Job Vacancy at Virunga Power

Job description

About the Role

The role of the Senior Environmental and Social Manager is to lead the company in its planning, documentation, implementation, and monitoring of environmental and social issues related to its planned megawatt-scale small hydropower generation facilities and rural distribution grids throughout rural East Africa. The successful candidate will be driven by the potential for creating large-scale positive impact by electrifying rural areas in a sustainable and equitable way. He or she will require solid technical knowledge, close attention to detail, and keen interest in ensuring compliance with internal ESMS and E&S policies and effective project management in implementing their work. The position will report to the Managing Director.

Duties will include leading and managing the overall E&S planning of projects, managing internal resources as needed, and hiring and supervising contractors.

By nature of being employed by a start-up company, the Senior Environmental and Social Manager will also be expected to contribute to the development of the company’s internal E&S capabilities, policies, and systems, as well as support the general business needs of the company, as may be required from time to time.

The Senior E&S Manager will be based in Nairobi though will be expected to travel to project sites in rural areas within East Africa and greater sub-Saharan Africa. It is envisioned that the Senior E&S Manager will work closely with and report to the executive management team in Nairobi.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

The Senior E&S Manager’s primary role will be to oversee the development and effective implementation of Virunga Power’s Environmental and Social Management System. He or she will work closely with the management team, as well as the relevant development, engineering, and financing team members internally, and external partners such as financing parties, contractors and consultants, and project partners. In addition, he or she will have the following as duties and responsibilities:

• During the project development phase, contribute to the evaluation of newly identified potential projects, identify preliminary E&S risks, tender for and hire E&S consultants to commission ESIAs, assist in preparing applications for relevant permits, participate in community E&S discussions and Virunga Power-related community negotiations;
• During the construction phase, supervise the consultants and contractors involved in all aspects of the project construction to ensure compliance with ESMS, project-specific ESMP, and Health and Safety best practices;
• During the operations phase, ensure compliance with ESMS and project-specific ESMP including ensuring environmental audits are carried out as required by local and international law;
• Appoint and manage specialist consultants, including for ESIA development, E&S planning, ESMS and ESMP implementation, and ongoing E&S monitoring;
• Regularly monitor project and company compliance of the ESMS, and prepare reports for investors and other stakeholders;
• Participate in management strategy sessions to continuously improve the company’s E&S strategy and outcomes;
• Manage the E&S aspects and coordination related to any 3rd party investor due diligence process related to Virunga Power’s projects;
• Contribute to the delivery of E&S training, both for internal teams and for project partners and investee companies; and
• Mentor and work with junior team members.

Minimum Requirements

The ideal candidate would have the following skills and credentials:

• Advanced university degree (Masters or above) in a relevant discipline, preferably environmental engineering, environmental or social studies, and/or a similar area;
• 7-10+ years of work experience in a related field (relevant sector, E&S and/or sustainability etc.), preferably within an international E&S consulting firm, in a corporate E&S management role, and/or in development finance or private equity industry related to E&S components of project development;
• Relevant qualifications in ESIA or ESG specialty;
• Demonstrable experience in delivering global best practice E&S work (i.e. IFC Performance Standards) in emerging markets;
• Strong understanding of Health and Safety, and any relevant certifications;
• Effective organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize processes and schedules, develop sound project plans, conduct constructability, operability, maintainability reviews and juggle multiple assignments with competing deadlines;
• High level of intellectual curiosity with the ability to work independently in a self-directed, entrepreneurial environment;
• Ability to excel in a collaborative, technical, cross-functional and geographically diverse organization;
• Ability to work well in rural environments and collaborate with rural communities across East Africa;
• Ability to travel regionally on a frequent basis to project sites; and
• Strong written and spoken English skills are required.

Preferred

• While not mandatory, the following would be desirable in an applicant:
• Additional languages spoken which are relevant to working in the region, e.g. Swahili, French, etc.