Social Development Specialist – Luxembourg

This position is based at our Luxembourg headquarters and requires regular office presence. The EIB offers you the opportunity to live and work in a truly international and multi-cultural environment. We also offer relocation support.

The EIB, the European Union's bank, is seeking to recruit for its Projects Directorate (PJ), Innovation and Competitiveness Department (INCO), Education and Public Research Division (EPR), at its headquarters in Luxembourg, a (Senior) Social Development Specialist *.

This is a full-time position at grade 5/6 for which the EIB offers a permanent contract.

*Internal benchmark: (Senior) Officer

Panel interviews are anticipated for February 2024

The (Senior) Social Development Specialist provides advice to colleagues regarding social impacts and associated risks and EIB social standards related to the sectors covered by INCO liaising with the Social Unit in Environment, Climate & Social Office (ECSO), and contributing to the achievement the Bank's business objectives. S/he also undertakes the social due diligence of projects (mainly outside the EU) following a risk-based approach.

The Industry and Competitiveness Department (INCO) is in charge of digital infrastructure and businesses, sustainable industries, R&D as well as projects for the education, public research and health care sectors.

As (Senior) Social Development Specialist, you will be part of the EPR Division within the INCO Department. You will report to the respective Head of Division and operate across all Divisions of the INCO Department, as required. As such, you will work closely with the professional staff of the INCO Department including the departmental climate and environmental advisors, coordinating with other Departments' Environmental and Social Specialists, the team in the Environment, Climate & Social Office (ECSO) and other EIB officers, notably those participating in INCO lending operations. You will also assist in managing external consultants.

You will need to work with a high degree of autonomy, maintaining contacts with other international financial institutions, public authorities and EU institutions, as appropriate and representing the EIB at high level project related meetings with promoters and EU counterparts. You will also coordinate horizontal social related tasks within the INCO Department and will contribute to PJ's social related tasks representing the INCO department.

Business travel will be required notably to non-EU countries. Capacity to engage with a wide range of stakeholders including local communities, civil society and public officials will be essential.

As (Senior) Social Development Specialist in the INCO Department, you will:

• Provide specialist advice on social risk assessment and due diligence issues pertaining to individual projects, including the review of the quality of the assessments and studies required under EIB social standards.
• Contribute to the preparation of appraisal reports of social high-risk projects, including potential participation in appraisal missions, in order to determine if they can be co-financed by the EIB.
• Contribute to the implementation and development of the Bank's social standards and procedures and represent INCO in the relevant working groups.
• Undertake monitoring activities – including physical monitoring of on-going projects – in order to verify their alignment with the contractually agreed social requirements and EIB social Standards as well as the achievement of the social development outcomes set out by the project.
• Provide expert input to the project teams of the INCO Department in addressing social related complaints and information disclosure requests as per the provisions of the Aarhus Regulation and the EIB Transparency Policy.
• Contribute to managing the provision of consultancy services to support project-based social due diligence, specific social studies and/or under technical assistance frameworks.
• Contribute to specific social development topics within ECSO's Knowledge Sharing Programme, in collaboration with ECSO colleagues.
• Deliver training on EIB's social standards and other social development themes within the INCO Department and potentially to promoters. In this respect, develop and maintain knowledge about social relevant aspects of INCO sectors e.g., human rights and digital activities, gender in the context of social infrastructures.

• University degree, Bachelor's level or above, in a relevant field (e.g. sociology, anthropology, social development practice, environmental and natural science/engineering studies, development studies, economics, law or another relevant discipline); a post-graduate degree at Master's level or equivalent would be an advantage and a multidisciplinary background an asset.
• At least 5 years of recent and relevant professional experience related to social and environmental due diligence and/or social or environmental safeguards.
• Sound knowledge of international good practice related to social due diligence frameworks, processes and tools and on the ground practical experience in their application in a project context – experience in emerging markets and/or developing countries would be an advantage.
• Experience with the main social standards/safeguards and social development policies and practices of the major IFIs and relevant EU policies and regulations including on EU taxonomy for sustainable activities and ESG, would be an asset.
• Demonstrated ability to work with a wide range of stakeholder in inter-disciplinary contexts and in multicultural environment.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills with a practical approach to problem solving.
• Excellent organisational skills with ability to prioritise and to work under pressure.
• Excellent knowledge of English and/or French (*), with a good command of the other. Knowledge of other EU languages would be an advantage.

Find out more about EIB core competencies here

(*) Unless stated explicitly as a required qualification, a good command of French is not a pre-requisite for hire. As both English and French are however official working languages of the EIB, proficiency in both languages is a pre-requisite for your future career development. Any language clause in your contract must be fulfilled in order for you to be eligible for a promotion (either via the annual appraisal cycle or via an internal selection process). Proficiency is understood to mean the attainment of level 5 of the Inter Institutional language courses, corresponding to B1.2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). The Bank offers appropriate training support.

We are an equal opportunities employer, who believes that diversity is good for our people and our business. We encourage all suitably qualified and eligible candidates to apply regardless of their gender identity/expression, age, racial, ethnic and cultural background, religion and beliefs, sexual orientation/identity, disability or neurodiversity.

Applicants with specific needs are encouraged to request reasonable accommodations at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact the EIB Recruitment team who will ensure that your request is handled.

By applying for this position, you acknowledge the importance of maintaining the security and integrity of the Information of the EIB Group. In case of selection for the position you agree to comply with all measures (policies, controls, document classification and management) implemented by the EIB Group to prevent unauthorised disclosure of any information or any damage to the EIB Group reputation.

Deadline for applications: 15th January 2024

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