Senior ESG & Social Impact Advisor

About the role

The Senior ESG & Social Impact Advisor will support a manufacturing operation in Northwest Nigeria by strengthening the client’s internal social management capabilities. The role focuses on coaching the client’s social team on complex resettlement, livelihood restoration, and stakeholder management challenges to ensure compliance with IFC Performance Standards.

Key responsibilities

• Assess existing social performance, resettlement, and livelihood restoration practices against IFC Performance Standards and agreed ESAP requirements.
• Provide ongoing coaching and advisory support to improve execution discipline and implementation of Environmental and Social Action Plans.
• Support the development, refinement, and operationalisation of resettlement and livelihood restoration workstreams, including stakeholder engagement approaches.
• Guide the client team in strengthening social risk governance, reporting, and monitoring processes.
• Build internal capability through structured mentoring, knowledge transfer, and on‑the‑job support.
• Deliver periodic reporting on progress against action plans and identified improvement areas.
• Facilitate a phased transition and capability handover to enable sustainable in‑house ownership of social performance activities.

Required profile

• Extensive experience leading or advising on complex resettlement and livelihood restoration programmes in infrastructure, industrial, extractives or heavy‑industry settings.
• Proven work with rural, land‑dependent, project‑affected communities and ability to navigate legacy social issues and grievances.
• Strong track record supporting compliance with IFC Performance Standards and Environmental & Social Action Plans.
• Experience managing or coaching multidisciplinary social performance teams in large‑scale operations.
• Prior engagement with DFIs, private‑sector sponsors or international ESG stakeholders.

Required skills

• Deep expertise in resettlement planning and livelihood restoration.
• Knowledge of IFC Performance Standards and Environmental & Social Action Plans.
• Ability to coach and mentor social teams.
• Stakeholder engagement and social risk governance capabilities.