Health Safety Environment and Communities (HSEC) Officer at CrossBoundary

Job Description

CrossBoundary Energy is currently recruiting a full-time Health, Safety, Environment, and Communities (HSEC) Officer. The primary responsibility of this role is to implement and oversee health, safety, and environmental standards, as well as community engagement initiatives, for the successful delivery of our renewable energy projects. We are in search of a resourceful and detail-oriented technical professional to assess risks on CBE's construction and operating project sites. The chosen candidate will provide support to contractors in planning and executing appropriate mitigation actions, along with collecting data on contractor compliance for reporting to company management and investors.

The HSEC Officer will also conduct desktop-based ESG due diligence on potential CBE clients, suppliers, and business partners. Additionally, they will take charge of resolving worker and community complaints submitted through CBE's grievance mechanism, while also tracking project applications for construction, environmental, and safety certifications as required.

This role plays a pivotal part in ensuring the health and safety of our employees, upholding environmental standards, and fostering positive relationships within the communities where we operate. We anticipate that the HSEC Officer's efforts will directly contribute to our overarching goal of becoming a model of ESG excellence among independent power producers in Africa.

The selected candidate will report to the ESG Manager and work collaboratively with the business development, project development, legal, and asset management functions on various ESG topics.

Who We Are
The CrossBoundary Energy team is a unique group of people who are genuinely excited by the opportunity to make a difference in some of the world's most challenging and exciting renewable energy markets. The chosen candidate will play an important role in a unique team with the opportunity to make a large impact on the clean energy landscape in Africa. Team members come from diverse backgrounds but share several qualities: curiosity, humility, integrity, a drive for excellence, and a bias for action.

Who You Are

• Excellence: You hold yourself to high standards and lead by example. You overdeliver on all tasks – big or small – necessary to contribute toward the team objective
• Finds Strength in Diversity: Skilled at creating professional relationships across nationalities, personalities, and contractual roles to get the job done. Patient and skilled at training contractors to consistently deliver to our high expectations for ESG compliance
• Curiosity: Not satisfied with “no;” assists others to generate creative solutions by looking at problems from new perspectives. You do not make or accept ultimatums
• Acts Like an Owner: Assertive on the key elements of HSEC on a construction site; confident recommending changes and new ways of operating to teammates and external contractors
• Deliberate Thinker: A practical thinker known for choosing the simple, robust solution where more complicated approaches would deliver the same results. Naturally organized, systematic, and calm under pressure
• Bias to Action: Self-starter who is passionate about creating lasting change in Africa. You are comfortable with ambiguity and effective in a fast-moving and complex environment
• Integrity: Detail-oriented, determined, and thorough in setting and enforcing HSE and ESG standards

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Occupational, Health and Safety or a related field
• 3+ years of relevant industry experience in enforcing health, safety, and environmental standards on construction sites
• Relevant national or international environmental or health & safety certification, i.e. NEBOSH
• Proven experience as an HSEC Officer in the renewable energy sector (not mandatory)
• Efficient and fluent operator within Microsoft Office tools, including Microsoft Teams, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel

Primary Responsibilities

• Assertively supports contractors in adhering to key Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) elements on construction sites through both remote and on-site monitoring. Confidently suggests changes and improved operational methods to internal teammates and external contractors. Produces comprehensive site audit reports after conducting HSE inspections.
• Consistently, accurately, and clearly captures HSE reporting from contractors and entries from CBE's grievance mechanism. Transmits this information to the team using existing tools and procedures, aligning with internal and external reporting deadlines, including quarterly and annual investor Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reports.
• Applies international standards (e.g IFC sustainability framework) for environmental and social impact mitigation with expertise in creating and evaluating contractor Risk Assessment Method Statements (RAMS) through standard CBE projects via Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) procedures. Oversees and validates the completion of mitigation actions.
• Conducts desktop research, reviews policy documents, and independently conducts interviews with suppliers and clients following existing ESMS procedures to complete Investment Screening, Contractor Screening, and Know Your Business Partner (KYBP) assessments.
• Sets a CBE-level standard for excellence with contractors, suppliers, service providers, and other partners, leading by example.
• Proactively identifies ESG risks within projects and escalates them to the manager or directly to management and investors in the event of an incident or near miss.
• Analyzes relevant ESG laws and regulations in existing markets and during new market entry, clarifying impacts to the broader CBE team. Acts as a subject-matter expert in 1-2 jurisdictions and proactively raises questions about best practices for compliance.
• Supports the application for and acquisition of project permits for construction, environmental, and safety certifications as needed.
• Builds and maintains positive relationships with project communities, contributing to the successful implementation of project-related stakeholder engagement plans, external grievance mechanisms, and community engagement plans.