Environmental and Social Monitoring Consultant, Education Sector

About the Position Dexis is recruiting for a part – time Independent Consultant to provide support in conducting monitoring on private sector projects that are in or adjacent to the education sector, including K-12, higher education and technical/vocational education and training (TVET). The projects to be monitored involve the direct delivery of education services to children and young adults, or adjacent services such as school or student lending. The monitoring process will focus on desk-based and on-site review of the projects’ systems for child protection/safeguarding and preventing and responding to gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) of children and adults in the education sector. During site visits, the consultant may be required to conduct additional checks on high-level environmental and social issues, with guidance and support provided from DFC’s environmental and social team. Responsibilities • Conduct a preliminary assessment of child protection/safeguarding and GBVH risks to children/students and the workforce for each project identified. This is anticipated to be a group of approximately 11-14 Projects. Assessments will build on existing review and analysis and should take into account the contextual (county-level) risks of GBVH and violence against children and other vulnerable groups, as well as sector- and project-specific risks. • Conduct a desktop review of the Projects’ written policies and procedures for child protection/ safeguarding and/or GBVH prevention and response and compare against international and regional standards and best practices. • The review may encompass child protection/safeguarding policies and procedural documents human resources materials related to child protection/safeguarding, gender equity, and GBVH training and induction materials for staff student awareness-raising and engagement materials organizational structure charts basic incident-related information in summary form (provided confidentiality and anonymity are maintained) information on contractor relationships and contractor management systems; information on key institutional partnerships (including with universities/TVETs and child-friendly service providers, if any) information from public/media searches; etc. • Assess on a preliminary basis the Projects’ implementation of the child protection/safeguarding and/or GBVH systems, conducting virtual discussions with key Project personnel where necessary • Where possible, identify on a preliminary basis child-friendly service providers and subject matter experts and resources in the Project area. • Conduct a monitoring site visit to the prioritized Projects, in alignment with ethical standards. Approximately 4-5 site visit trips should be anticipated during the contract period, covering approximately 6-8 Projects. • Each site visit will include but is not limited to the following: • Update the assessment of child protection/safeguarding and/or GBVH risks. • Update the assessment of the Projects’ child protection/safeguarding and/or GBVH prevention and response systems and their implementation. • Conduct in-person discussions with the Project Company; school or institutional leadership; key personnel involved in child protection/safeguarding and/or GBVH prevention and response; and external partners such as universities/TVETs, child-friendly service providers, etc. where relevant. • Where appropriate, conduct discussions with a sample of on-site non-managerial staff, including contracted workers in a safe and ethical manner that does not ask about personal experiences of GBVH. • Review relevant on-site information, e.g. files; monitoring data; HR records; internal and external grievance logs; security logs; training materials and records; etc. • Review the adequacy of the Projects’ security and contactor management systems (where relevant) to ensure that security and contractors are appropriately complying with child protection/safeguarding and GBVH systems. Assess on-site security risks where relevant, including discussions with the on-site security manager and security guards. • Further identify child-friendly service providers and subject matter experts and resources in the Project area. • Review other high-level environmental and social compliance issues during the Site Visit with the support and guidance of DFC E&S staff, e.g., conducting discussions with key personnel with roles in environmental, social and labor management; confirming compliance/implementation of any Environmental and Social Action Plan or E&S condition of the DFC agreement; reviewing implementation status of the Project’s grievance mechanisms and stakeholder engagement plans and activities, etc. • Provide basic implementation support to the Projects in the form of recommendations and guidance on policy development or enhancements; identification of location-specific child-friendly service providers, experts, basic capacity building on best practices; provision of guidance materials best suited to client needs, etc. • Performs other related duties as assigned. • Responds to all requests in a timely manner. Replies to email correspondence and phone calls within two business days. Conducts daily duties with courtesy and professionalism. Qualifications • A bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a related field • A minimum of seven years (within the last 15 years) of experience in child protection, child safeguarding and/or prevention and response to sexual exploitation and abuse of children, with a preference for direct programing experience overseeing child protection/safeguarding in the education sector in international contexts • Strong knowledge of ethical standards and international best practices for child protection, safeguarding and GBVH prevention and response, including knowledge of application in the education sector • Strong knowledge of ethical standards for field work in the sector and trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and child-friendly approaches to consultations, interviews, etc. • The contractor must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance. Preferred Qualifications • Familiarity and/or experience with international development finance multilateral development banks or other development finance institutions and the application of environmental, social, and human rights standards such as the IFC Performance Standards is an advantage.