About the Company

Why not come and work for one of Ireland's most progressive and ambitious engineering and environmental consultancies. We work in sustainability so if you want to progress your career in a socially responsible company working towards a sustainable planet then join us.         

We are based in Ireland but also work in the UK, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. We are part of the RSK Group, a group of more than 175 companies with over 11,000 employees operating around the globe, and are one of the leading engineering and environmental science companies in the world.

Project Overview

The Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture Project (MDIH) aims to establish a sustainable and inclusive model of irrigation, water resources, and land management in Lesotho.

About the Role:

The Social and Gender Specialist shall provide leadership in overseeing the DB Contractor’s compliance with social, labor, and gender requirements of the ESMP, including adherence to the MCC C-TIP Policy and MCA-Lesotho II’s SGIP.

They shall also oversee DB compliance with key gender and social inclusion-related requirements in the DB contract, such as the DB Counter TIP Plan, the DB Social and Gender Action Plan, targets for women’s employment, policies and plans to enforce prohibitions against sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse and other.

A key part of the Social and Gender Specialist’s responsibilities will be to review technical specifications for the inclusion of social risks and opportunities in identified construction ESIAs, as well as the DB Contractor’s environmental and social management plans and relevant control procedures, considering social and gender issues identified in the ESIAs and SGIP.

The Social and Gender Specialist shall report to the Team Leader during the base period and the Chief Construction Manager during the option period.

The Specialist shall be employed as needed during the base and option period.

Key Requirements:

Qualifications:

• University degree in Development Studies, Gender Studies, Sociology, Community Development, Social Work, or any related social sciences.

General Professional Experience:

• Minimum of 10 or more years of senior-level experience in providing oversight for integration of social, gender, and community-level priorities and concerns in complex development projects, with significant experience in promoting opportunities for women in employment (in construction would be an added advantage) and experience putting social safeguards in place for large infrastructure projects.

Specific Professional Experience:

• 3 or more years of experience at a senior level working on large infrastructure projects, engaging with contractors and communities, including women and vulnerable populations, serving as a liaison, and managing social and gender-related risks, including TIP.
• Operational knowledge of the IFC Performance Standards and local laws and regulations on labor and employment, gender-based violence, and trafficking in persons on at least two projects in the past five years.
• Demonstrated experience working on teams and collaborating with colleagues outside of social development sectors on at least one project in the past five years.
• Knowledge or familiarity with Lesotho tribal and rural cultural environments demonstrated through at least one project is desirable.
• Prior international experience and experience in working in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• You will have an agile and “Can Do” mindset.
• Ambitions self-starter with high self-standards.
• Motivated to be part of a Company with a real purpose, improving the quality of people’s lives and communities.

Our mission is to provide advice and assistance to today’s global community in delivering sustainable infrastructure for tomorrow. As a professional engineering and environmental consultancy, we provide water engineering, environmental engineering and civil and structural engineering services to public- and private-sector clients, mainly in the transportation and infrastructure sectors.

Throughout our history, we have been providing water and wastewater engineering services to authorities serving millions of consumers. We have used our engineering services to help develop more than five-thousand kilometres of highways, making us one of Ireland’s most respected consulting engineering practices. We have worked in more than 40 countries throughout the developing world. Our employees have access to a range of major projects in Ireland, the UK, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Nicholas O’Dwyer is part of the RSK Group, a leading integrated environmental, engineering, and technical services business providing dynamic, multidisciplinary services to a wide range of sectors. RSK was founded in 1989 and has grown considerably since then. In fact, Environment Analyst recently highlighted RSK’s growth commenting, “Few companies in the environmental services sector can claim to be expanding at the same pace as RSK.” 

RSK operates as a group of synergistic businesses with a growth strategy centred on diversification to build a resilient business that can withstand external pressures while also bringing more value to clients and opportunities to employees.