Social Development Specialist

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank consists of two entities – the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). It is a global development cooperative owned by 189 member countries. As the largest development bank in the world, the World Bank provides loans, guarantees, risk management products, and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, and coordinates responses to regional and global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

 WESTERN AND CENTRAL AFRICA (AFW) REGION: 

https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/western-and-central-africa

Cameroon COUNTRY OVERVIEW

https://ida.worldbank.org/en/country/cameroon

Planet Practice Vertical Group 

 The Planet practice group helps countries tackle their most complex challenges in the areas of Agriculture; Climate Change; Water; Environment, Natural Resources; and environmental and social risk management.

The main roles and responsibility of the environmental and social risk management unit include the following:

Leading in ESF implementation and innovation

• Provide E&S thought leadership and implementation expertise for strong E&S outcomes in (the respective region).

•  Contribute to identifying innovative ways to embed E&S sustainability in country programs

•  Actively participate in Knowledge exchanges and other joint initiatives across the WBG, liaising closely with relevant IFC and MIGA E&S managers.

•  Promote quality results, including through review of relevant E&S systems at the project level and associated documentation

•  Provide feedback and suggestions to the Regional Planet Director and the WBG Policy and Operations unit, and, as necessary, to the WBG Risk Unit to further improve the Region’s and the WBG’s E&S work respectively.

Identifying and managing E&S risks systematically

• Set up and manage effective risk management systems in the region

•  Play key role in regional risk management system overseen by the RVP

•  Ensure setting up of adequate GRMs and regular E&S monitoring and reporting in all operations

•  Contribute actively to CMU Stakeholder Platforms, engage with key CSOs active in the Region, and flag any risk flags that emerge in these discussions

Building country / client E&S systems and capacity

•  Promote strengthening of country / client E&S management systems

•  Carry out overview assessments and promote use of borrower E&S frameworks

•  Promote potential operations / components to strengthen client E&S management systems

•  Collaborate with external partners, including bilateral development organizations and other MDBs, on strengthening client E&S management systems and capacity.

Streamlining procedures, enhancing focus on implementation

• Help deliver the regional lending program with a focus on embedding E&S issues in client operational systems – bidding documents, operations manuals, sector directives etc.

•  Operationalize all the flexibility available in the ESF

•  Promote efficiency and effectiveness measures in the delivery of E&S services, linked to broader OEE work at the regional level

 POSITION

The Social Development Specialist will be based in Yaoundé, Cameroon and will support the Cameroon portfolio’s work on social risk management including managing issues related to the old Bank safeguards policies and the new Environmental and Social Framework (ESF). In addition, the specialist may provide support to some projects in other CMU countries, such as Central Africa Republic, the Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The specialist will also provide support to unit wide portfolio management in environmental and social risk management. The specialist will report to the SAWM1 Practice Manager and in close collaboration with the Regional Safeguards Coordinators and the CMU Environment and Social Risk Management focal points based in Cameroon.

Duties and Accountabilities

The Social Development Specialist will have the following responsibilities: 

• Support the preparation and implementation of Bank-financed projects, following different financing instrument (e.g. IPF and PforR) by providing technical advice to Borrowers on social risk management and sustainability.  

•  Provide technical social risk management support to task teams, Borrowers and clients regarding the identification, preparation and implementation of social risk management measures, ESF compliance and other efforts to enhance the social sustainability of projects in close coordination with the Regional Safeguards Coordinators (RSCs) and CMU focal points. This support may include providing guidance in the preparation of Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs), resettlement action plan (RAP), social impacts assessments (SIAs) and corresponding social management plans (SMPs), Resettlement Frameworks (RFs), Environmental and Social Commitment Plan, Stakeholders Engagement Plan (SEP), and Labor Management Procedures (LMP), etc.

•  Build capacity with clients on issues related to safeguards/ESF, including clients’ monitoring and evaluation of social risk management and high-quality training and other learning events related to social assessments and social safeguards, and other social issues such as GBV.

•  Manage challenging cases of social risk management including responding to complaints and support overall compliance with the World Bank ESF.

•  Provide intensive on-site field level support to project teams and/or Borrowers involved in preparation and the implementation of social risk management instruments.  

•  Monitor social risks, impacts and performance of Bank-financed operations through conducting field visits and collaborating closely with clients.  

•  Provide inputs for management regarding project-related complaints and work to resolve them directly with the task team, RSCS, Grievance Redress Service (GRS), Operations Policy and Country Services (OPCS) and the PM.

•  Participate in portfolio reviews on selected social risk issues.

•  Provide technical cross-support as required to other teams across the CMU portfolio for social risk management and to share knowledge and experience.

•  Work closely with environmental colleagues to enhance the capacity of the client to implement the Bank’s ESF.

Environmental and social risk portfolio management – the role will also include as requested corporate support efforts which is beyond Cameroon in supporting the quality control team within the Unit, this can include as requested:

•  Work independently under general direction of the PM, RSCs in close collaboration with ESF staff in the unit

•  Participate as an active member of Environmental and Social Risk Portfolio management Team of the unit.

•  Work closely with the Regional Safeguards Coordinators and CMU focal points in managing the safeguards risks of the whole portfolio under SAWM1  

•  Support to CMU teams in generation environmental and social risk management report at CMU level

•  Maintain and regularly update a comprehensive AFW/SAWM1 E&S portfolio database.

•  Track and help teams manage risk classification and E&S staffing (including Environmental ADM staff/consultants) across the portfolio.

•  Assist teams in timely preparation, processing, and clearance tracking of Environmental and Social Review Summaries (ESRS).

•  Maintain a curated repository of safeguards/ESF documents (TORs for ESF instruments, cleared ESCPs, cleared ESRSs, SEPs, LMPs, RAPs, ESIA/ESMPs, SEA/SH Action Plans), including lessons learned and best practices to support research, knowledge, and learning.

•  Use ESCPs and agreed E&S instruments as benchmarking tools to monitor compliance with ESS1–ESS10, sector-specific guidelines, and relevant policies/contract conditions, and to track milestones and deadlines.

•  Support project teams in monitoring stakeholder engagement implementation (including GRMs), labor and working conditions, SEA/SH risk mitigation, community health and safety, and social inclusion aspects; flag gaps and propose corrective actions.

•  Oversee the coordination of the unit’s ESF quality review process for concept, preparation, appraisal, and implementation stages.

•  Assign review responsibilities to staff and consultants; monitor turnaround times and ensure consistent application of ESF quality standards.

•  Provide orientation and training sessions to staff and consultants on the review platform and good-practice review protocols (including checklists, templates, and version control).

•  Consolidate review feedback and support Task Teams in addressing comments to reach timely clearances.

•  Manage and continuously update the unit’s portfolio database, ensuring all key project milestones (concept, decision meetings, ESRS and ESCP clearance, effectiveness, supervision missions, ISR/Implementation Support reporting, MTR, ICR) are accurately recorded and accessible.

•  Provide a centralized portfolio overview of ongoing and upcoming initiatives, including pipelines, to facilitate planning and resourcing.

•  Record, classify, and analyze E&S incidents and fatalities during project implementation; produce periodic analytics and dashboards to inform management decisions and risk mitigation actions.

•  Prepare portfolio/pipeline assessments and briefings for CMUs and regional management as requested.

•  Oversee a dedicated Microsoft Teams channel that serves as the real-time communication hub for the environmental and social team, ensuring up-to-date postings of standards, guidance, templates, reviews, and key alerts.

•  Curate and disseminate tailored learning materials on ESF implementation, social risk management, stakeholder engagement, labor and working conditions, inclusion, SEA/SH risk mitigation, grievance redress, and incident management.

Reporting and Coordination

•  Reports to the Practice Manager (SAWM1) with matrixed coordination to the Regional Safeguards Coordinators.

•  Works closely with CMUs in AFW, Task Team Leaders, Environmental/Social Specialists, Procurement/FMs, Legal, and relevant Global Practices.

•  The candidate is expected to undertake regular travel across the AFW region, including missions to Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) settings

Selection Criteria

•  Advanced university degree (Master’s or PhD) in a rigorous, discipline-based field relevant to social development, such as public policy analysis, development economics/econometrics, political economy, sociology/anthropology with advanced research methods, demography, human geography, or law with specialization in social/environmental standards or alike. Degrees emphasizing causal inference, impact evaluation, and advanced analytical/statistical methods are strongly preferred

• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in environmental and social (E&S) risk management aligned with the World Bank’s ESF and ESS1–ESS10, preferably within World Bank–financed operations or comparable MDBs, including hands-on delivery of analytical and operational products under tight timelines.

•  Experience preparing, implementing, and monitoring ESF instruments, including ESIA/ESMP, RAP/LRP, SEP, LMP, SEA/SH Action Plans, and GRM; experience with incident analytics, social risk screening, and mitigation planning.

•  Demonstrated experience in social assessments and analyzing social risks and impacts on different population groups; involuntary resettlement across diverse socio-economic contexts and tenure systems; labor and working conditions; community health and safety; and cultural heritage.

•  Demonstrated experience in portfolio data management and quality assurance for ESF deliverables; ability to coordinate quality reviews, deliver trainings, and collaborate with multiple stakeholders (government, private sector, beneficiaries, civil society).

 Technical Competencies

•  Proficiency in applying advanced qualitative and quantitative methods (e.g., mixed-methods evaluations, quasi-experimental designs where relevant, social risk modeling, stakeholder mapping, network/spatial analysis) and translating findings into operational design and policy recommendations. Capability to conduct social risk screening and draft mitigation measures under the ESF (ESS1–ESS10), including for land acquisition/resettlement, labor and working conditions, GBV/SEA/SH, community health and safety, and vulnerable/disadvantaged groups, subject to review by senior staff as appropriate for GF level.

•  Track record of designing and facilitating inclusive, context-appropriate stakeholder engagement processes, documenting outcomes, operating effective GRMs, and closing feedback loops in line with WBG standards. Ability to integrate social inclusion, gender, fragility, disability, and climate resilience into sector operations (e.g., infrastructure, human development, digital) and ASA, coordinating inputs across multidisciplinary teams.

 Policy Dialogue, Knowledge, and Collaboration:

• Ability to present complex social development and ESF/safeguards issues to task teams and Bank audiences, and to engage effectively with government counterparts, the private sector, project beneficiaries, and civil society.

•  Experience contributing to—and occasionally leading segments of—policy dialogue, framing options for counterparts, and supporting consensus-building in sensitive contexts.

•  Contributions to knowledge products (e.g., guidance notes, case studies, toolkits) and to piloting/adapting innovative approaches (e.g., social accountability, community monitoring, digital engagement), with documented learning and adaptation.

•  Excellent interpersonal, problem-solving, communication, and team skills; ability to work across practices, operate in cross-thematic teams, and foster teamwork with a strong client focus.

•  High level of energy, initiative, and self-motivation; willingness and ability to travel for long durations to remote sites within CMU countries and work under challenging circumstances.

•  Tools and Systems (indicative)

•  Microsoft 365 suite: Teams (unit hub), SharePoint (document repository), Excel/Power BI (portfolio and budget dashboards), and document/process management platforms.

•  ESF review platforms and internal tracking tools, as applicable.

•  Standardized templates for ESRS, ESCP, TORs, and ESF instruments; checklists and review protocols.

•  Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and French are essential; fluency in both languages (written and spoken) is required.

Note: This is a locally recruited position; applicants must already have lawful authorization to work in Cameroon (e.g., citizenship, permanent residency, or a valid, unrestricted work permit). The World Bank Group does not provide visa or work-permit sponsorship for locally recruited roles.

WBG Culture Attributes:

1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

Learn more about working at the World Bank and IFC, including our values and inspiring stories.