Health, Safety, Social and Environmental (HSSE) Specialist (open for internal candidates only)

Background Information - Job Specific

Under the overall oversight of the Head of Programme and the day to day supervision of the Infrastructure Team Leader, the Health, Safety, Social and Environmental (HSSE) Specialist will be in charge of leading and facilitating the implementation of Best Practice across the four (4)  countries of the Ethiopia MCO: Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Djibouti.  

The successful candidate will be required to understand the Organizational HSSE  Policy, systems and tools.  S/he will assume the role of HSSE Coordinator for the MCO and will be responsible for:

• Coordinating the development of HSSE Plans for Projects and Workplaces

• Undertaking periodic missions to project locations to carry out Inspections & Reporting

• Organizing/Providing Trainings & leading continuous improvement of the HSSE Culture in the MCO  

• Supporting Project teams to mainstream best practices in Environmental and Social Management (ESM) into their projects

• Where relevant, facilitating understanding and assurance over the implementation of partner-defined Safeguards requirements

The successful candidate will be based in Addis Ababa with travel across the four (4) countries and remote project sites.  The HSSE Specialist must be able to apply, with some degree of independence the below duties and responsibilities of the project success criteria. 


Functions / Key Results Expected

1. Implementing Best Practice in HSSE at the MCO Level

2. Assurance and Technical Support on Health and Safety matters

3. Assurance and Technical Support on Environmental And Social Management

4. Training and Knowledge Management

5. Resources and Performance Management

1.  Implementing Best Practice in HSSE at the MCO Level

• Assume the role of HSSE Coordinator for the MCO as per the HSSE system;

• Facilitate awareness of HS and ESM policies and systems amongst MCO leadership;

• Take part in UNOPS HSSE Networks and other relevant communities to share experiences, lessons learnt and contribute to policy / standards reviews and working practices towards continuous improvement;

• Advocate for and facilitate streamlining HSSE into the office culture;

• Facilitate consistency in adherence to HSSE policies, procedures, rules and regulations, and carry out regular reviews of practices across the MCO;

• Assume the role of Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH) Focal Point and facilitate mainstreaming the into Programme and projects as needed;

• Take part in Engagement Reviews, and advise on fit for purpose resourcing HSSE in Programme and Projects; 

• Contribute to guidance on HSSE resourcing models for the MCO;

• Define document management practices for HSSE system and facilitate its implementation across the MCO;

• Working with PMO and Head of Infrastructure to develop an assurance system for Engagements and Projects;

• Implement assurance over Engagements and Projects on a quarterly basis;

• Escalate HSSE related risks and issues to the Project Executive in real-time and proposing proactive mitigations for implementation;

• Carry out periodic trend analysis and offer advice to the Leadership Team on measures to mitigate recurrent HSSE related issues;

• Define and lead the implementation of HSSE improvement initiatives;

2.  Assurance and Technical Support on Health and Safety matters

• Support Head of Programme, Project Managers and Project Teams in implementing health and safety requirements;

• Review and provide technical advice over Project HSE Risk Assessments, HSSE plans;

• Monitor implementation of project HSSE plans and ensure records are up to date;

• Review and assure inspection reports, incident investigations and other reports; assist Project Teams on corrective actions as needed;

• Provide assurance over regular reports on HSSE activities and close follow up to ensure identified hazards are eliminated in a timely manner;

• Undertake (or take part in) Office and Site inspections on a regular basis; identify hazards or non-conformity, and enforce compliance on behalf of the MCO;

• Participate in project site meetings to advise on relevant H&S matters;

• Oversee and provide assurance over the implementation of tool box meetings in order to raise awareness about HSSE culture.

• Advise and instruct Project Managers, Project teams, contractors, consultants and other stakeholders on various safety, health, social and environmental related matters.

• Provide periodic oversight over installations, warehouses, maintenance and disposal of substances, plant and equipment to ensure implementation of office H&S requirements, and compliance with applicable laws and industry best practice;

• Use trend analysis of monitoring data to carry out performance analysis & improvement.

• Support the Head of Office/HSSE country coordinators in implementing HS for country and field offices;

• Coordinate Office HSSE Inspection schedule across the MCO and liaise with Office HSSE focal point to ensure the timely implementation of corrective actions to hazards identified in UNOPS Country and Field offices to ensure health and safety in the field offices premises;

3.  Assurance and Technical Support on Environmental and Social Management

• Review Environmental and Social Screening, and ensure recommendations are mainstreamed into Project Implementation Plans and relevant su-plans;

• Review and provide assurance over project Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) in accordance with UNOPS and/or donor guidelines as required;

• Advise PMs on the development of Sustainability Management Plans as required - through ES Screening;

• Review and exercise assurance over the implementation of ESMPs and recommend corrective actions as required;

• Remain abreast of Partner Safeguards and E&S requirements and advise PMs on how to ensure compliance where deviations between partner and UNOPS systems exist;

• Undertake assurance of project plans to ensure PSEAH is mainstreamed into sub-plans;

• Provide advice and support to PMs and their teams in good practices in implementing (PSEAH) into Programme and projects;

4. Training and Knowledge Management

• Take part in HSSE knowledge networks and facilitate the timely transfer of information across the MCO;

• Support the ETMCO Programme Leadership Team in raising awareness of HSSE of UNOPS Goal Zero, policies and systems among project staff, consultants, contractors and other stakeholders;

• Be the focal point for H&S knowledge sharing across the MCO with a focus on context-specific good practices;

• Undertake periodic capacity building/Training Needs assessments in the areas of UNOPS HSSE, national codes and standards and/or partner systems requirements;

• Develop and implement MCO-wide HSSE Training schedule to improve the capacity of UNOPS personnel in implementing HSSE policies, systems and tools; 

• Facilitate practical training for contractors, project teams and partners so that they ‘learn by doing’ and ensure continuous safe operations during project execution;

• Perform HSSE induction for all new UNOPS Personnel in the MCO and support PMs/ Project Teams in providing inductions to contractors as required;

• Proactively document lessons learnt from H&S and ESM experience and advocate for mainstreaming good practices in the development of new engagements;

• Develop and maintain a practical understanding of national codes and standards for Health and Safety as well as Environmental and Social management policies in the MCO countries

• Gather knowledge and remain abreast of practices at UNOPS and construction industry in general;

• Be the focal point for H&S knowledge building and knowledge sharing across UNOPS operations at the MCO countries with a focus on context-specific good practices;

5. Resources and Performance Management

• Actively contribute to a culture of continuous improvement on H&S and ESM;

• Establish a network of HSSE practitioners across the MCO;

• Define and appraise performance expectations applicable to all HSSE practitioners;

• Advise the Head of Programme and Head of Infrastructure on the performance metrics for Project Managers

• Monitor and provide feedback to HSSE practitioners on functional performance and take part in performance appraisals together with the Line Manager

• Contribute to performance feedback of PMs and their team members on the implementation of HSSE requirements and systems

 
Impact of Results 

Overall, the HSSE Specialist is expected to have a significant impact on the:

• Achieving UNOPS Goal Zero objectives and reducing the number and severity of incidents in UNOPS operations

• Raising awareness of HSSE hazards in ETMCO’s operations and mainstreaming mitigations into operations

• ETMC projects are role models for the implementation of HSSE in line with UNOPS guidelines, national codes and standards and industry best practice.