Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) Implementation Head job at True North

JOB DETAILS:

Context And Environment
The job holder works under the management of the LSOC Manager. The position is Kampalabased with regular visits to the field.

Missions / Job Dimensions
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project involves the construction and operation of a buried, cross-border pipeline to transport crude oil from the Lake Albert area in Uganda to the eastern coast of Tanzania for export to international markets. The pipeline will run from Kabaale in Hoima District, Uganda, to Chongoleani, Tanga Region, in Tanzania. The length of the pipeline is 1,443 kilometers (km) of which 296 km will be in Uganda. In Uganda the pipeline will traverse ten (10) districts, comprising Hoima, Kikuube, Kakumiro, Kyankwanzi, Mubende, Gomba, Sembabule, Lwengo, Rakai and Kyotera.

EACOP is an international project that “pledges to uphold not just the legal requirements in both Uganda and Tanzania, but also to fully comply with the IFC Performance Standards that set out international best practice in these areas.” This is also required by potential lenders for whom the “Lenders’ Environmental and Social Consultant (LESC) assesses and reports on EACOP compliance with lender environmental and social standards including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) 8 Performance Standards (PSs). The ESDD is undertaken through a combination of document review, site visits and interviews with EACOP and stakeholders plus identification of environmental and social risks and impacts that the Project could generate during the construction and operation phases.”

Key EACOP social activities that require IFC Performance Standard compliance are associated with the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) and Livelihood Restoration Plan (LRP) that are being implemented to conduct necessary land acquisition while ensuring that Project-affected people (PAPs), especially vulnerable PAPs, do not suffer negative impacts as a result of ceding some of their land for the Project. The main applicable IFC Performance Standards during this phase of the Project are:
• Performance Standard 1: Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts (with particular emphasis on stakeholder engagement and grievance management activities)
• Performance Standard 5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement (land acquisition, compensation, resettlement, and livelihood restoration activities)
• Performance Standard 8: Cultural Heritage (impacts on cultural resources including graves, shrines, sites or artefacts of archaeological significance)

The Borealis information management system is being used to support EACOP’s environmental and social management system (ESMS) and needs to become a central repository of critical documents and reports that are currently scattered in multiple locations. This will allow easier review by the LESC, authorities and the planned third-party RAP M&E contractor who is meant to conduct biannual monitoring visits, a RAP completion audit and an “ex post” RAP audit (some years after the completion audit to ensure that RAP and LRP interventions were sustainable and ensure that Project-affected people were not adversely impacted by the Project. The RAP Implementation Head will work with all key LSOC team members to ensure that this system is properly used, that monitoring activities by outside stakeholders are supported and that all corrective actions proposed by the LESC, the RAP M&E contractor and any government regulators and ministries are tracked and implemented so as to ensure compliance with international and national standards and legislation.

Activities The RAP Implementation Head will be responsible for:
• Identification of information and documentation requirements to demonstrate compliance with:
✓ RAP commitments
✓ National Legislation
✓ International standards (IFC Performance Standards referenced above)
• Working closely with various department units (land acquisition, replacement housing, community relations, grievance management, livelihood restoration, gender) and contractors (RAP planning, land acquisition, archiving, cultural heritage, grave relocation, housing construction, livelihood restoration programmes) and information technology partners (IST department, Borealis) to compile and consolidate necessary M&E documents into EACOP information systems (Borealis and Galaxy)
• Work with department units to establish and track clear RAP key performance
• indicators (KPIs)
• Work together with relevant unit heads to review progress against RAP commitments and jointly establish corrective actions where progress is unsatisfactory.
• Monitor RAP activities with respect to compliance with the IFC Performance Standards and suggest course corrections as required.
• Develop management reporting dashboards to track compliance.
• Act as a focal point for third-party RAP M&E contractor
• Track and support implementation of corrective actions identified by RAP M&E contractor document reviews and field visits.
• Act as focal point for LESC reviews of RAP compliance with IFC Performance Standards
• Track and support implementation of corrective actions identified by LESC in a timely fashion.
• Support any government-led reviews of activities associated with the RAP / LRP
• Accountabilities
• Is responsible to be focal point for all external audit or review of achievement of RAP objectives (per indicators outlined in the RAP M&E chapter) by third-party RAP M&E contractor or other actors.
• Is responsible to be focal point for LESC or other reviews of RAP compliance with relevant IFC Performance Standards
• Is responsible for ensuring tracking and follow corrective actions associated with reviews of RAP/LRP outputs and outcomes and compliance and sharing these with responsible LSOC units.

Person Specification
Education, Training, Skills & Experience
Qualification:
• Advanced degree in social sciences or business administration

Professional experience:
• 10 years’ experience in the Oil and Gas industry, extractive industry or linear infrastructure. Experience in land acquisition and involuntary resettlement and resettlement.
• Experience managing contractors including technical and financial.

Technical competencies:
• Diverse experience in RAP and LRP implementation in various contexts and in various phases of the project cycle within the resources sector
• Experience in developing and implementing stakeholder engagement plans and grievance mechanisms, including appropriate reporting.
• Experience in managing cultural heritage resources.
• Excellent understanding of the IFC Performance Standards, especially PS 1, 5 and 8
• Experience in preparing for, supporting and conducting follow-up on lender-appointed social consultants.
• Experience in preparing for, supporting and conducting follow-up on government regulators and associated ministries and departments.
• Strong skills with information management systems like Borealis Behavioral competencies:
• High level of interpersonal skills, organization skills, report writing and analytical skills.

Job application procedure

You can apply by submitting your cover letter and CV to oil.gasjobs@truenorthafrica.com with subject line Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) Implementation Head by 21ST December 2023 All application documents Must be in either PDF or MS. Word.

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