Environmental & Social Officer Financial Institutions

In this role you will be responsible for:

• Conducting thorough appraisals of potential environmental, social, and human rights risks and impacts associated with our investments in Financial Institutions, against the requirements of the IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
• Assessing client capacity to manage and mitigate environmental and social risks effectively, providing guidance to enhance their E&S risk management strategies.
• Proactively identify and evaluate risks within our financial institutions portfolio, focusing on sectors with high-risk profiles, country-specific contextual risks, and areas of human rights sensitivity.  
• Assisting clients in establishing grievance mechanisms and building capacity to address project-related harms effectively.
• Working together with our investment staff, partners, and clients to meet FMO’s Sustainability Policy Standards.
• Monitoring clients' compliance with FMO's environmental and social requirements.
• Managing portfolios and report through our ESG systems.
• Engaging with stakeholders on our Sustainability Policy and contribute to organizational ESG risk management.

Your background

• Master’s degree in Sustainability, Environmental Science, Human Rights, Anthropology, or a related field of sustainability studies.
• Minimum of 8 years' experience in environmental and social risk management within the private sector, mainly with exposure to financial institutions.
• Robust understanding of Good International Industry Practices, including familiarity with the IFC Performance Standards, World Bank Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
• Exceptional English communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex E&S concepts clearly and persuasively.
• Demonstrated experience in aiding financial institutions to elevate their E&S practices, including the crafting and execution of Environmental Social Management Systems.
• Fluency in languages spoken in the markets we operate in, primarily Arabic, French and Spanish.

Personal Skills

• Ability to effectively strike the balance between facilitating new transactions and upholding E&S/Human Rights standards.
• Ability to build productive lasting working relationships with clients and strategic partners.
• Risk aware and able to escalate key issues when necessary.
• Strong skills in planning, organizing, and prioritizing when working on several assignments at the same time and under pressure.
• Culturally sensitive and the ability to work in and support multi-disciplinary teams.
• Ability to support and coach colleagues.
• Ability to travel approximately six-eight times per year to emerging markets.
• Sense of humor is considered a plus.