ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL SPECIALIST

Job description

COMPANY OVERVIEW

The mission of ZamGridCo is to modernise and expand Zambia’s national electricity distribution grid under the Grid Resilience Program. Established after a first-of-its-kind debt-for-development transaction between the Government of Zambia and the African Development Bank, ZamGridCo is a Zambian private company limited by guarantee with not-for-profit objectives. Headquartered in Lusaka, it is an independent, legally separate entity whose remit is to channel the resulting debt-conversion savings into distribution network investment and upgrades, in line with Zambia’s Integrated Resource Plan, Integrated Distribution Plan, and wider national energy reforms.

Job Title:                    Environmental & Social Specialist

 Location:                    Lusaka

 Reports to:                  Technical Director

 The Environmental & Social Specialist reports within the Technical Directorate and may escalate material environmental, social, health and safety risks directly to the Chief Executive Officer and the Board through the appropriate Committee.

Employment Type:      Full-time on Fixed term contract

ROLE SUMMARY

The Environmental & Social (E&S) Specialist will manage the implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of ZamGridCo’s Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) across the project funding portfolio. The E&S Specialist will lead environmental and social screening, conduct due diligence on prospective recipients, develop risk mitigation measures, safeguard planning, build recipient capacity, and monitor compliance throughout the project funding lifecycle. The E&S Specialist will engage in stakeholder management by coordinating with relevant parties, such as ZESCO, government ministries, affected communities, finance partners, or other stakeholders throughout project development and execution. This includes facilitating timely information sharing, managing consultation processes, and ensuring that relevant parties are engaged at each stage of project implementation in accordance with the applicable Environmental and Social Management Plan and Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Environmental and Social Screening, Due Diligence & Risk Categorization

 a.     Screen project proposals, procurement packages, bids and funded activities using the Company’s E&S risk matrix, ESMS and applicable AfDB safeguard requirements, including risk categorization based on the nature, scale, location and risks of the funded activity.

 b.    Conduct desktop and field-based E&S due diligence on prospective contractors, project funding recipients, suppliers, service providers and other approved implementing parties, including their capacity to manage environmental, social, labor, community health and safety risks.

 c.     Identify excluded activities, red flags and heightened risks, including forced or child labor, hazardous substances, land acquisition or livelihood impacts, biodiversity impacts, cultural heritage risks, pollution risks, security risks and community health and safety risks.

 2. Mitigation Measures, Safeguard Instruments & Legal Requirements

 a.     Develop, review, and negotiate Environmental & Social Action Plans (ESAPs) for medium/high-risk projects.

 b.    Draft E&S clauses for grant agreements, including conditions precedent, covenants, and reporting requirements.

 c.     Advise program staff on incorporating E&S conditions into project funding disbursement schedules (e.g., no disbursement until an ESAP is approved).

 d. Review contractor Environmental and Social Management Plans, construction-phase management plans and other safeguard instruments required under the Company’s ESMS and applicable project documents.

 e. Ensure that, at minimum, each funded project has proportionate environmental and social management arrangements, a Stakeholder Engagement Plan, a project-level grievance mechanism for external stakeholders, labor management arrangements and a worker grievance mechanism

 f. Advise Legal, Procurement, Operations and Technical teams on E&S clauses, conditions precedent, covenants, reporting obligations and disbursement conditions for inclusion in procurement documents, contracts, grant agreements and other project documents.

  3. Recipient Capacity Building & Advisory Support

 a.  Develop simplified, accessible E&S management tools, checklists, templates and guidance notes for contractors, consultants, suppliers, service providers and other approved implementing parties.

 b.  Deliver training on E&S requirements, including waste management, occupational health and safety, community health and safety, stakeholder engagement, grievance mechanisms, labor management, child and forced labor prevention and incident reporting.

c.     Provide practical advisory support on corrective actions and implementation of ESMPs, ESAPs, Stakeholder Engagement Plans and grievance mechanisms.

 d.    Support project-level disclosure and communication of stakeholder engagement arrangements, grievance channels and ZamGridCo contact points.

 4. Monitoring & Compliance

 a.    Monitor project implementation and E&S compliance of Company-funded activities, including contractor ESMP implementation, permit conditions, ESAP actions and other agreed mitigation measures.

b.    Conduct or support risk-based site visits, spot checks and compliance reviews in coordination with the Senior Distribution Engineer, Field Verification Engineer, Technical Director and relevant technical teams.

c.     Investigate E&S incidents, complaints and grievances reported by communities, workers, contractors or staff, and recommend corrective actions, escalation, suspension or other remedies for decision by the appropriate authority.

5. Reporting & Closure

a.    Maintain an E&S risk register for the active funded project portfolio, including risk ratings, mitigation actions, responsible parties, deadlines and escalation status.

b.    Prepare E&S inputs for quarterly and annual reporting to management, the CEO, the Board, AfDB, donors, financiers and development-finance partners, as required.

c.     Support preparation of the Annual Environmental and Social Report and other E&S reports required under applicable financing, project funding, procurement and disbursement agreements.

 QUALIFICATIONS

 Required:

1.    Education: Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Sustainable Development, Environmental Management, Natural Resource Management, Social or Public Policy, or related field.

2.    Professional Experience: 5+ years of relevant experience, including at least 2 years working on grant-funded projects, development programs, or with civil society organizations.

 3.    Regulatory Knowledge: Strong knowledge of E&S safeguard frameworks, including the AfDB Integrated Safeguards System, Development Finance Institution-funded project requirements, Zambian ESIA/permitting requirements, and good international industry practice.

 4.    Skills: Proven ability to translate complex E&S requirements into simple, actionable steps.

 5.    Experience conducting site-level E&S audits or due diligence.

 6.    Excellent written English for drafting E&S clauses, ESAPs, ESMP review comments, risk registers, corrective action plans and E&S reporting inputs.

 Preferred:

 1.  Master’s degree in related field.

2. Familiarity with grievance redress mechanisms and community engagement in low-literacy contexts.

3.  Professional training or certification in social performance, stakeholder engagement, community development, grievance redress mechanisms, resettlement/livelihood restoration, GBV/SEAH, FPIC/HVRM engagement, human rights due diligence, AfDB ISS, IFC Performance Standards, or related E&S safeguards. Environmental and OHS certifications such as ISO 14001 or ISO 45001 would be an advantage.

 Competencies

 1.  Risk-based mindset – ability to differentiate between negligible and critical risks.

 2. Pragmatic problem solver – knows when to require a full ESIA vs. a simple checklist.

 3.  Diplomacy – able to say “no” to a recipient or internal program officer without derailing relationships.

 4.  Training & facilitation – can engage a room of grassroots NGO staff on “do no harm” principles.

To apply: Submit CV and a short cover letter describing your experience managing conditional funding instruments (e.g., grants and service contracts) to humanresources@zamgridco.com. Please specify the role you’re applying to in the subject line of your application email. Visit our website: https://zamgridco.com  Closing date 30^th September  2026

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.