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Social Safeguards Lead - Peace Parks Foundation
Please note: this job has passed the closing date for applications.
| Organisation: | Peace Parks Foundation |
| Sector: | Conservation |
| Location: | Remote/Stellenbosch, South Africa |
| Closing date: | 15 July 2025 |
Peace Parks Foundation is a non-profit conservation organisation that specialises in conservation at scale through the development of transfrontier conservation areas and the long-term management of key protected areas, in partnership with government conservation agencies and communities within these landscapes. We currently focus on the development of five priority transboundary landscapes measuring over 65 million hectares throughout southern Africa, and the co-management of ten national parks and protected areas covering over 5.2 million hectares.
In alignment with its commitment to ethical and sustainable conservation practices, Peace Parks is strengthening its social safeguards system. The Safeguards Lead will play a pivotal role in ensuring social safeguarding standards are effectively mainstreamed across all programmes and projects.
JOB PROFILE
You are a mission-driven and principled leader in social safeguards and will lead the integration of ethical and inclusive safeguards practices across our conservation landscapes. With a strong grasp of social risk management and international standards, you will ensure that the basic human rights, safety, and dignity of communities are protected throughout all Peace Parks Foundation programmes.
You’ll be the go-to specialist for social safeguards, working collaboratively with field teams, government partners, and donors to embed social safeguards into programme design, implementation, and monitoring. Your leadership will guide strategy, strengthen capacity, and ensure that every project and our general operations aligns with our commitment to responsible and people-centred conservation.
JOB PURPOSE
The Social Safeguards Lead will lead the strategic development, support the implementation, integration, and monitoring of Social Safeguards throughout Peace Parks’ operations. The incumbent will provide technical support across all landscapes, ensure compliance with donor and internal social safeguard standards, contribute to project design, build internal capacity, and promote ethical and effective safeguards practices that protect the rights and wellbeing of individuals and communities.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
•
Mainstreaming social safeguards
o
Lead social safeguard strategy implementation across all projects and transboundary landscapes.
o
Provide conceptual and technical input to integrate social safeguards in all stages of the project life cycle.
o
Promote alignment of project activities with global best practices, donor requirements, and internal policies.
o
Conduct site visits and ground-truthing assessments to support and enforce social safeguard integration.
o
Support the fund development and project teams to integrate safeguarding into project design and proposal writing.
•
Compliance monitoring and reporting
o
Oversee the operationalisation of social risk management plans and associated tools.
o
Coordinate the development of project-specific social action plans (SAPs), risk assessments, and mitigation strategies.
o
Ensure the standardisation of social safeguard reporting and monitor compliance in close collaboration with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team.
o
Prepare and submit regular reports on the social, health, and safety (SHS) performance of projects.
o
Project-specific safeguards reporting to donors.
•
Stakeholder engagement and support
o
Serve as a focal point for donor and stakeholder queries related to social safeguards.
o
Advise implementing partners and project staff on practical and sustainable compliance and best-practice approaches.
o
Facilitate community engagement, grievance mechanisms, and feedback loops together with field teams.
o
Support government partners in aligning with social safeguard standards.
•
Capacity building
o
Promote organisational understanding of social safeguarding principles and standards.
o
Facilitate principle-based safeguard training and mentoring for all staff with donor safeguarding obligations.
o
Organise workshops for park-level stakeholders, including on human rights, PSEAH, and grievance procedures.
•
Organisational development
o
Contribute to strategic planning and integration of social safeguards in co-management agreements, park strategies, and funding proposals.
o
Support internal safeguard governance structures, including Social & Ethics Committees.
o
Guide the evolution of Peace Parks' social safeguard framework in alignment with risk assessments and feedback mechanisms.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
•
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Sociology, Anthropology, Applied Social Sciences, or related field.
•
Minimum of 6 years of relevant experience with social safeguards in large-scale conservation, development, or community-based projects.
•
Demonstrated experience with safeguard systems of multilateral development banks or international donors (e.g., World Bank, AFD, KfW).
•
Excellent understanding of international social safeguard standards and their practical application.
•
Strong skills in social risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and training.
•
Demonstrated ability to work across disciplines and in multicultural teams in Africa.
•
Excellent English language and writing/reporting skills.
•
Additional competency in other predominant African languages in countries where Peace Parks operates would be beneficial.
•
Proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with data management and reporting tools.
The incumbent must be willing to travel extensively to remote areas.
Interested candidates are invited to submit a Curriculum Vitae, with full address, telephone number, email address and contact details of at least three contactable references. These should be submitted by 15 July 2025.
A competitive salary package will be negotiated, based on qualifications and experience.
Applications should be submitted to Human Resources.applications@peaceparks.org
You are a mission-driven and principled leader in social safeguards and will lead the integration of ethical and inclusive safeguards practices across our conservation landscapes. With a strong grasp of social risk management and international standards, you will ensure that the basic human rights, safety, and dignity of communities are protected throughout all Peace Parks Foundation programmes.
You’ll be the go-to specialist for social safeguards, working collaboratively with field teams, government partners, and donors to embed social safeguards into programme design, implementation, and monitoring. Your leadership will guide strategy, strengthen capacity, and ensure that every project and our general operations aligns with our commitment to responsible and people-centred conservation.
JOB PURPOSE
The Social Safeguards Lead will lead the strategic development, support the implementation, integration, and monitoring of Social Safeguards throughout Peace Parks’ operations. The incumbent will provide technical support across all landscapes, ensure compliance with donor and internal social safeguard standards, contribute to project design, build internal capacity, and promote ethical and effective safeguards practices that protect the rights and wellbeing of individuals and communities.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
•
Mainstreaming social safeguards
o
Lead social safeguard strategy implementation across all projects and transboundary landscapes.
o
Provide conceptual and technical input to integrate social safeguards in all stages of the project life cycle.
o
Promote alignment of project activities with global best practices, donor requirements, and internal policies.
o
Conduct site visits and ground-truthing assessments to support and enforce social safeguard integration.
o
Support the fund development and project teams to integrate safeguarding into project design and proposal writing.
•
Compliance monitoring and reporting
o
Oversee the operationalisation of social risk management plans and associated tools.
o
Coordinate the development of project-specific social action plans (SAPs), risk assessments, and mitigation strategies.
o
Ensure the standardisation of social safeguard reporting and monitor compliance in close collaboration with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team.
o
Prepare and submit regular reports on the social, health, and safety (SHS) performance of projects.
o
Project-specific safeguards reporting to donors.
•
Stakeholder engagement and support
o
Serve as a focal point for donor and stakeholder queries related to social safeguards.
o
Advise implementing partners and project staff on practical and sustainable compliance and best-practice approaches.
o
Facilitate community engagement, grievance mechanisms, and feedback loops together with field teams.
o
Support government partners in aligning with social safeguard standards.
•
Capacity building
o
Promote organisational understanding of social safeguarding principles and standards.
o
Facilitate principle-based safeguard training and mentoring for all staff with donor safeguarding obligations.
o
Organise workshops for park-level stakeholders, including on human rights, PSEAH, and grievance procedures.
•
Organisational development
o
Contribute to strategic planning and integration of social safeguards in co-management agreements, park strategies, and funding proposals.
o
Support internal safeguard governance structures, including Social & Ethics Committees.
o
Guide the evolution of Peace Parks' social safeguard framework in alignment with risk assessments and feedback mechanisms.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
•
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Sociology, Anthropology, Applied Social Sciences, or related field.
•
Minimum of 6 years of relevant experience with social safeguards in large-scale conservation, development, or community-based projects.
•
Demonstrated experience with safeguard systems of multilateral development banks or international donors (e.g., World Bank, AFD, KfW).
•
Excellent understanding of international social safeguard standards and their practical application.
•
Strong skills in social risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and training.
•
Demonstrated ability to work across disciplines and in multicultural teams in Africa.
•
Excellent English language and writing/reporting skills.
•
Additional competency in other predominant African languages in countries where Peace Parks operates would be beneficial.
•
Proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with data management and reporting tools.
The incumbent must be willing to travel extensively to remote areas.
Interested candidates are invited to submit a Curriculum Vitae, with full address, telephone number, email address and contact details of at least three contactable references. These should be submitted by 15 July 2025.
A competitive salary package will be negotiated, based on qualifications and experience.
Applications should be submitted to Human Resources.applications@peaceparks.org
Contact details
| Contact person: | Human resources |
| Contact number: | 0218805100 |
| Email: | applications@peaceparks.org |
