Expertise France recruits 01 Environmental & Social Expert

Expertise France recruits 01 Environmental & Social Expert – SoNG Project in Papua New Guinea

Position: Environmental and Social Expert

Place: based at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Duration: 2 years across 2025-2026

Mission description

Expertise France is seeking to recruit an Expert to provide a consultancy on Environmental and Social risks for the AFD-funded project “Solwara Na Graun Blo Pipol” (SoNG) implemented by Expertise France (see below for project details).

Main tasks:

to oversee the overall Environmental & Social Impact/Risk management system of the project;
to update the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (PEES), then draw up the Environmental and Social Management Framework (CGES);
to draft the annual E&S risk monitoring report for the AFD;
to train the project team in E&S risk management and implementation of the CGES;
to participate in the selection of NGO grants recipients on the basis of E&S criteria;
to ensure the dissemination of E&S best practices for support structures and project stakeholders (e.g. NGO grants recipients, partner universities and research centres) so that they have an effective E&S risk management framework;
to train the project team, in particular project manager, liaison officers, grant officers and the monitoring and evaluation officer (SERA), in identifying, preventing and managing these risks;
to ensure compliance with E&s requirements, in accordance with AFD’s safeguard policies and current legislation in Papua New Guinea;
to ensure that the environmental and social risks generated by the Project’s target activities are taken into account. Beyond the “risk management” approach, the E&S Expert will also be tasked with proposing solutions aimed at maximizing positive environmental and social impacts;
to capitalize on the E&S risk management approach of similar projects (e.g. EU-funded FCCB Project);
to make available all data and information relating to E&S studies required for the preparation of periodic reports on project implementation.

The Environmental and Social Expert will be based in Port Moresby and will report to the Project Manager. Expertise France is currently opening a Country Directorate that will be deployed in 2025 and within which the project will fit. The country office will be made up of a project support unit (PSU) and project management units (PMU) of the agency in Papua New Guinea. He/she will work in functional liaison with Expertise France headquarters in Paris, to whom he/she will be accountable for the progress of the project. He/she will work in close coordination with the agency’s other projects in the country, and will ensure that the activities carried out are in synergy with the agency’s other projects and initiatives.

Expected deliverables and planning

The expected timeline of the E&S expert’s activities is as follows:

Deliverables	Number of days	Where	Period
Oversight of the E & S Impact/Risk management system	30	Port Moresby	2025-26
Update of the PEES	20	Port Moresby	Q1 2025
Drafting of the CGES	60	Port Moresby and other locations in PNG	Q2-Q3 2025
Training the project team to E&S risks	20	Port Moresby	Q4 2025
Dissemination of E&S best practices to stakeholders	20	Port Moresby and other locations in PNG	Q1 to Q4 2026
Drafting the annual E&S risk monitoring report for the AFD	10	Port Moresby	Q4 2025
Total	160 Expert/days

This represents a preliminary plan and anticipated deliverables. The specific activities and deliverables expected from the E&S expert, along with the allocated number of days to complete the tasks, will be detailed in purchase orders jointly developed by the Project Manager. Each purchase order will specify the mission’s objective, duration, number of expertise days, activities to be undertaken, and the expected deliverables within the defined timeline.

The templates provided by Expertise France will be used to develop all these documents.

The Project

As part of the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership (FCLP) and the follow-up to the One Forest Summit in Libreville, coalitions of stakeholders are providing technical and financial support to achieve international climate and biodiversity objectives.

In Papua New Guinea, the SoNG projet is part of the French contribution. This is a project financed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and implemented by Expertise France, focusing on community-based management at local level for biodiversity conservation and rural development.

The overall objective of this project will be to ensure the long-term sustainability of forests and marine and coastal ecosystems, as well as the improvement of living conditions for the people who depend on them. This general objective would be divided into two specific objectives:

Sustainably strengthen the resources and means available to communities, especially women and youth, with a view to strengthening their organisational, legal, technical and economic capacities, contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of marine forests and ecosystems and to the improvement of their living conditions;
Strengthen the governance framework for marine and forest ecosystems, biodiversity and climate at all levels of government to achieve the 30×30 target.

The planned operational components will aim to:

Strengthen and extend the network of protected areas and other conservation measures by supporting community and civil society initiatives, improving their management capacities and developing sustainable agricultural and fisheries sectors that ensure the livelihoods of local people and generate income. Activities will focus on the Bismark Forest Corridor and the Bismark Sea, in particular for tranche 1 of the project;
Support the implementation of national and provincial public policies for the conservation and management of natural resources and to ensure their coordination and coherence with actions carried out by local communities and civil society on the ground;
Support training and research for the recognition and enhancement of traditional knowledge and cultural practices associated with the conservation and management of biodiversity (in conjunction with the projects supported under the previous component).
Strengthen the role of the Papua New Guinea Climate and Biodiversity Fund as an independent vehicle for long-term financing of protected areas and other conservation and climate change measures.

The main objective of the project, which is rated B+ in terms of E&S risks, concerns the management of natural resources in rural areas, which could potentially raise several environmental and social risks. The most significant risk pre-identified in AFD’s exclusion list is that of the absence of residual impacts on critical habitats, even though the project is intended to preserve biodiversity, and therefore to conserve/restore these critical habitats.

It therefore needs to be fully taken into account, both through prior screening of ecosystems and their biodiversity, and through planning to ensure that community activities likely to have an impact (subsistence farming, etc.) take place in degraded habitats. This is all the more important in PNG, given the status of land tenure and the local development imperative to be pursued as part of any biodiversity conservation/management activity via protected areas or other conservation measures.

Expériences / Formation

Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, environmental law, political science, development, geography, biology, agronomy, or any other relevant field with an environmental and/or social specialization
At least 5 years’ experience in environmental and risks management;
At least 2 years’ experience in national planning processes and in the development of strategies related to the protection of marine, coastal and forest ecosystems;
Excellent knowledge of PNG, its context and political institutions is a must;
Knowledge of environmental and social issues specific to the Pacific Region is appreciated;
Fluency in spoken and written English and French is mandatory;
Proven track record of previous CGES and PEES formulation, E&S risks’ trainings delivery and awareness raising;
Proven experience in conducting multi-stakeholder processes and consultations;
Good teaching skills, experience in setting up training courses;
Excellent ability to work in English (oral and written);
Diplomacy and communication skills;
Flexibility, pragmatism and a can-do attitude;
Writing and synthesis skills;
Experience in managing AFD-funded projects or implementing Expertise France procedures would be an asset.

Salaire

Beginning of the contract: January 2025
Expected Implementation period: Initial 2-year period, renewable up to 5 years
Budget: based on the candidate profile
Working conditions: The expert will be based in Port Moresby and may have missions elsewhere in PNG
Contract: Individual expertise contract (consultancy) with purchase orders to initiate operations

Comment postuler

Applications (technical and financial offers) should include the following documents and information:

CV with references;
Cover letter;
Examples of deliverables and achievements produced on the same area of intervention;
Daily rate.