Minimum Qualifications Required for this Position

• Education:

• Master’s degree in a field related to Environmental Science or Engineering, Environmental Conservation,

• Natural Resources/Environmental Management, or Environmental Law/Policy is required.

• Prior Work Experience:

• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible professional experience in environmental work is required.

• This should include experience in working for donor organizations, Government of Uganda organizations or private sector institutions in the application of environmental impact assessment or closely related regulations, standards, policies, and best practices.

• Experience must demonstrate the ability to prepare and/or review environmental scoping statements, social safeguards or resettlement plans, environmental impact assessments, and implementation of environmental management plans.

• Language Proficiency:

• Fluent written and oral proficiency (Level 4) in English is required to be able to: communicate effectively and accurately; to draft reports, correspondence, briefings, and other written products in accurate and

• grammatically correct English with little or no editing required, often under tight deadlines.

Skills and Abilities:• Work effectively in teams. The ability to participate in and lead teams, adapt to the existing management team, and be a good listener is essential. The Specialist must be able to respond professionally to changing circumstances, and willingly take initiative to collaborate with team members during times of heightened workload to meet competing deadlines.

• Communicate effectively. The Specialist must be able to communicate information in a transparent,

• accurate, concise, and meaningful oral and written form. The Specialist must be able to draft reports,

• correspondence, briefings, and other written products in accurate and grammatically correct English with little or no editing required, often under tight deadlines. Verbal communication skills will be used to advise and train technical offices and implementing partners on policies and procedures, as well as to participate in design team deliberations.

• The Specialist must use excellent communication and interpersonal skills to establish and

• develop sustainable working relationships with Mission technical and management office teams.

• Achieve results. The Specialist must be able to plan, organize, manage, and evaluate important, diverse work projects efficiently, accurately and in collaboration with colleagues. Such skills are essential to meet deadlines and to ensure that competing priorities and/or time pressures are appropriately identified and communicated to senior staff.

• Be flexible and versatile. The Specialist must possess the ability to remain calm in a fast moving work

• environment. The Specialist must also be able to work calmly, tactfully, and effectively under pressure and to demonstrate extreme flexibility to manage more than one activity at a time in the performance of daily duties and responsibilities

Minimum Qualifications Required for this Position

• Education:

• Master’s degree in a field related to Environmental Science or Engineering, Environmental Conservation,

• Natural Resources/Environmental Management, or Environmental Law/Policy is required.

• Prior Work Experience:

• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible professional experience in environmental work is required.

• This should include experience in working for donor organizations, Government of Uganda organizations or private sector institutions in the application of environmental impact assessment or closely related regulations, standards, policies, and best practices.

• Experience must demonstrate the ability to prepare and/or review environmental scoping statements, social safeguards or resettlement plans, environmental impact assessments, and implementation of environmental management plans.

• Language Proficiency:

• Fluent written and oral proficiency (Level 4) in English is required to be able to: communicate effectively and accurately; to draft reports, correspondence, briefings, and other written products in accurate and

• grammatically correct English with little or no editing required, often under tight deadlines.

Skills and Abilities:• Work effectively in teams. The ability to participate in and lead teams, adapt to the existing management team, and be a good listener is essential. The Specialist must be able to respond professionally to changing circumstances, and willingly take initiative to collaborate with team members during times of heightened workload to meet competing deadlines.

• Communicate effectively. The Specialist must be able to communicate information in a transparent,

• accurate, concise, and meaningful oral and written form. The Specialist must be able to draft reports,

• correspondence, briefings, and other written products in accurate and grammatically correct English with little or no editing required, often under tight deadlines. Verbal communication skills will be used to advise and train technical offices and implementing partners on policies and procedures, as well as to participate in design team deliberations.

• The Specialist must use excellent communication and interpersonal skills to establish and

• develop sustainable working relationships with Mission technical and management office teams.

• Achieve results. The Specialist must be able to plan, organize, manage, and evaluate important, diverse work projects efficiently, accurately and in collaboration with colleagues. Such skills are essential to meet deadlines and to ensure that competing priorities and/or time pressures are appropriately identified and communicated to senior staff.

• Be flexible and versatile. The Specialist must possess the ability to remain calm in a fast moving work

• environment. The Specialist must also be able to work calmly, tactfully, and effectively under pressure and to demonstrate extreme flexibility to manage more than one activity at a time in the performance of daily duties and responsibilities

• Advanced Technical and Legal Advice on Environmental Compliance – 50%

• The Specialist serves as the Mission’s Environmental Officer (MEO). The Specialist:

• Serves as technical advisor to the Mission, ensuring its portfolio of programs, projects and activities are in compliance with the requirements of 22 CFR 216, USAID Environmental Procedures and with the GOU

• environmental and social safeguard regulations.

• Provides substantive guidance to the Front Office, Technical Offices, Agreement Officer’s

• Representatives/Contracting Officer’s Representatives (AORs/CORs), and the Office of Acquisition and

• Assistance in the drafting of USAID environmental compliance documentation, notably the Initial

• Environmental Examinations (IEEs) and Requests for Categorical Exclusions.

• Reviews and approves, as delegated by the Mission Director, environmental compliance documentation at the USAID/Uganda Mission for quality and completeness to ensure all USAID-funded procurement and activities implemented by the Mission and its partners conform to USAID environmental regulations (22 CFR 216),

• ADS 204 environmental procedures, and related environmental guidance and provisions of U.S. law in

• consultation with the Resident Legal Officer, the Regional Environmental Office, the Africa Bureau

• Environmental Officer and the Agency Environmental Coordinator.

• Creates and manages the Mission’s environmental compliance tracking and monitoring database; maintains electronic and paper files of all environmental compliance related documents.

• Advises technical and management offices on environmental compliance requirements of 22 CFR 216 and ADS 204, including providing formal clearance of Activity Approval Memos and Activity Amendment Memos prior to Mission Director approval.

• Coordinates the review of Environmental Review Checklists and Mitigation Monitoring Plans in consultation with the AOR/COR and Implementing Partners.

• Develops the annual environmental compliance monitoring report as part of the Performance Plan and Report, and the perform analysis and prepare required “Environmental Compliance” section of the Operational Plan. In consultation with the Contracting Officer, develops and maintains activity-specific environmental

• compliance language for use in awards and solicitations.

• Monitoring, Technical and Management Support - 25%

• The Specialist is responsible for providing backstop guidance and technical assistance as requested on procedures, rules, and regulations, as they apply to priority environmental and natural resources management issues. This includes identifying and communicating significant plans, challenges, and issues to the Technical

• Offices and the Program Office, advising on environmental programming best practices, Mission Orders,

• Mission Director approvals, portfolio review findings, adherence to Foreign Assistance Act Section

• Tropical Forest and Biodiversity Analysis, and other decisions.

• Participates as a member of Technical Evaluation Committees for proposal review and staff selection and will be expected to respond regularly to specific technical guidance requests (e.g., biodiversity, water, oil, climate change, etc.) and link USG personnel with other experts in the field as necessary.

• Provides technical backstop support as a COR/AOR and/or Activity Manager, as required. In this regard, the Specialist will participate on project and program designs, strategy development, evaluations, technical reviews, and monitoring closely with Program Office and AORs and CORs.

• Serves as representative on relevant international donor groups in Uganda, and liaise with USAID colleagues and partners in Washington, D.C. on environmental issues to promote coordination and relationship building.

• Capacity Building and Promoting an Environmental Mission-wide Attitude - 25%

• The Specialist champions Mission environmental awareness in decision-making, promotes integration of

• environmental values, enhancing program design and monitoring, impact, and sustainability, ensuring unintended environmental risks are avoided, while enhancing positive outcomes and maximizing results. In this capacity, the Specialist:

• Enforces, along with the USAID/East Africa Regional Legal Advisor and USAID/Uganda Contracting

• Officers, the application of environmental compliance procedures. This entails the implementation of CFR Reg. 216 Best Practice Reviews to enhance mission-wide environmental compliance.

• Promotes incorporation of environmental provisions from 22 CFR 216 documentation into procurement

• instruments as appropriate, and relevant guidance to Contract Specialists and Contract/Agreement Officer Representatives.

• Promotes mainstreaming of environmental compliance and management, including integrated programming by participating in core planning and design teams, in activity implementation reviews and results reporting.

• Leads assessments of capacity to identify gaps in USAID/Uganda staff capacity and delivers or otherwise

• identifies effective and efficient training delivery approaches. Serves as the lead trainer on emerging

• environmental compliance issues, resources, and requirements.

• The contractor is eligible for temporary duty (TDY) travel to the U.S., or to other Missions abroad, to

• participate in the “Foreign Service National” Fellowship Program, in accordance with USAID policy.

• (Supervisory Relationship:

• The Specialist works under general supervision of the ENRM Unit Lead. Regardless of the location of the

• position in the organization, the MEO is formally designated by, and accountable to, the Mission Director, consistent with ADS 204. The supervisor makes assignments in terms of overall objectives and resources available. Completed work is reviewed in terms of achievement of Mission and USG Environmental and Environmental Integration goals, effectiveness in meeting Uganda and USAID objectives, and integration with other initiatives in the Office and Mission portfolio. Some technical direction may come from other professionals in the Office; in general, however, the Specialist will be expected to exercise considerable autonomy, with support from other MEOs, the REA and BEO and best judgment in discharging the duties of the assignment.

• Supervisory Controls:

• The direct supervision of other staff is not contemplated.

• Physical demands: The work requested does not involve undue physical demands.