo (AFCF2); Guinea, Mali, Niger, Chad (AFCW3); Nigeria (AFCW2); Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe (AFCC1); Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic (AFCC2); Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles (AFCS2). 
In Nigeria, GEN07 supports a large portfolio of projects across development sectors through environmental safeguards services, as well as several own-managed operations in the GENDR business lines. One of these operations, and by far the largest, is the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) financed by the International Development Association (IDA), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF). The Bank is also supervising the PMEH-funded Lagos Multi-Pollutant Management and Environmental Health Program, the REDD+ readiness grant from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), and preparing other operations.

Duties and Accountabilities

• GEN07 is recruiting a Natural Resources Management Specialist to support the preparation and implementation of lending and grant-funded operations, and Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) in coordination with the Government of Nigeria, donors and other stakeholders particularly in the areas of Watershed Management, Forests and Geo-Spatial and Remote Sensing Tools and South-South Knowledge Exchange (SSKE).

More specifically the staff to be hired will be expected to:
1.) Operational Support for GEN07’s Natural Resources Management portfolio:

• Support the Task Team Leaders (TTLs) for NEWMAP and FCPF;
• Support to Nigeria Climate Change Response, SSKE, ASA, PMEH, WACA and so on;
• Provide operational support to client for the implementation of these programs, and specifically support the implementation of respective components and activities on watershed management, forest, and climate change;
• Provide technical inputs and guidance to clients on appropriate scope, technology, costs, and related issues in connection with the preparation of terms of reference for project-or sector-related work;
• Interact with and strengthen cooperation with local development partners, represent the Bank’s environment and climate change sector program in national-level fora, provide support as appropriate as the Bank’s focal point within task teams, and liaise with government counterparts and other partner organizations (civil society organizations, academia, etc.)
• Interact closely with the TTLs to brief them on all relevant aspects of the projects, including, coordination with other Integrated Watershed Management program partners such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), etc.) and SSKE Program;
• Contribute to the Bank’s analytical, advisory and technical work related to sustainable development on issues such as integrated water resources management, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and Disaster Risk Management (DRM), including support to development/advice on national policies and strategies;
• Monitor and provide advisory support for the adherence to World Bank’s operational policies and quality requirements in technical and fiduciary due diligence. In addition, the candidate may contribute to development of pipeline projects and the mobilization of resources and expertise for their realization.
• Provide inputs to the preparation of diverse operational products/outputs (e.g., sector and country briefings, background reports, case studies, portfolio performance reviews, Trust Fund (TF) Grant Fund Request (GFR), Grant Report Monitoring (GRM) and closing reports, Aid Memoire, Implementation Summary Reports (ISRs), activity completion reports, etc.);
• Participate in missions within area of specialization and participate in discussions regarding advice to borrowers;
• Participate in review meetings and represent GENDR in relevant Bank-wide initiatives; represent the Bank in donor meetings;
• Works independently, seeking guidance on complex projects/issues from senior officers; and
• Other duties and tasks as specified by the Sector Manager, and the relevant project Task Team Leaders/ Program Leaders or whoever they may designate.

2.) Geo-Spatial Support and SSKE Coordination:
Guide projects in the:

• Development of the National Decision Support System for Erosion and Watershed Management in Nigeria;
• Deployment of spatial perspectives to improve development outcomes across, improving NRM, and delivering true transparency; (iii) mapping of land use land cover including the acquisition of necessary spatially referenced data of both primary source such as attributes of selected sites, comprising of soil types, vegetation types and geo-ecological characteristics of project areas;
• Development of spatial database that can be updated from time to time and subsequently, spatial analyses and modeling to produce map documents that can guide key policy and management decision making;
• Proffering geospatial best management practices that could mitigate the current problems and prevent future erosion and flood hazards in the state;
• Review all GIS activities as may be needed; and
• Coordinate South-South knowledge Exchange.

3.) Environmental Safeguards: Provide environmental safeguards support to investment operations under preparation and supervision by other Global Practices in Nigeria.

• During project preparation: identify which of the Bank’s safeguards policies will be triggered; assist the borrower/project implementation agency in preparing these instruments and review them for quality; contribute well-written summaries of key safeguards instruments for inclusion in project documentation. This will also entails providing assistance to staff or client to assure the quality of project documentation before submission to the AFR1 Regional Safeguards Secretariat for approval.
• During project implementation: supervise compliance with the Bank’s safeguards policies by building effective working relationships with the borrower/project implementation agency to ensure proper understanding of the policies; help the borrower/implementing agency apply the safeguards policies effectively.
• During both preparation and implementation: go beyond narrow policy compliance to look for opportunities to improve the environmental outcomes of the project he/she is supporting; work closely with the Social Safeguards Specialist assigned to each operation and provide back up support as required.
• Participate in review meetings and represent AFR1 in relevant Bank-wide initiatives; represent the Bank in donor meetings on the environment; and contribute to knowledge generation and diffusion within the region and beyond.

Indicatively, the proportion of time spent on 1-2) is expected to be about 75% and the portion spent on 3) is expected to be about 25%, but this would depend on business needs and may vary over time.
Selection Criteria

• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
• Proven operations experience in the implementation of WBG projects in the watershed management, forest management, development and operationalization of geo-spatial/portal based decision support system for forest and NRM, climate change and land management
• Policy Dialogue Skills – Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders.
• Knowledge of gender issues in NRM, watershed and forest management.
• Environmental Policy, Strategy and Institutions – Familiarity with environmental policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations as well as Nigeria’s NDC.
• Master’s degree or equivalent academic qualification in a relevant discipline, e.g. geography, geology, environmental Management, ecology, environmental economics, natural resource management, environmental science or related discipline and a minimum of five years of professional experience in the environmental sector and projects.
• Related country work experience in Watershed Management and use of Geo-Spatial Tools in Nigeria, India and China or other SSKE countries are essential.
• Demonstrated leadership and interpersonal skills, and the ability to effectively negotiate and achieve balanced solutions to environmental development problems.
• Ability to work independently and seek guidance on complex projects/issues from senior officers.
• Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams based in multiple locations on diverse and complex tasks.
• Strong client orientation with the ability to build an understanding with implementing agency counterparts.
• A drive for results while working with limited supervision and under tight timelines;
• Demonstrated ability to develop, implement and manage complex operations and tasks, including a track record of building partnerships and collaborations across institutional boundaries.
• Excellent analytical, communications, and writing skills, especially the ability to translate technical research into policy related reports and briefs.
• Knowledge of the World Bank’s operations and business processes, including trust funds highly desirable.
• Commitment to teamwork, knowledge-sharing, and ability to influence across organizational boundaries.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong academic background, including an advanced degree (Master’s degree equivalent required, in Geography, Geology, environmental engineering, environmental chemistry or other field related to watershed management, forest management, climate change mitigation and with a minimum of 5 years directly relevant experience.
• Experience in the design, implementation, and monitoring of environmental projects, particularly in the fields relevant to this position.
• Demonstrated ability to work with limited supervision, independently adjusting priorities and achieving results with agreed upon objectives, and ability to work collegially in a multi-cultural team environment in an openly communicative way.
• Proven excellence in written and spoken English is essential.
• An understanding of World Bank GENDR Portfolio in Nigeria would be an advantage.

Competencies

• Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena – Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients.
• Bank Instruments, Policies, Procedures, and Systems – Fully familiar with Bank Instruments, Policies, Procedures and Systems (including trust funds, safeguards, FM and procurement).
• Policy Dialogue Skills – Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders.
• Integrative Skills – Working to develop an integrated view across all facets of current sector.
• Environmental Policy, Strategy and Institutions – Familiarity with environmental policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations.
• Watershed Management, Land Degradation – Familiarity with the science of watershed management and innovative solutions to land degradation, especially soil erosion in humid regions.
• Gender Issues in NRM – Gender perspectives and insights in environment, NRM, watershed and forest management.
• Environmental Sciences – Depth in at least three areas: watershed management; forests; Geo-spatial and RM techniques; climate change response, etc.
• Lead and Innovate – Develops innovative solutions.
• Deliver Results for Clients – Proactively addresses clients’ stated and unstated needs.
• Collaborate within Teams and Across Boundaries – Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly receives diverse perspectives.
• Create, Apply and Share Knowledge – Applies Geo-Spatial and RM knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients.
• Make Smart Decisions – Interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward.

Other Selection Criteria
In addition to the above the above core competencies the following criteria will have to be satisfied for the position of Natural Resources Management Specialist:

• Master’s degree or equivalent academic qualification in a relevant environmental science, forestry environmental economics, biology, geography, geology, public policy, or equivalent;
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the environmental sector, including proven experience in Watershed Management, REDD+, forest/agriculture landscape, and fisheries projects;
• Experience in implementing (and/or supervising the implementation of) complex watershed management, forest and Natural resources management programs/projects.
• Good knowledge of environmental issues in Nigeria, including but not limited to legislation and institutions;
• Understanding of the Bank’s assistance to the watershed management, forest and sectors in Nigeria, including of the various funding instruments that make up the Bank’s support to the government;
• Familiarity with World Bank’s environmental safeguards policies;
• Familiarity with application of geo-spatial (GIS) and remote sensing tools in the field of watershed, forest and natural resources management;
• International field experience in the watershed, forest, NRM and SSKE;

In addition, the following skills will be particularly considered during the selection process:

• Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams on diverse and complex tasks;
• Understanding of the Bank’s policies and financial instruments;
• Strong client orientation with the ability to build an understanding with implementing agency counterparts on the value-added of Bank operations;
• Drive for results while working with limited supervision and under tight timelines;
• Ability to solve problems rather than merely identify them;
• Ability to think innovatively and negotiate effectively;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and French;
• Willingness to travel internationally as necessary.

Language Requirement:

• English [Essential];
• French [Essential]

Application Closing Date
18th January, 2018.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online
Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.

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