Senior Safeguards Officer; Environment

Join Our Mission to Foster Prosperity in Asia

Are you ready to make a difference in the future of Asia and be a catalyst for positive change? We are thrilled to offer a unique opportunity to become an important part of the prestigious Asian Development Bank (ADB). At ADB, our mission is simple yet powerful: to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region.

The position of Senior Safeguards Officer (Environment) is assigned to the Office of Safeguards (OSFG). You will be based at our Resident Mission Office in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

OSFG has the following four teams: (i) Policy and Technical Services, (ii) Regional Operations Services 1, (iii) Regional Operations Services 2, and (iv) Private Sector/Pacific Operations Services and you will be assigned to one of them depending on business needs and your qualifications and expertise.

You will report to the designated International Staff (IS) and have matrix reporting line to Country Operations Head, PNRM.

As a Senior Safeguards Officer (Environment) you will independently provide technical support to (i) ensure that assigned sovereign and nonsovereign projects under processing and implementation comply with ADB's environmental safeguard requirements; (ii) contribute to the interdepartmental policy discussions in the area of environmental safeguards, consultation and participation and engagement with civil society; and (iii) develop related knowledge products and services for use by ADB's borrowers and clients.

Project Management

• Ensure the adoption, implementation, and monitoring of ADB's environmental safeguards policies into projects by conducting due diligence independent and comprehensive analysis and evaluation of project design and implementation, review of safeguard documents and overall safeguards performance of a project at all stages of the project cycle.
• At concept review stage, support and contribute to the sector teams by assessing the potential environment safeguards impacts at project identification, conducting environmental due diligence, preparing environment safeguards categorization forms, and preparing terms of reference of consultants.
• During due diligence, conduct a preliminary and detailed review of environmental and social impact assessment reports, environmental and social management systems, environmental and health and safety management plans, and environmental compliance audits.
• Advise borrower/clients on the incorporation of environment safeguards in the design and implementation of capital markets, financial and infrastructure sector projects, and on requirements and methods to enhance the quality of various environmental and health and safety plans to ensure compliance.
• During project administration, lead safeguard review missions for assigned projects by compiling relevant project data; visiting the project site, documenting meetings with the borrower/client, consultants and affected persons; providing inputs in the preparation of back to office reports; conducting a desk review of progress reports, monitoring reports; recommending actions, and measuring and evaluating compliance of projects.
• Lead the identification, monitoring and reporting to OSFG management, relevant sector group and regional departments on projects with high environmental safeguards sensitivity.

Policy Review and Knowledge Sharing

• Review relevant ADB policies, operations manuals, staff instructions, guidelines, and handbooks and suggests measures to ensure consistency with SPS policy requirements.
• Support the development of knowledge products and services, including the formulation of policies, guidelines and preparation of handbooks, best practice manuals, etc., by reviewing project design and implementation experiences, liaising with project practitioners and subject‑matter experts, and external stakeholders including civil society.
• Update the safeguards team's database of projects to reflect the compliance status of projects, contribute to online project data sheets and information documents as required, and liaise with line division staff to…