Social Specialist Consultant

Post of Duty: Belize

The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.

About this position: The Consultant will support the Central Executing Unit of the Ministry of Economic Development in the implementation of loan BL-L1042:

Promote the Sustainable Economic Growth in Belize’s Blue Economy. We are looking for approachable, transparent, and experienced

Social Specialist. As the Social Specialist, you will be responsible for the design, implementation, and oversight of a social program for

the technical cooperation and loans programs managed by the Central Executing Unit (CEU).

The social program shall be developed in keeping with the guidelines contained in the Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA),

Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP), and the Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS).

You will work in the Belize (RND/CBL) team part of Environment and Rural Development department. This team is responsible for the supervision of the portfolio

and the generation of new operations in the country.

What you’ll do:

Support the CEU in the development and implementation of the following:

Support the CEU in the planning and execution of social actions aimed at the social sustainability of projects during the planning, execution, operation, and closing stages of investment projects under the portfolio of the Executing Agency.

Monitor the various investment activities of BL-L1042, among others, in exploratory fishing and stock assessments, systems development, training, technical assistance, grant initiatives, and overall operations of the Program within the guidelines contained in the ESMS, ESMP, and ESAP.

Ensure the effective and timely compliance with the Bank’s social safeguards and national regulations and international environmental and social best practices of the industry, when applicable.

Contribute to enhancing and disseminating the positive social impacts of the project, as well as socialize project actions that may alter the daily life of the communities in the area of influence of the project.

Contribute to the incorporation of social and health and safety aspects in the terms of reference and technical specifications for all procurement/bidding processes.

Provide risk management services during the implementation of the Program’s investment components and activities, issuing the necessary recommendations for corrective actions and ensuring avoidance of adverse social and reputational impacts, and thereby contributing to the sustainability of the Program’s investment activities.

Prepare and implement preventive measures regarding possible social incidents not contemplated in the Socio-environmental Action Plans, which may occur during the project cycle.

Ensure the incorporation of and consideration of specific social aspects in the design and implementation of all investment activities of the Program under both components including gender, youth, migrant populations, and inclusion, among others.

Liaise, promote, and facilitate the involvement and participation of the Program’s stakeholders including fisherfolks and fisher community groups/organizations in the validation and implementation of the activities of the Program, and share the Grievance Mechanisms Plan (GMP) when necessary.

Support, implement, and follow up on activities regarding the Communication Awareness Strategy.

In collaboration with the Environmental Specialist, receive, classify, and respond to any Complaints and Grievances received and provide resolution following the guidelines in the GMP. The Social Specialist must ensure all concerns are addressed before providing a response to the complainant and their responsibilities include carrying out verification visits to technical personnel involved.

Prepare and submit social reports required by the IDB, or as required by other relevant institutions.

Develop and update the project’s Area of Direct Influence database to include the social actors of the project, e.g. people in the community, associations, groups, and institutions.

Deliverables and Payments Timeline:

The consultant shall submit the following products to the IDB:

Inception Report and workplan.

In collaboration with the Environmental Specialist of the CEU, review and update the ESMS, ESMF, and ESMP, and follow-up with the monitoring and compliance of these, specifically ensuring compliance with social measures under each program of the ESMP are met (e.g., consultation workshops on accessibility to Zone 9, plan for Indigenous Peoples, and plan of action on gender and diversity, etc.).

Sociocultural Appropriate Consultation Report (SACR) – Conduct an in-depth analysis of the presence of indigenous and Garifuna fisherfolk through a complementary consultation process with stakeholders.

Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) – Review and update the SEP, as well as monitor and ensure its compliance.

Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) – Develop a grievance redress mechanism to receive, record, and coordinate the resolution of complaints that the community/stakeholders may have about the project.

First Progress Report – Prepare a First Progress Report reflecting advances in the first 6 months of the consultancy, including challenges, lessons learnt and an updated workplan, if applicable.

Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) – Prepare a Cultural Heritage Management Plan following the UNESCO Guidelines for World Heritage sites. This plan will be developed with support from an individual with the skills and knowledge relevant to the topic and the requirements of the UNESCO Guidelines, as well as the Environmental and Social Policy Framework (ESPF), and will be included in the Research Agenda Plan and Environmental and Social Management Plan for approval of the Bank a.

Gender Plan – Draft a Gender Plan to be included in the ESMP.

Gender-Inclusive Consultation Report – Developed by carrying out a complementary gender-inclusive consultation process.

Final Summary Report – Prepare a Final Summary Report stating accomplishments, challenges, lessons learnt and recommendations.

Deliverable #

Percentage

Planned Date to Submit

1. Inception Report inclusive of workplan

20%

2 weeks after signing the contract.

2. Review / updated documents (social components of the document):

· Environmental and Social Management System

· Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment

· Environmental and Social Management Plan

· Environmental and Social Action Plan

10%

1.5 calendar months after signing the contract.

3. Draft documents 1:

· Sociocultural Appropriate Consultation Report

· Stakeholder Engagement Plan

· Grievance Redress Mechanism

10%

3.5 calendar months after signing the contract.

4. First Progress Report, including progress in the implementation of draft documents 1

15%

6.5 calendar months after signing the contract

5. Draft documents 2:

· Cultural Heritage Management Plan

· Gender Plan

· Gender-inclusive consultation report

10%

7.5 calendar months after signing the contract

6. Final versions of documents 1 and 2

15%

10 calendar months after signing the contract

7. Final Summary Report

20%

11 calendar months after signing the contract

[1]The strategy aims to avoid economic displacement due to vessel research activities in Zone 9 during project implementation. If this risk cannot be mitigated, then a Livelihood Restoration Plan should be developed following the guidelines of the ESPF. [1] The ESMP guarantees control and compliance with current socio-environmental regulations at the national level and with the IDB's ESPSs in the projects financed by the Program. The ESMP includes the prevention, control,

and mitigation measures identified for the projects under different Programs, which are developed according to the stages of the project cycle. The ESMP includes the mitigation measures identified for the project and consists of

a series of Programs and subprograms for each stage, including, but not limited to those detailed, in Table 30 of the Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment for BL-L1042.

What you'll need:

Education: Master’s degree in social work, Sociology, Anthropology, Applied Social Science, Environmental Science, or other fields relevant to the responsibilities of the role. A combination of a bachelor’s degree in social work, Sociology, Anthropology, Applied Social Science, Environmental Science, or other related field with 5 years of relevant work experience will be accepted in lieu of not having a Master’s degree.

Experience: At least five years of work experience in identifying, assessing, and managing sociocultural issues in development projects. At least two (2) years of professional experience in livelihood enhancement projects. The individual should also have experience in conducting stakeholder engagement and experience working in at least one (1) internationally funded project. Likewise, knowledge of and/or experience implementing social safeguards policies/standards is an asset (desirable).

Languages: Proficiency in English and Spanish; Garifuna desired.

Key skills:

Learn continuously.

Collaborate and share knowledge.

Focus on clients.

Communicate and influence.

Innovate and try new things.

Requirements:

Citizenship: You are either a citizen of Belize or a citizen of one of our 48-member countries with residency or legal permit to work in Belize.

Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab.

Type of contract and duration:

Type of contract: Products and External Services Consultant (PEC), Lump Sum.

Length of contract: 11 months.

Work Location: Remote (Central Executing Unit, Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment, Belmopan City, Belize).

What we offer:

The IDB group provides benefits that respond to the different needs and moments of an employee’s life. These benefits include:

A competitive compensation package.

A flexible way of working. You will be evaluated by deliverable.

Our culture

At the IDB Group we work so everyone brings their best and authentic selves to work, willing to try new approaches without fear, and where they are accountable and rewarded for their actions. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) are at the center of our organization. We celebrate all dimensions of diversity and encourage women, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job interview process. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at to request reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

Our Human Resources Team reviews carefully every application.

About the IDB Group

The IDB Group, composed of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, and the IDB Lab offers flexible financing solutions to its member countries to finance economic and social development through lending and grants to public and private entities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

About IDB

We work to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through financial and technical support for countries working to reduce poverty and inequality, we help improve health and education and advance infrastructure. Our aim is to achieve development in a sustainable, climate-friendly way. With a history dating back to 1959, today we are the leading source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. We provide loans, grants, and technical assistance; and we conduct extensive research. We maintain a strong commitment to achieving measurable results and the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability.

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