Social Development Officer

Overview of position

Project: Yemen Integrated Urban Services Emergency Project Phase II (YIUSEP II), Yemen Emergency Human Capital Project (YEHCP), and Integrated Water and Sanitation Emergency Project (IWISE)

Duty Station: Yemen

Contract/Level:

Contract Type: Daily Retainer - CTG

Supervisor: Project Manager

Duration: Initially until end of 2026 with extension possibility

About the Region

Our client Middle East Region (MR) provides strategic leadership, performance oversight, and support to Our client operations across Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and the State of Palestine. MR is responsible for positioning Our client as a key development partner in the region through high-level engagement with regional bodies, UN coordination mechanisms, development banks, donors, and intergovernmental organisations. By fostering strategic partnerships and promoting operational excellence, the region supports country teams in delivering sustainable solutions to complex development, peace, and humanitarian challenges.

About the Country/Multi-Country Office

Established in 2004, the Our client Amman Multi-Country Office (MCO) provides strategic and operational support to partners across Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and the Gulf countries. The MCO delivers solutions that address development, peace, and humanitarian challenges through infrastructure, procurement, project management, and human resources services. Working in close collaboration with national governments, UN agencies, and donors, the office supports efforts to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Its portfolio includes large-scale operations focused on improving essential services, strengthening national systems, and enhancing resilience in complex and fragile settings.

About the Project Office

Our client Yemen Country Office supports partners in restoring essential infrastructure and public services amid a protracted, multifaceted crisis. Operating since 2013, the office delivers integrated interventions in urban services, energy access, health, water and sanitation, transport, and solid waste management sectors. The office also facilitates operational support for UN partners. With strong coordination across the different stakeholders, Our client Yemen supports the strengthening of local capacities and contributes to peacebuilding, recovery, and sustainable development efforts.

Job Specific Context

The Social Development Officer plays an important role in assisting that our client subprojects in Yemen adhere to high social standards, particularly those set by the World Bank's Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and our client's Environmental and Social Sustainability framework.

Working with the E&S Specialist, this position is essential for mitigating social risks associated with infrastructure rehabilitation, urban service delivery, water, and health sector activities in a fragile, conflict-affected environment (FCV). The role focuses on supporting subproject screening, instrument preparation, stakeholder engagement, labor standard oversight, and the implementation of the Grievance Mechanism (GRM) to safeguard community well-being and project sustainability

Role objectives

Functions / Key Results Expected

1. Compliance Support

• Subproject Screening: Assist in preparing, reviewing, and validating Environmental and Social Screening Forms for all proposed subprojects, ensuring rigorous verification of screening documents submitted by Implementing Partners (IPs).
• E&S Instrument: Support the drafting, review, and regular updating of site-specific Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs), Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs), and Abbreviated RAPs where applicable, ensuring alignment with WB Environmental and Social Standards (ESS).
• Inclusive & Protective Design Integration: Proactively ensure subproject designs embed social inclusion, gender mainstreaming, universal access, protection of vulnerable/disadvantaged groups, and robust prevention of local social conflict.

2. Stakeholder Engagement and Social Accountability

• Inclusive Consultation & Vulnerable Group Outreach: Facilitate meaningful, culturally appropriate public consultations and information disclosure in line with the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), utilizing targeted methodologies to ensure the participation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), female-headed households, and persons with disabilities.
• Local Governance & IP Liaison: Maintain continuous, transparent communication and consultation with local authorities, traditional leaders, IPs, and beneficiary communities to manage expectations and mitigate project-induced risks.
• Continuous Engagement Monitoring: Oversee and sustain the execution of stakeholder engagement activities at the community level throughout the entire lifecycle of subproject implementation.
• Social Accountability Documentation: Capture, categorize, and archive community concerns, feedback, and expectations, verifying that contractors take visible corrective action based on community input.
• IP & Contractor Compliance Oversight: Ensure that Implementing Partners and contractors execute standardized engagement protocols before, during, and after the completion of all subproject works.
• Grievance Mechanism (GM) Operationalization: Support the establishment, daily operation, and performance monitoring of the project's multi-tiered GM at the IP and site levels, ensuring all complaints are logged, investigated, and closed within established World Bank timeframes.
• GM Accessibility and Awareness: Drive the resolution of high-level grievances while proactively ensuring that GM intake channels and system procedures are widely recognized by all project-affected parties and beneficiaries.
• Functional System Verification: Validate that all Implementing Partners and contractors develop and maintain functional, responsive grievance systems that strictly adhere to overarching project requirements.

3. Field Monitoring and Reporting

• Non-Compliance Tracking & Rectification: Conduct regular field visits to identify instances of social non-compliance, co-develop time-bound Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) with contractors, and rigorously track resolution progress.
• Data-Driven Social Reporting: Collect, clean, and consolidate field-level data to formulate high-resolution social monitoring inputs, maintaining structured logs, social non-compliance issues, and Grievance Mechanism (GM) performance indicators.
• Labor Requirements Oversight: Monitor the implementation of labor requirements (ESS2), verifying that contractor workers receive appropriate training, sign Codes of Conduct (CoC), and have access to a functional, dedicated worker GM. Verifying the workers payments and ensuring workers wages are timely paid by the relevant employers under the Project.
• Land & Resettlement Verification: Verify subproject compliance with the project's Resettlement Framework (RF) and monitor any processes involving Voluntary Land Donation (VLD) or asset impacts to ensure zero unauthorized economic/physical displacement.
• Community Health, Safety & Security Monitoring: Assess and monitor subproject impacts on community health and safety (ESS4), including traffic safety, exposure to hazards, and security arrangements, ensuring critical incidents are escalated and addressed immediately.

4. Capacity Building and Knowledge Management

• Support in developing and delivering targeted training and orientation sessions on social safeguards, worker Code of Conduct, labor requirements, and GM operations for our client personnel, IPs, contractors, and local community committees.
• Maintain organized, audit-ready social documentation archives (consultation minutes, gender-disaggregated attendance sheets, GM registries, and training logs).
• Assist in capturing success stories, lessons learned, and best practices to contribute to HSSE and social safeguard guidance documents and tools.

Deliverables and Timeframe

Work Days and Payment Fees

The estimated duration of the assignment is 36 working days over a period of 3 months (October–December). The consultant will be remunerated based on the successful completion and acceptance of the deliverables outlined in the assignment, at a daily rate of USD XXXX, for an estimated total contract value of USD XXXX inclusive of applicable CTG management fees.

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Deliverables

Due Date

Payment%

1

Delivery and approval of the first month's assignments, including:

Subproject Screening & E&S Instruments (ESMPs,) Review and Updates

Stakeholder Consultations & Vulnerable Group Outreach Reports

Grievance Mechanism (GM) Operation & Monitoring Reports

Field Compliance Monitoring, Labor (ESS2) & Health/Safety Oversight

By the 17th of the first month

33.34%

2

Delivery and approval of the first month's assignments, including:

Subproject Screening & E&S Instruments (ESMPs,) Review and Updates

Stakeholder Consultations & Vulnerable Group Outreach Reports

Grievance Mechanism (GM) Operation & Monitoring Reports

Field Compliance Monitoring, Labor (ESS2) & Health/Safety Oversight

By the 17th of the second month

33.33%

3

Delivery and approval of the first month's assignments, including:

Subproject Screening & E&S Instruments (ESMPs,) Review and Updates

Stakeholder Consultations & Vulnerable Group Outreach Reports

Grievance Mechanism (GM) Operation & Monitoring Reports

Field Compliance Monitoring, Labor (ESS2) & Health/Safety Oversight

By the 17th of the third month

33.33%

Project reporting

To project Manager

Key competencies

N/A

Team management

No Team Management

Further information

Education Requirements

Required: An Advanced University Degree (Master's degree or equivalent) preferably in Social Sciences, Sociology, Development Studies, Public Administration, Environmental Science, International Relations, or relevant scientific/social disciplines is required.

Desired: A First-Level University Degree (Bachelor's degree) in combination with an additional 2 years of relevant work experience can be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Experience Requirements

Required:

• A minimum of 4 years of relevant professional experience with a Master's degree (or 6 years with a Bachelor's degree) in social risk management, stakeholder engagement, grievance handling, or social safeguards support is required.
• Experience in stakeholder engagement, public consultations, and community facilitation is required.

Desired:

• Direct, proven experience working on World Bank-funded projects and a strong understanding of the ESF and ESSs (specifically ESS1, ESS2, ESS4, ESS5, and ESS10) in FCV settings (Yemen or similar context) is highly desirable.
• Experience in providing technical support and guidance on E&S and social risk issues to project teams, contractors, and local partners is an asset.
• Experience in monitoring and reporting on social compliance, GM performance, and field-level incidents is an asset.
• Proven ability to engage and collaborate with stakeholders at various levels, including government agencies, local implementing partners (such as PWP, RMF, Local Corporations), contractors, and local communities.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively communicate social safeguard concepts and promote community accountability.
• Experience supporting capacity building, training, and document control initiatives is desirable.

Language Requirements

Language

Proficiency Level

Requirement

Arabic

Fluent

Required

English

Fluent

Required