Safeguards and Social Sciences Technical Director
Job Description
Position: Safeguards and Social Sciences Technical Director
Reports to: Director, Rights + Communities
Position Managed: Interns and consultants, as appropriate.
Location: Remote/United States (East Coast Time Zone)
Country Program/Sector: GCP/Rights & Communities
Capacity: Global
Position Type: Full Time
Coordinates with: Senior Human Rights Specialist, Safeguards & Social Sciences Technology Coordinator, Grants Management and Compliance, Regional Safeguards Coordinators, Country Safeguards Coordinators, Country Directors, Program and Project Leads.
About WCS:
WCS has a mission to save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. WCS recognizes that nature and people are intrinsically linked, and that biological and cultural diversity are interdependent, mutually reinforcing and often co-evolved. We believe that respecting and protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities reflects our global commitment to equity and justice and is an essential pathway to achieving durable conservation.
The Global Rights + Communities (R + C) program supports field teams to work effectively with communities in over 50 countries to secure rights, exercise rights, and benefit from rights. R + C is a dynamic and growing team that undertakes global initiatives and supports our field teams, country and regional teams, and thematic programs through a Human Rights Based Approach to Conservation and the application of Conservation Social Sciences to deliver equitable and just conservation outcomes.
Job Purpose:
The Safeguards and Social Sciences Technical Director provides global leadership on safeguards policy and implementation, social science approaches, and conservation planning across WCS regional programs. The position works to identify, avoid, manage, and mitigate potential negative social impacts of WCS conservation activities on local stakeholders, while advancing human rights-based conservation approaches that improve both community well-being and conservation outcomes. As part of the Global R + C Team, the Technical Director promotes the effective application of social and environmental safeguards, strengthens field program capacity, and supports compliance with global and organizational standards and best practices.
The position provides technical support to field programs in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of safeguards and human rights-based conservation initiatives, as well as the application of social science tools and methodologies, including the Basic Necessities Survey (BNS), Natural Resource Governance Tool (NRGT), and Conservation Standards. The Technical Director also represents WCS in external partnerships related to social science, conservation practice, and rights-based conservation, and is committed to the WCS mission of saving wildlife and wild places while recognizing and supporting the rights, knowledge, collective action, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to biodiversity conservation.
Major Responsibilities:
It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that we do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based upon a person’s membership in one of these protected categories in areas such as recruitment, selection, job assignment, supervision, training, promotions, job grading, transfers, termination, compensation, benefits, educational opportunities, WCS sponsored recreational activities and facilities.
Note that the salary offer will reflect the selected candidate’s individual experiences, skills and qualifications, internal equity, work location and country of work.
Salary Range
$93,000-$105,000
Position: Safeguards and Social Sciences Technical Director
Reports to: Director, Rights + Communities
Position Managed: Interns and consultants, as appropriate.
Location: Remote/United States (East Coast Time Zone)
Country Program/Sector: GCP/Rights & Communities
Capacity: Global
Position Type: Full Time
Coordinates with: Senior Human Rights Specialist, Safeguards & Social Sciences Technology Coordinator, Grants Management and Compliance, Regional Safeguards Coordinators, Country Safeguards Coordinators, Country Directors, Program and Project Leads.
About WCS:
WCS has a mission to save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. WCS recognizes that nature and people are intrinsically linked, and that biological and cultural diversity are interdependent, mutually reinforcing and often co-evolved. We believe that respecting and protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities reflects our global commitment to equity and justice and is an essential pathway to achieving durable conservation.
The Global Rights + Communities (R + C) program supports field teams to work effectively with communities in over 50 countries to secure rights, exercise rights, and benefit from rights. R + C is a dynamic and growing team that undertakes global initiatives and supports our field teams, country and regional teams, and thematic programs through a Human Rights Based Approach to Conservation and the application of Conservation Social Sciences to deliver equitable and just conservation outcomes.
Job Purpose:
The Safeguards and Social Sciences Technical Director provides global leadership on safeguards policy and implementation, social science approaches, and conservation planning across WCS regional programs. The position works to identify, avoid, manage, and mitigate potential negative social impacts of WCS conservation activities on local stakeholders, while advancing human rights-based conservation approaches that improve both community well-being and conservation outcomes. As part of the Global R + C Team, the Technical Director promotes the effective application of social and environmental safeguards, strengthens field program capacity, and supports compliance with global and organizational standards and best practices.
The position provides technical support to field programs in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of safeguards and human rights-based conservation initiatives, as well as the application of social science tools and methodologies, including the Basic Necessities Survey (BNS), Natural Resource Governance Tool (NRGT), and Conservation Standards. The Technical Director also represents WCS in external partnerships related to social science, conservation practice, and rights-based conservation, and is committed to the WCS mission of saving wildlife and wild places while recognizing and supporting the rights, knowledge, collective action, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to biodiversity conservation.
Major Responsibilities:
- Provide technical direction to the Rights + Communities team to deliver support on the application of and compliance with International Environmental and Social Safeguards and WCS internal policies.
- Collaborate with regional social safeguards staff to support field program proposal development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of safeguards that meet International Environmental and Social Standards, those required by funders, and WCS internal policies.
- Assist Director, Rights + Communities in proactively developing and implementing the Environmental and Social Management System and associated safeguards policies and guidance documents across all field programs.
- Support the operation of the Safeguards Management Team Working Groups to design appropriate environmental and social safeguards for project implementation including, Grievance Redress Mechanisms, Free Prior or Informed Consent, Stakeholder Engagement Plans, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Assessments and Action Plans, and Process Frameworks for Access Restrictions Mitigations.
- Ensure all safeguards and mitigation activities encompass best practices in diversity, equity and gender inclusion aligning with International Environmental and Social Standards, those required by funders, and WCS internal policies.
- Lead the administration and improvement of the WCS Global Grievance Redress Mechanism.
- Administer the global GRM system and associated data infrastructure.
- Lead the Safeguards Management Team Working Group on Grievance Redress Mechanisms and the setting of WCS policy and guidance for GRM across the organization.
- Support development and rollout of GRMs across WCS programs.
- Assist country teams in developing intake procedures, implementation protocols, and reporting processes.
- Maintain data flows and integrations between GRM platforms, KoboToolbox, dashboards, and case-management systems.
- Coordinate with Conservation Technology staff to maintain and improve data integration workflows.
- Develop and improve dashboards, reports, and monitoring tools.
- Contribute to future development and migration of GRM technologies and workflows.
- Support country teams to analyze GRM data to inform future conservation planning.
- Monitor global GRM performance and support country teams in addressing operational challenges.
- Coordinate with regional safeguards staff to ensure consistent implementation and continuous system improvement.
- Lead the development and application of social science methods across WCS.
- Maintain and improve WCS social science methodologies (qualitative, quantitative and Indigenous knowledge systems), including the Basic Necessities Survey (BNS), Natural Resource Governance Tool (NRGT), and Conservation Standards.
- Identify opportunities to synthesize social sciences applications across multiple WCS sites to further understanding on WCS project activities impacts on communities and conservation.
- Support development of study protocols, sampling approaches, questionnaires, and analysis plans.
- Promote methodological consistency and data quality across field programs.
- Develop guidance materials, training resources, and practical tools for social science implementation.
- Provide technical review of social science studies, monitoring frameworks, and evaluation approaches.
- Support integration of social science monitoring into broader program design and donor reporting processes.
- Serve on the WCS Institutional Review Board committee.
- Support capacity building and training to meet increasing environmental and social safeguards requirements and integration with conservation practice.
- Deliver in-person and virtual trainings on social science approaches, safeguards systems, and conservation standards including theories of change for community conservation and results chains
- Maintain and update training resources and online guidance materials.
- Finalize and scale the community conservation strategy template for deployment globally at WCS sites.
- Support development of regional networks of social science and safeguards practitioners, including through the Safeguards Management Team and the Rights & Communities Practitioners Forum.
- Facilitate integration of safeguards into strategic Practitioner Forums (e.g., Community Natural Resources Governance, Human Wildlife Conflict)
- Organize exchange sessions among field programs tackling similar environmental and social safeguards issues and/or issues impacting theories of change for community conservation.
- Provide ongoing mentoring and technical support to country programs implementing social science, community conservation, and safeguards systems.
- Support Grants, Management, and Compliance to ensure that WCS proposals comply with WCS and donor safeguards requirements and are integrated into proposal theories of change.
- Develop clear processes for field teams to follow for integrating environmental and social safeguards into community conservation projects, proposals and practices.
- Represent WCS in external partnerships and networks.
- Support and participate in activities of the Conservation Social Science Partnership (ConSoSci).
- Contribute to development of guidance documents, training materials, and knowledge products with external partnerships and networks.
- Maintain relationships with implementing partners, academic institutions, and professional networks.
- Promote best practices in rights-based conservation, social science, safeguards, and strategic planning.
- Ph.D. in a relevant social science discipline and at least 5 years of field experience with environmental and social safeguards
- Experience setting up and administering program and site-level grievance redress mechanisms
- Strong technical skills and computer literacy (e.g., Kobotoolbox, Asana, and Open FN.)
- Excellent interpersonal and communications skills, including writing, editing, and the ability to work sensitively and productively with a diverse team
- Excellent organizational, convening, and meeting facilitation skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, adjusting to changing program priorities and responding to opportunities
- Demonstrated motivation and organization skills to design, manage and implement multiple projects with limited oversight while prioritizing tasks and meeting deadlines with quality products
- Experience training and coaching multidisciplinary teams
- Experience applying the Conservation Standards and strategic planning approaches in conservation programs
- Excellent interpersonal and communications skills, including writing, editing, the ability to work sensitively and productively with a diverse and dispersed team, and the ability to represent WCS in key external partnerships
- English fluency essential, additional fluency in French, Spanish, or other languages desirable
- Willingness to travel internationally is essential
- Willingness to work across multiple timezones
- Thorough understanding of global conservation issues and relevant science
- Strong commitment to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s mission.
It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that we do not tolerate discrimination or harassment based upon a person’s membership in one of these protected categories in areas such as recruitment, selection, job assignment, supervision, training, promotions, job grading, transfers, termination, compensation, benefits, educational opportunities, WCS sponsored recreational activities and facilities.
Note that the salary offer will reflect the selected candidate’s individual experiences, skills and qualifications, internal equity, work location and country of work.
Salary Range
$93,000-$105,000