Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Sector Project

The safeguard requirements of the ADB seek to ensure the poor and other disadvantaged groups within the target area access project benefits. This will require specialist expertise in identifying affected groups characteristics and needs and accommodating these needs wherever feasible. Given the large proportion of ethnic groups among the target population, measures will need to be taken to ensure these groups benefit from project interventions. The specialists will support project initiatives in community development including gender and indigenous peoples activities. There will be capacity building in these areas that will also form part of the responsibilities of the specialists. The specialist will assist NPMO, PPOs and DCOs in developing and implementing initiatives to assure that benefits are shared by all disadvantaged groups including the ethnic groups. In addition, there is scope to develop other associated initiatives that will target women, the poor and minority groups that require further definition during preparation of subprojects for funding under the proposed Project. Duties of the specialist will include the following: (i)             Review the Poverty and Social Assessment, GAP, and Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework (IPPF) in the PPTA consultant’s Final Report to ascertain the nature and extent of interventions considered appropriate under the proposed Project; (ii)              Review / ascertain changes or updates to ADB and Government policies on ethnic minorities, gender and poverty as set out in the PPTA consultant’s Final Report; (iii)           Prepare and deliver workshops on safeguards / gender to ensure sound understanding of the principles and operational requirements for NPMO, PPO and DCO staff and other relevant stakeholders; (iv)            Together with the NPMO safeguard specialists oversee preparation and implementation of the social-economic / gender surveys for the subproject feasibility studies and prepare Social Impact Assessment reports, GAP and IPPs where required ensuring these conform to ADB standards; (v)            Working with the NPMO, PPOs and DCOs ensure that recommendations and requirements from all approved subproject feasibility study GAPs, IPPs and poverty recommendations are being undertaken and ensure these are being appropriately monitored by the Project benefit monitoring and evaluation (PBME) specialists systems; (vi)           Monitor all individual subprojects to determine if serious negative impacts on ethnic groups, women or other disadvantaged groups are occurring and make recommendations to the NPMO and PPO to ameliorate / mitigate these; (vii)          Monitor all individual subprojects to determine any opportunities to enhance positive impacts on ethnic groups, women or other disadvantaged groups and make recommendations to the NPMO and PPO to implement these in other subprojects; (viii)          Monitor community involvement in subproject implementation and bring issues or problems to the attention of the NPMO and relevant PPOs;