Safeguards and Gender Specialist – GEF

ADVERTISEMENT

Position title:  Safeguards and Gender Specialist – (GEF-LDCF), WWF-Laos

Reports to: National Project Coordinator, WWF-Laos

Department: Conservation

Location: Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR, with frequent travel to Nam Poui GEF sites

I. Background

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has had a presence in Laos since the late 1980s, when it contributed to some of the first biodiversity surveys that established Laos’ protected area system. The office in Laos was officially established in 2001. Today, our main office for WWF-Laos is in Vientiane Capital, with field offices in multiple provinces.

WWF-Laos works with government, civil society, the private sector and other partners to address the drivers of biodiversity loss and to move towards a greener nature-based future where the people of Laos can thrive and live in harmony with nature.

Our vision is “a vibrant and sustainable future for Laos, shaped by inclusive conservation that protects biodiversity, ensures equitable benefits, and nurtures harmony between people and the environment”. Conservation is WWF’s core work, and our programmes in Laos are implemented under four broad thematic areas: Forests, Wildlife, Freshwater and Circular Resilience. As outlined in WWF-Laos’ 2026-2030 strategic plan, we focus our conservation efforts in three main landscapes, eight priority sites and three cities.

The 6 year WWF Global Environment Facility (GEF) project in Laos, ‘Climate Adaptive River Basins of Sayaboury (CARBS)’ will begin execution by the Department of Water Resources of the Lao Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in partnership with WWF Laos in 2026. The project aims to address climate change impacts in six highly vulnerable districts spread across the   Nam-Poui, Nam-Poun, Nam-Lay, and Nam-Houng basins in Sayaboury province, Lao PDR. These areas are prone to floods and drought, affecting subsistence agriculture communities. The project focuses on enhancing adaptation capacity to mitigate crop losses and reduced yields caused by climate variability and water scarcity.

As Laos transitions from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, WWF-Laos remains a key technical partner, helping to align national conservation goals with practical, field-based solutions.

II. Major Functions:

Under the direction of the Project Manager, the Safeguards and Gender Specialist will lead the implementation and monitoring of (i) the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), the (ii) Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) and (iii) the Gender Action Plan (GAP). The overall objective of the National Safeguards and Gender Specialist is to ensure the project’s Environmental and Social Management Framework (EMSF), Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) and Gender Action Plan (GAP) are being implemented at all levels of the project implementation as well as monitoring and evaluation. The National Safeguards and Gender Specialist will contribute to this objective through:

• Reviewing the status of implementation of i) ESMF, ii) SEP and iii) GAP, identifying capacity gaps and needs across all levels (provincial, district and communities).
• Strengthening capacity of provincial and district coordinators on gender responsive and inclusive approaches and practical application of ESMF, SEP and GAP at all levels of implementation.
• Enhancing monitoring project implementation to ensure Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) considerations are mainstreamed into project reporting of ESMF, GAP and SEP in all components of the project.
• Closely work with M&E, Communication and Knowledge Management Specialist to ensure reporting, monitoring and evaluation comprehensively address the GEDSI and stakeholder engagement needs of the project, across all three project components.

III. Major Responsibility

Safeguards and Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead implementation of steps and procedures as outlined in the ESMF, including screening of annual budget/work plans, activities, conduct consultations with local stakeholders;
• Coordinate and track overall implementation of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), and ensure gathered information and feedback from the different stakeholder groups is shared within the team, ;
• Ensure that all documents necessary for full compliance with ESMF, are prepared, implemented, regularly updated and are available to relevant stakeholders;
• Review annual work plans and budgets and provide recommendations to ensure that project activities are designed to include avoidance of potential social and environmental risks, as recommended in the ESMF; and that where such risks are not avoidable, mitigation plans or measures are in place to minimize or mitigate these risks;
• Provide overall Environmental and Social Management oversight during the implementation of the project activities and advise the PMU in addressing the environmental and social issues;
• Communicate with Local Governments, sub-contractors and with the local communities to design, implement, document and report on environmental compliance, as indicated in ESMF;
• Monitor implementation of ESMF by any contractors to ensure that appropriate management process and procedures are in place, that Environmental and Social Safeguards related measures are adequately addressed and to ensure that in the event of a noncompliance, agreed remedial actions are applied and documented;
• Support establishment and lead implementation of a project-level GEDSI-responsive Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) to handle complaints in an effective manner;

Gender

• Lead and track implementation and monitoring of the Gender Action Plan (GAP);
• Review annual work plans and budgets and provide recommendations to ensure that project activities support GEDSI mainstreaming;
• Provide overall support for capacity building and training of project staff and partners on GEDSI-related concepts and efficient implementation and monitoring of the Gender Action Plan;
• Provide overall oversight during the implementation of the project activities and advise the PMU and project partners in addressing any gender-related issues;
• Work with the Project Manager and the M&E Specialist to design methodologies and implementation plans for the execution of GEDSI-sensitive activities, as per the GAP, in close collaboration with technical specialists;
• Provide inputs to the development of project workplans and participate in project management meetings and annual reflection workshops to inform adaptive management of the project;

Scope of Work and Tasks

General Tasks: 

• Take lead in the implementation of ESMF focusing on the following topics:  Environmental and Social Risk Management; Grievance Mechanism; Restriction of Access (Process Framework); Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework (IPPF) and the development of an Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP); Community Health, Safety and Security;and any new safeguards risks that may be identified over the course of the project implementation that may require mitigation plans;
• Take lead in the implementation of the Gender Action Plan focusing on GEDSI  in IWRM and Climate change (CC); Prevention of Gender-Based Violence (GBV); Women and marginalized groups’s meaningful participation in decision-making processes; equal access to consultations, project opportunities and benefits, and capacity strengthening;
• Lead the implementation and reporting of the project’s SEP;
• Provide overall Environmental and Social Management oversight during the implementation and monitoring of project activities and advise the PMU in addressing environmental and social issues;
• Provide technical support in the implementation of capacity building for government stakeholders and local communities in gender-responsive integrated water resources management and climate change adaptation;
• Identify opportunities for capacity strengthening for women’s groups on a range of topics, for example, gender-based violence and climate change, community-based resource management, leadership and community engagement, etc; ensure capacity strengthening for men and youth (males and females) on GEDSI-related topics.  

Specific Tasks: 

Task 1: Assist in the development of awareness raising materials and dissemination of project communications

• Assist the Project Team in developing suitable communication materials to be applied in project activities and stakeholder engagement activities, for example, posters or videos on GEDSI mainstreaming in IWRM and climate change adaptation.
• Disseminate project information and learning to staff, implementing partners and
• Conduct training on safeguards (Project ESMF) and their application. on GEDSI concepts and mainstreaming for project/program staffs and local key partners; and on the implementation of the ESMF, SEP and GAP materials.

Task 2:  Support stakeholder engagement and GEDSI in social and environmental safeguards on-the-ground implementation

• Lead the development of an Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP) and the establishment of a project-level GRM and their implementation; support the implementation of the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) as part of the IPP.
• Work closely with i) WWF-Laos’ colleagues: a) Senior Advisor Gender and Inclusive Conservation and b) Environmental and Social Safeguards and Quality Assurance (ESS&QA) Manager and ii) WWF-US GEF Agency team: a) Senior Director – Gender, Social Inclusion & Safeguards, to ensure the project activities comply with the Environmental and Social policies of WWF GEF Agency and the GEF.
• Support GEDSI-responsive public consultations at the target villages- Develop simple ESR (Environmental and Social Risk) monitoring checklist for project staffs (including data collection sheet and data management);
• Conduct community meetings with the objective to understand current agricultural practices and livelihood strategies, promote climate-smart agriculture and diversifying livelihoods for resilience, and consult about possible risks and challenges within these practices.
• Review the government’s requirements and process for environmental clearance, assist the executing and implementing agencies in securing environmental clearance certificates for each project component as required by the government, and prepare necessary information to comply with WWF and government guidelines as per the project processing schedule;
• Ensure proper disclosure of Environmental and Social Safeguards Plans at all levels (local, district, provincial, etc.) before activities can start implementation;
• Organize precautionary measures for Health and Safety risk management during infrastructure work in line with WWF’s Guidance Note on Labor and Working Conditions.

Task 3:  Lead implementation of GAP, SEP and Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM)

• Work with the National Project Coordinator, Communication Specialist and the M&E Specialist to design methodologies and implementation plans for the execution of GEDSI-responsive activities in close collaboration with technical specialists;
• Work with the M&E and Communications officer to ensure reporting, monitoring and evaluation fully address GEDSI in the project.
• Support establishment and lead implementation of a grievance redress mechanism (GRM) to handle complaints in an effective manner;
• Provide training and capacity building to project staff and partners on the socialization of the GRM among stakeholders and the processes required to operationalize the GRM;
• Develop the restricted activities, tool, or input lists of environmentally unsustainable practices that might result in environmental degradation and social conflicts;
• Provide inputs based on the Gender Action Plan to integrate GEDSI into IWRM and Climate Change Adaptation plans to the DWR and present it to the PMU for endorsement.

Task 4: Participate in project meeting(s) and provide inputs to project progress reporting on implementation of the ESMF, GAP and SEP.

• Review annual work plans and budgets and provide recommendations to ensure that project activities, being developed as a part of the Project, are designed to include avoidance of potential social and environmental risks, as recommended in the ESMF; and that where such risks are not avoidable, mitigation plans or measures are in place to minimize or mitigate these risks; ensure the workplan and budget include the GAP activities and the budget is GEDSI-sensitive.
• Attend meetings (e.g. monthly, quarterly and annual events)
• Update the achievement of GEDSI Targets
• Provide written inputs to the project Progress Report(s)

IV. Requirements Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree in the area of climate change and international development, water resource management, environmental sciences/management, natural resource management, development studies, social sciences, or another closely related field

V. Required Skills and Competencies

• At least 5 years of relevant experiences in environmental and social safeguards implementation.
• At least 5 years of experience in GEDSI mainstreaming into project activities.
• Proven experience in the development, implementation and monitoring of safeguards frameworks and plans, Gender Action Plans/Gender strategies, and Stakeholder Engagement Plans/strategies.
• At least 3 years working experience in conservation programming
• Experience in conducting participatory stakeholder engagement, including using the FPIC and GRM processes.
• Previous experiences and good comprehension of the local context where the Project will be implemented.
• Lao native speaker with proficiency in written and spoken English is preferred.

VI. Working Relationships:

• Internal: Interact on a regular basis with the National Project Coordinator, PMU colleagues, Country Director, Conservation Director, Site Coordinator/Project Managers, and Regional Technical Advisors. Engage with and support WWF-Laos staff, especially Nam Poui project colleagues
• External – Interact with all relevant stakeholders at the national/Ministry, provincial, district and community levels. Interact with donors, NGOs and CSOs, and consultants.

VII. WWF’s Values and Behaviors:

• Adhere to WWF’s values: Courage, Respect, Collaboration and Integrity.
• Demonstrates WWF core value in action of working:
• We demonstrate courage through our actions, we work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.
• We live the principles we call on others to meet. We act with integrity, accountability and transparency, and we rely on facts and science to guide us and to ensure that we learn and evolve.
• We honour the voices and knowledge of people and communities that we serve, and we work to secure their rights to a sustainable future.
• We deliver impact at the scale of the challenges we face through the power of collective action and innovation.

VIII. Contract Duration: WWF-Laos can offer you 1-year initial with possible extension with industry leading benefit and salary package and ample opportunity for professional development. For more information on our work in Laos, please visit: http://www.wwf.org.la.

IX. How to Apply:

Step 1 – Please complete the application form by clicking this link: Application for Employment, WWF-Laos – Fill out form. Ensure you answer all questions in the system until you click on the submit button.

Step 2 – Submit your CV and Cover letter in English in PDF format to e-mail: jobs.laos@wwf.org.la and mention the position you apply.

Suggest to name the file of your CV and Cover letter with example below.

(example: Safeguards and Gender Specialist_CV_Khamkeo Santiphab, Safeguards and Gender Specialist_Cover letter Khamkeo Santiphab)

X. Deadline for applications: 09 March 2026. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

WWF does not charge or accept a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. WWF is committed to a fair, respectful, and inclusive work environment where every individual has equal opportunity to apply.  Please indicate if you require accommodation for the application or interview process to jobs.laos@wwf.org.la