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Location: |
The CSP Specialist(s) will be based in, or close to, the Municipality of Boticas in Portugal |
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Language: |
The CSP Specialist needs to be a fluent Portuguese speaker and have a minimum of Intermediate proficiency (B1-B2 according to the CEFR scale) in English |
Background to the role
Savannah Resources Plc (“Savannah”) is an AIM listed public company who owns the Barroso Lithium project mining lease with a recently approved DIA and is moving towards development. Savannah is now undertaking a series of studies including a Feasibility Study (FS), RECAPE and licensing of a new bypass road to the proposed mine development and is seeking a suitably qualified person to help manage social impact and risk during the development, working closely with community stakeholders.
Purpose of the Role
The CSP Specialist will provide professional support for the management of Savannah’s relationship with local community stakeholders, mainly those living close to the project site. The CSP Specialist acts as a key point of contact to enable community members to engage with Savannah and plays an integral role in implementing Savannah’s community relations strategy at the local level. The role also includes supporting Savannah to meet international standards for social and human rights performance.
The position exists to enable Savannah and the local community/communities to:
- Build relationships based on trust and mutual respect;
- Understand what are the main social issues for the project from a community perspective, namely their concerns and grievances;
- Ensure the representation of the community in the decisions about the project that matter to them;
- Keep the communities updated about the project;
- Ensure that issues in the relationships between the communities and the project are acknowledged and resolved promptly, fairly and consistently;
- Secure and maintain broad and long-term community support for the company’s activities.
A key objective during the development phase is to ensure that development of the BLP project occurs in a way that avoids harm to the environment, local livelihoods or wellbeing, while building mutually beneficial relationships with local community members. Above all the objective of the CSP Specialist role is to support sustainable development and the protection of human life, health and the environment, and to contribute benefits to the local communities.
Core Responsibilities
Community insight
Understanding community expectations, needs, interests and concerns namely by gathering baseline data gathering and monitoring data. Understanding how project activities might affect community well-being and community dynamics. Recording and reporting on insights and discussing them with colleagues.
Community stakeholder mapping
Understanding and mapping various community stakeholders and their needs, interests, concerns and levels of influence in a way that can be used for project decision-making. Discussing the results of stakeholder mapping with colleagues.
Information sharing
Ensuring that information about the project is shared with the community in an effective, appropriate and timely manner. Discussing project-related information with community members. Using basic information-sharing tools, including verbal communication, pamphlets, posters, media announcements, and common social media platforms, such as Facebook in articulation with the communication department. Recognizing whether community members have sufficient access to information, and reporting to managers on any barriers to community information access.
Community engagement
Regular engagement with community stakeholders, including local leaders, civil society organizations, landholders and land/resource users, households and vulnerable groups, with the aim of building the trust and respect of the community. Explaining the goals and aspirations of the project, and discussing potential project impacts and opportunities with community members. Advising landholders and land/resource users in advance of planned interventions that might affect them directly, and the timings and extent of such activities. Supporting community meetings by preparing information packages, arranging venues, posting advertisements and collecting feedback forms. Identifying and respecting the needs of different stakeholder groups, especially vulnerable groups, and modifying engagement approaches as appropriate.
Community consultation
Supporting information gathering for consultation purposes, including questionnaire surveys and community meetings. Accurately recording community views and concerns to input into consultation processes. Supporting the management of consultation responses by analyzing appropriately quantitative and qualitative information.
Community grievance and dispute management
Developing and supporting the community grievance mechanism, by recording and reporting on grievances and their resolution. Explaining to community members how to use the grievance mechanism. Discussing issues and grievances with community members and resolving low-level issues and disputes, as required. Bringing larger grievances and disputes to the attention of the right people to resolve them. Responding sensitively at all times and bringing calm to tense situations.
Crisis management
Supporting incident and crisis response activities, as required. Participating in incident and crisis response training. Explaining issues relating to safety, security and emergency risk to community members. Engaging with community members in a crisis, as required, explaining the situation clearly and passing on advice from the company on steps they should take. Supporting alternative community engagement approaches, as required in the context of specific conflict situations. Recognizing the need for expert conflict management, mediation or dispute resolution in the community, and seeking expertise to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
Reporting and documentation
Reporting to the line manager regarding own activities and the day-to-day situation in the community. Reporting against key performance indicators (KPIs) and ESG aspects relevant to social and human rights performance. Reporting on major and minor incidents and emerging issues in the community. Ensuring that accurate records are kept of key conversations and action items are noted and conveyed to senior management for discussion and agreement.
Social management system
Working with project teams to implement human rights due diligence, international standards for social performance, and related company policies and procedures. Contributing to the continuous improvement of Community and Social Performance practices.
Supporting internal and external scrutiny by providing information and reporting in an accurate and timely fashion.
Personal Attributes
- Respect: Inspire respect and trust with community leaders and the wider community as well as with colleagues and line managers.
- Resilience: Deal with difficult issues, setbacks and criticism, and unconventional work patterns, be self-motivated and work independently with minimal supervision in challenging circumstances, and work at a distance from the line manager, if required.
- Empathy: Understand the challenges, needs and concerns of others, even while not agreeing with the and remaining objective and impartial, namely issues of gender, diversity and vulnerability in the community and in the workplace.
- Integrity: Represent and work with affected communities while also being a project/company representative, balancing business goals and social development priorities and the interests of the community and the company, even in challenging situations.
- Calm: Remain calm and authoritative in situations with an element of disagreement or conflict. Demonstrate concern and responsiveness while maintaining the company position.
- Patience: Allow people time to express their views or come to a decision, and deal with changes in plans.
Skills
- Interpersonal relations: The ability to get on well with diverse representatives of the local community and to work as a team, respecting and supporting colleagues;
- Verbal communication: The ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences from different social groups, explain basic procedures to local community members and present community insights to colleagues;
- Reporting: The ability to report on own activities to the line manager, to report verbally on community events and insights to colleagues, highlighting the relevant points and identifying major and minor incidents and emerging issues;
- Information-sharing: The ability to verbally disclose and discuss important information with people from different social groups using appropriate forms of information sharing for different community (e.g. basic information-sharing tools like pamphlets, posters, media announcements and social media);
- Community engagement/consultation: The ability to engage with different stakeholder groups, using appropriate engagement techniques and to assist with formal consultation processes, by supporting meetings, taking meeting notes and organizing information;
- Analytical skills: Ability to analyse qualitative and quantitative data using high level data analysis methods to inform activities.
Education
Post-graduate qualifications in social sciences, such as in psychology (social or community psychology preferably), sociology, anthropology and human geography. Additional knowledge and qualifications relating to environmental sustainability and socio-economic development are also desirable.
Experience
Experience working with the following is also highly desirable:
- The mining industry or comparable industrial/construction projects
- Community development or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes
- Engagement with media, civil society, government and non-government stakeholders