Safeguards, Risk, and Inclusion Specialist (Retainer)

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments. By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

From Geneva, UNOPS facilitates the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), working with governments, other United Nations (UN) agencies and partners by providing quality servces, integrated solutions and management support through strategic, cost-effective and results-oriented approches. This includes supporting platforms and hosting high-profile, flagship initiatives and funds focusing on health, nutrition, water and sanitation, sustainable cities, environment, energy, climate and trade. UNOPS is a recognized resource for the UN system in Geneva – from fund management and oversight and advisory services, to providing hosting solutions to a range of global initiatives, as well as operational support to partner organizations.

Launched in 2020, the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) was established as a coalition to mobilize new sources of public and private finance to safeguard the world’s most climate-resilient coral reefs—coral refugia—and prevent their collapse. The GFCR mission is to enhance the resilience of coral reef ecosystems, communities and economies by unlocking new public and private resources that accelerate sustainable businesses and finance solutions (reef-positive solutions).

GFCR applies a blended finance approach that sequences different forms of capital to support coral reef conservation, economic, and community resilience outcomes. The approach combines grant funding, technical assistance, concessional finance, risk-sharing structures, and private investment to address constraints from early pipeline development through scale.  At later stages, commercial and near-commercial capital can support expansion of proven reef-positive enterprises and larger-scale investment opportunities. 

The GFCR supports reef-positive businesses and financial solutions across four core investment pathways: Sustainable Ocean Production; Sustainable Coastal Development; Circular Economy and Pollution Management; and Financial Mechanisms. Complementing these investment pathways, GFCR also advances a broader systems-change agenda by leveraging lessons learned from its portfolio and global coalition to promote ocean finance innovation, influence international policy processes, strengthen enabling environments, and catalyze the replication and scaling of reef-positive finance solutions.

Note : In duty stations where there is a local Salary Scale, the IICA2 position must be changed to LICA10 position for it to be encumbered by a national or permanent resident holder.

As part of the GFCR Secretariat, the Safeguards, Risk, and Inclusion Specialist supports Fund-level oversight and strengthens the implementation, review, and reporting of GFCR policies across the portfolio, including policies related to environmental and social safeguards, grievance redress, GEDSI, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, private sector engagement, and other related risk and inclusion requirements.

Under the direct supervision of the GFCR Deputy Director, the Specialist provides strategic leadership and technical advice to integrate environmental and social safeguards, risk management, and inclusion considerations across GFCR programmes, operations, partnerships, and knowledge products. This role does not replace the responsibilities of GFCR recipient implementing and co-implementing partners, but supports consistency across the portfolio through technical advice, quality review, and practical recommendations.  

Programmes and workstreams to be reviewed will be agreed with the GFCR team and prioritised based on risk profile, programme stage, grievance exposure, downstream funding or technical assistance arrangements, and replenishment or progress review needs.

Under the direct supervision of the GFCR Deputy Director, the Safeguards, Risk, and Inclusion Specialist will be responsible for the below key functions : 

1. Assess alignment of implementing partners safeguards, risk management, GEDSI, and grievance systems, and other policies with GFCR requirements 

2. Strengthen safeguards, GEDSI and other policies integration across the GFCR programme management cycle.

3. Strengthen GFCR grievance redress systems and procedures.

4. Provide technical support and capacity building to GFCR Secretariat staff and partners.

1. Assess alignment of implementing partners safeguards, risk management and grievance systems with GFCR requirements 

• Lead processes to assess whether selected implementing partners systems and procedures are aligned with GFCR requirements, particularly where due diligence was conducted before relevant GFCR policies were endorsed or updated.

• Review relevant GFCR policies and implement partner policies, procedures and systems to assess alignment with GFCR requirements.

• Identify gaps, practical risks and corrective actions related to implementing partners oversight of downstream partners, sub-grantees, technical assistance recipients and supported reef-positive solutions. 

• Prepare clear technical recommendations for GFCR and implementing partners to strengthen alignment, implementation and reporting. 

• Lead the update of GFCR policies and guidance notes as required.

2. Strengthen safeguards and GEDSI integration across the GFCR programme management cycle

• Review programme documents, progress reports, replenishment materials, risk registers, annual and mid-annual reporting inputs, and other programme cycle documents to assess whether relevant GFCR policy requirements are sufficiently captured.

• Advise programme teams on environmental and social risk screening, risk categorisation, mitigation measures, risk ownership, monitoring and reporting. 

• Review implementation frameworks, management plans and procedures to assess alignment with GFCR policies and identify any required updates or corrective actions.

• Lead the review and consolidation of programme risk registers, ensuring relevant GFCR policy risks are clearly described, rated, assigned to responsible parties and linked to mitigation measures.

3. Strengthen GFCR grievance redress systems and procedures 

• Support the development or improvement of a practical GFCR grievance handling procedure or standard operating procedure, including intake, acknowledgement, registration, assessment, referral, escalation, response, monitoring, closure and reporting. 

• Review whether implementing partners and downstream partner grievance mechanisms are accessible, legitimate, predictable, equitable, transparent, confidential where needed, and responsive to affected communities. 

• Assess whether grievance redress mechanisms and related access channels are adequately communicated to downstream partners, supported enterprises, technical assistance recipients and affected communities. 

• Support grievance tracking, analysis and reporting, including identification of recurring issues, systemic risks and lessons for programme improvement.

4. Provide technical support and capacity building to GFCR Secretariat staff and partners

• Provide on-demand technical advice to regional leads, programme teams and relevant GFCR focal points on GFCR policies.  

• Prepare concise advisory notes, review comments, checklists, tools or templates to support implementation and quality assurance. 

• Provide technical inputs for GFCR portfolio reporting, governance updates, donor reporting and internal decision-making. 

• Deliver capacity-building sessions and supporting materials for GFCR colleagues, implementing partners or co-implementers on GFCR policy requirements.

Required

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in environmental management, environmental science, social sciences, international development, gender studies, human rights, Indigenous Peoples studies, environmental law, natural resource management, marine or coastal management, sustainable development, development finance, or related fields with 5 years of relevant experience is required  OR 

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above related fields with 7 years of relevant experience. 

Required

• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience in environmental and social safeguards, social and environmental risk management, grievance redress mechanisms, GEDSI, gender-responsive programming, Indigenous Peoples engagement, stakeholder engagement, human rights, sustainability, conservation, climate finance, development finance, or related fields. 

• Demonstrated experience with safeguards or accountability requirements in programmes financed or implemented by United Nations agencies, international organisations, development finance institutions, climate funds, conservation funds, philanthropic funds, multilateral agencies, or comparable institutions.

Desired

• Experience with biodiversity conservation, marine and coastal ecosystems, blue economy, climate adaptation, natural resource management, community livelihoods, sustainable finance, impact investment, ESG, or private sector partnerships. 

• Experience with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities engagement, including culturally appropriate consultation, Free, Prior and Informed Consent, Indigenous Peoples plans or planning frameworks, and rights-based approaches.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
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• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.