CI is seeking a Climate Smart Forestry, Social Impacts Senior Manager to support the Carbon Solutions Fund (CSF), and possibly other CI funding vehicles, to make nature-based investments that generate both a financial return and sequester and/or abate carbon.  The position will provide technical advice and guidance to the CSF to meet CI’s safeguard, gender, and human rights obligations as well as industry social standards. The Senior Manager will focus on geographies associated with the potential nature-based investments, primarily in the Americas, and possibly Africa and Asia regions.

Reporting to CI’s Climate Smart Forestry Investments, Senior Director, the Senior Manager will work directly with a strong team focusing on allocating capital to appropriate investment opportunities in the forestry space that protect both people and nature and generate both financial returns and reduced GHG emissions. The Social Impacts Senior Manager will coordinate closely with the Project Delivery and Monitoring’s Environmental and Social Accountability team (PDM ESA), which oversees the implementation of CI’s Safeguard System. This position will provide targeted support to the CSF and safeguard activities across multiple regions in support of our organizational commitment to equitable conservation for future generations.

The primary duties of this position are to apply CI’s Environmental and Social Management Framework to CI’s growing portfolio of forestry-related investments. The position will focus on conducting social due diligence of investment opportunities on the ground with a multi-disciplinary team in close coordination with PDM ESA and providing guidance to the CSF team on issues of concern. Other duties include ensuring the development of quality safeguard and social impact plans for investees that comply with CI’s Safeguard System and achieve projected targets; and collecting and presenting safeguards performance data.

The candidate will bring extensive expertise working directly with private companies and/or communities on forest management, applying independent certification (i.e., FSC) or investment (i.e., IFC) performance criteria to the forestry sector, conducting social due diligence on forestry investments, and designing and implementing safeguard plans in complex settings.  They will exhibit a passion for protecting the rights of people and optimizing tangible social benefits in the context of private forestry operations,  and the ability to work with and across cultures, geographies, and work styles to advance our commitment to diverse communities impacted by forestry operations or that rely on essential natural resources for their livelihoods.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead desktop and in situ social (rural community, Indigenous peoples, contractors, employees, etc.) Due diligence (DD) on CSF investment opportunities through an established process a multi-step progression of analyses and communications with private investors and investees.
• Contribute to technical reports and communications at each stage of the CSF due diligence process.
• Design in situ due diligence for each investment opportunity to be consistent with CI’s and CSF’s established standards and protocols and tailored to the context at hand.
• Assess national and institutional safeguard policies and frameworks to determine risks and opportunities.
• Provide onsite technical guidance to companies being assessed to support compliance with social safeguards.
• Provide technical guidance to CSF and external partners on the social aspects of CSF investment opportunities.
• Coordinate with the PDM ESA team to ensure that CSF social due diligence is consistent with requirements of the CI Safeguard System and to exchange safeguard insights and expertise.
• Conduct periodic review of CSF social criteria for investments to ensure relevance, applicability, consistency with CI requirements, and consistency with sector-wide safeguard standards and requirements (e.g., FSC)
• Track safeguard developments in the forestry sector and participate in relevant subject area networks to ensure CSF continues to meet the highest standards.
• Support maintenance of CSF’s SharePoint platform for knowledge management, including storing and management of relevant social safeguard documentation.
• Participate in awareness-raising, capacity strengthening, and knowledge exchange activities related to social safeguards and gender for CI staff, project teams, implementing partners, and selective stakeholders.
• Support safeguard-related consultancies including the preparation and publishing of TORs, evaluation and short-listing of bids, contract signing and management, receipt of deliverables, and payment for services for CSF investment opportunities.
• Review periodically progress/monitoring reports on the social safeguards for ongoing investments in coordination with the CSF team and relevant M&E personnel.
• Periodically collect and analyze data related to safeguard performance indicators for ongoing investments.
• Provide input to the design, implementation, and monitoring of a safeguard and gender capacity-building program.
• Perform related duties as assigned.