Environmental & Social Safeguards Manager

Environmental & Social Safeguards Manager

The Environmental and Social Safeguards Manager will lead the park-level environmental and social risk management system for Liuwa Plain National Park (LPNP). The role will translate African Parks policies, applicable Zambian law, partner commitments and recognised international good practice into practical safeguards controls across conservation, infrastructure, law enforcement, tourism, community development, research, procurement, contractor and other park activities.

The post-holder will provide independent, solutions-oriented advice to the Park Manager and management team; ensure early screening and proportionate assessment of environmental and social risks and impacts; coordinate implementation and monitoring of safeguards instruments and action plans; strengthen stakeholder engagement, grievance and remedy systems; and build a culture in which risks are identified, escalated and addressed before harm occurs.

The Manager will directly supervise and provide technical oversight to the Safeguards Officer, ensuring coherent implementation of ESS requirements, the Grievance and Redress Mechanism (GRM), Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), the Liuwa Plain National Park Land Use Plan (LUP), Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) safeguards, community awareness and safeguards data-management systems.

Standards and Operating Principles:

• African Parks environmental and social safeguards policies, human rights commitments, Codes of Conduct and Standard Operating Procedures.
• Applicable laws, regulations, permits and institutional requirements of the Republic of Zambia.
• World Bank Environmental and Social Framework and its Environmental and Social Standards, where applicable to financing arrangements.
• United Nations environmental and social sustainability principles, including human rights, gender equality, 'leave no one behind', accountability and resilience.
• Relevant European Union financing conditions and good practice on human rights, environment, climate, biodiversity, labour, transparency, stakeholder participation and accountability, where applicable.
• International good practice, including the mitigation hierarchy, precautionary approach, meaningful consultation, non-retaliation, accessibility, confidentiality, survivor-centred response and adaptive management.

The Environmental and Social Safeguards Manager is responsible for:

• Governance, Leadership and Integration
• Own and maintain the park-level Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), annual safeguards work plan, prioritised risk register, compliance calendar, Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) and relevant budget inputs.
• Advise the Park Manager and management team on material environmental and social risks, legal and partner obligations, emerging issues and decisions requiring escalation.
• Integrate safeguards into project design, annual planning, procurement, contracting and operational reviews so that risks are identified and managed at the earliest stage.
• Supervise, coach and quality-assure the work of the Safeguards Officer, including implementation of GRM, LUP, FPIC, HWC-related safeguards, stakeholder engagement, awareness activities, databases and routine reporting.
• Clarify safeguards roles, accountability and escalation pathways across park departments, implementing partners, contractors and consultants.
• Promote a rights-based, inclusive and conflict-sensitive approach that recognises local communities and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), where applicable, as rights-holders.
• Screening, Assessment and Management Instruments
• Establish and apply a documented environmental and social screening and risk-classification process for all new or materially changed activities.
• Determine, prepare or supervise proportionate safeguards instruments, including environmental and social assessments, management plans, labour procedures, stakeholder engagement plans, livelihood restoration instruments, cultural heritage procedures, security risk assessments and emergency response measures, as required.
• Apply the mitigation hierarchy: avoid; minimise; restore or rehabilitate; and compensate or offset only where appropriate and permitted.
• Maintain the ESAP with clear owners, deadlines, evidence and status, and verify closure of corrective actions rather than relying only on self-reporting.
• Ensure cumulative, indirect, associated-facility, transboundary and climate-related risks are considered where relevant.
• Stakeholder Engagement, Inclusion and FPIC
• Map and periodically update stakeholders and rights-holders, including women, youth, persons with disabilities, vulnerable households, resource users, traditional authorities and groups facing barriers to participation.
• Ensure that Liuwa-specific stakeholder engagement appropriately includes the Barotse Royal Establishment, traditional leaders, Silalo Indunas, Village Headpersons, the Community Resource Boards, Village Action Groups, government institutions and affected communities.
• Plan and document timely, culturally appropriate, accessible and meaningful consultation throughout the activity life cycle, including disclosure in appropriate languages and formats.
• Assess when FPIC is required and coordinate credible, documented processes consistent with African Parks policy, applicable law and relevant partner standards.
• Ensure engagement is free from coercion, manipulation, intimidation and retaliation, and that stakeholder feedback demonstrably informs decisions.
• Grievance, Remedy and Sensitive Complaints
• Manage an accessible, predictable, transparent and rights-compatible park-level GRM with multiple confidential reporting channels and clear service standards.
• Ensure the Safeguards Officer maintains complete and up-to-date grievance records and uses approved grievance dashboards/workflows and other digital systems for timely tracking, analysis, escalation and closure of cases.
• Support the Park Grievance Committee to screen, acknowledge, triage, investigate or refer, resolve and communicate grievance outcomes while preserving impartiality, confidentiality, due process and the complainant's right to use judicial or other mechanisms.
• Ensure separate, confidential and survivor-centred referral pathways for sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEA/SH), gender-based violence, child safeguarding, retaliation, corruption and serious human-rights allegations.
• Maintain partnerships at local and district level with relevant human-rights, safeguards, civil-society and government actors to identify emerging ESS concerns and strengthen appropriate referral and monitoring arrangements.
• Analyse grievance trends and root causes, share anonymised lessons with management and track preventive and correcti