WCS recruits 01 Social Safeguards and Human Right Advisor

Location:        Goma/Bukavu, with frequent visits to, Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP), Okapi                         Wildlife Reserve (OWR), Kabobo Wildlife Reserve (KWR) and Kinshasa in  Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Reports To:    Director of Programs, WCS-DRC

Background
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) implements a diverse portfolio of conservation and development programs across Africa, supported by international partners including KfW, EU, Nature Africa, and other bilateral and multilateral donors. Ensuring adherence to environmental and social safeguards, advancing human rights, and promoting equitable stakeholder engagement are critical for the integrity and impact of our programs. WCS seeks a qualified Social Safeguards and Human Rights Advisor to strengthen compliance systems, mitigate risks, and ensure that conservation outcomes advance inclusive, rights-based, and sustainable development.
Purpose:
The purpose of this position is to oversee the effective implementation and management of WCS’s Environmental and Social Safeguards mechanisms and policies, including the integration of human rights and environmental protection in its DRC country program. The Safeguards and Human Rights Advisor (“The advisor”) will provide comprehensive support for social and environmental safeguards across all operations in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Okapi Wildlife Reserve, and Kabobo Wildlife Reserve to ensure ethical, rights-based, and sustainable programming in each landscape. This includes active engagement with and protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), ensuring their meaningful participation and safeguarding their environmental and cultural resources. A primary responsibility for the Advisor will be ensuring adherence to environmental and social safeguards, advancing human rights, and promoting equitable stakeholder engagement are critical for the integrity and impact of our programs.

The Adviser will report directly to the Director of Programs, WCS-DRC and serve as a strategic partner to the leadership teams of KBNP, OWR, and KWR, engaging collaboratively to advance integrated safeguards and adaptive management across all landscapes. Close coordination with the Regional Environmental and Social Safeguards Coordinator (based in Kigali) is essential to ensure alignment with regional best practices and standards.
The Advisor will provide technical leadership, oversight, and capacity building on social safeguards, human rights, and equity-related concerns, ensuring the integration of social risk management frameworks with human rights obligations and alignment with donor safeguard requirements and international best practices. Based in Goma/Bukavu, DRC, the Advisor will maintain a strong field presence through regular site visits to KBNP, OWR, and KWR, offering hands-on oversight, technical support, and staff mentoring to ensure ethical and inclusive conservation programming. The role requires advanced expertise, strong cultural awareness, and the resilience to operate effectively in dynamic, multicultural, and often challenging conservation contexts.

Key Responsibilities

Safeguards Compliance and Risk Management

• Lead and verify project compliance with a range of international donor safeguard frameworks (such as KfW, EU, etc), ensuring all safeguard instruments are up to date and rigorously applied throughout the project cycle.
• Conduct comprehensive social risk identification, screening, ESIA and prioritisation, and develop integrated mitigation, monitoring, and adaptive management frameworks, collaborating with the Regional ESS Coordinator, project teams and stakeholders to ensure that risk management is proactive and evidence-based.
• With support from the regional ESS coordinator, ensure effective operation of accessible and responsive grievance redress mechanisms (GRMs), with special attention to participation and protection for vulnerable populations, providing regular training and oversight for GRM focal points and safeguarding data confidentiality.
• Implement strong monitoring and reporting systems, tracking compliance status, risk trends, and the effectiveness of corrective actions; deliver transparent updates to management and donors, while driving continual safeguards improvement and facilitating lessons learned across teams and partners.
• Ensure all site-based GRM leads provide timely and actionable feedback from pilot phases to park/reserve Directors, the DRC Country Director-Programs, regional safeguards leadership, and the full range of implementation partners, fostering transparent sharing and rapid adaptation.

Human Rights and Social Inclusion

• Integrate internationally recognised human rights standards, including non-discrimination, participation, and accountability, throughout all stages of conservation programming, ensuring that projects respect, protect, and promote the substantive and procedural rights of all stakeholders, particularly Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
• Design, implement, and monitor strong strategies for gender equality, youth engagement, and the protection of marginalised and vulnerable groups, setting measurable objectives and building local capacity to ensure genuine inclusion and equitable benefit-sharing.
• With support from the Regional ESS Coordinator to provide expert technical guidance and strategic oversight on land and tenure rights, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and conflict sensitivity, ensuring all project actions are compliant with international law, reflective of affected groups’ aspirations, and documented through participatory, transparent processes.
• Support and oversee confidential, survivor-centred case management systems for rights-based grievances, including sensitive areas such as gender-based violence (GBV), facilitating access to remedies, referrals, and psychosocial support, and using lessons learned for continual improvements in safeguards practice.

Capacity Building and Technical Support

• Collaborate closely with the Regional ESS Coordinator to design, coordinate, and deliver tailored training and continuous mentoring programs for WCS staff, partners, ICCN staff, Ecoguards and diverse stakeholders on social safeguards, human rights, and inclusive conservation, using interactive, context-appropriate methodologies and adult-learning principles to ensure knowledge retention and practical skills development.
• Lead the development and customisation of technical tools, guidance documents, and standard operating protocols that build institutional capacity and empower field teams to achieve consistent, high-quality safeguards compliance, including ESMS, stakeholder engagement, risk assessment, and grievance mechanisms.
• Provide hands-on advisory and oversight support to country offices in the full integration of safeguards frameworks, guiding program design, adaptive implementation, and evidence-based reporting while fostering a learning culture and sharing best practices across regions.
• Collaborate closely with the Regional ESS Coordinator to develop and deliver advanced training for GRM staff, with a focus on survivor-centred approaches, digital GRM management, trauma-sensitive communication, and effective delegation of responsibilities.

Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership

• Lead participatory engagement processes that integrate communities, government agencies, local NGOs, and regional platforms from project inception through adaptive management—fostering trust, collaborative decision-making, and shared ownership of conservation initiatives.
• Design, coordinate, and facilitate robust Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes and accessible, culturally appropriate community dialogue mechanisms—ensuring transparent, inclusive, and iterative communication at all stages, with clear documentation, feedback loops, and verification of consent.
• Partner with Park/Reserve Directors to design robust conflict mitigation strategies addressing resource use, human-wildlife interactions, and stakeholder concerns using participatory and adaptive approaches.
• Champion the development and strengthening of partnerships with human rights organisations, gender equality networks, and regional social safeguards alliances to advance shared advocacy, cross-learning, and coordinated responses to complex social and environmental challenges.
• Build extensive, multi-sectoral coordination with both internal (conservation/field) teams and external (community, CSOs, government, indigenous coalitions) partners to integrate GRM processes throughout the DRC program.

Program Oversight and MEL

• Integrate robust and context-appropriate social safeguards and human rights indicators into project monitoring and evaluation frameworks, ensuring alignment with international standards and responsiveness to community realities.
• Establish and operationalize results-based reporting systems, linking quantitative and qualitative safeguard outcomes directly to donor compliance requirements—facilitating transparent, timely, and verifiable reporting across project portfolios.
• Systematically document and analyze lessons learned and emerging best practices, using these insights to inform adaptive management, enhance safeguards design, and strengthen institutional learning.
• Convene quarterly Pause & Reflect sessions with all GRM teams and regional leadership, applying adaptive management and change strategies to address emergent social, human rights, and environmental risks and ensure continuous system improvement.
• Provide strategic oversight and quality assurance for safeguards implementation across multiple country programs, promoting harmonization, consistency, and excellence in social and human rights compliance at all levels.

Experience and qualification

• Hold a postgraduate qualification in social sciences such as International Development Studies, Human Rights, Gender Studies, Human Geography, Conflict Mitigation, or Natural Resource Management; a law degree is a significant asset for legal compliance and rights-based approaches.
• Demonstrate advanced experience in conflict management, particularly within conservation and natural resource contexts.
• Possess a minimum of 7 years’ progressive responsibility designing, leading, and monitoring programs centred on social safeguards and the protection of marginalised or vulnerable groups, with a proven track record of fostering inclusion and equity.
• Display substantial field experience collaborating directly with marginalized and vulnerable populations, particularly Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, in complex or remote settings.
• Show fluency in French; proficiency in Swahili, Lingala, and English (written and oral) is highly desirable for effective community engagement and multi-agency coordination.
• Be willing to reside in or frequently visit remote or logistically challenging sites, adapting to limited amenities and working productively within multicultural teams.
• Excel in both written and verbal communication, demonstrating strong interpersonal and teamwork skills even in high-pressure, rapidly changing environments.
• Exhibit a results-oriented work ethic, adaptive problem-solving ability, and commitment to delivering high-quality outcomes aligned with evolving international standards and donor expectations.
• Dedication to wildlife and conservation issues, with experience in protected area operations, is a distinct advantage

How to apply

Interested candidates who meet the above qualifications, skills and experience should apply through this link by February 26, 2026.

WCS is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to hiring and supporting a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment and look for future team members who share that same value.