Request for Tender – P41 Safeguards Adviser Panel

Required: Safeguarding experts to maintain and implement safeguards policies on Partnerships for Infrastructure
Duration: Initial phase to June 2024, with possibility of extension to 2025
Location: Remote
Reports to: Activity Leads
Closing date: Monday 19 February 2024

About P4I

Partnerships for Infrastructure (P4I) is an Australian Government initiative partnering with Southeast Asia to drive sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth through quality infrastructure. P4I partners with Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

P4I works with partners to strengthen infrastructure decision-making and practice across the transport, energy, utilities and telecommunications sectors. P4I’s focus is on the early stages of the infrastructure lifecycle, including planning and prioritisation, financing strategy, and procurement.

The 4 main services offered by P4I are linkages with Australian government agencies and other institutions, technical and policy advice, infrastructure project advice and knowledge-sharing and learning. As the foundation of quality infrastructure, P4I also integrates gender equality, disability, and social inclusion, and disaster risk reduction and climate change considerations into all activities.

Delivered through a single team, P4I is led by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in collaboration with EY, Adam Smith International, The Asia Foundation and Ninti One.

P4I has a regional program office in Bangkok, with staff also located in Australia and each partner country. More information about P4I is available at www.partnershipsforinfrastructure.org

Purpose

The purpose of the role is to provide specialist support to P4I in maintaining and implementing its safeguards policies. The position forms part of a Safeguards Adviser Panel, in which panellists may be engaged to provide ad-hoc advice on either policy or procedural issues related to P4I’s approach to safeguarding, or assessments of safeguards issues related to P4I activities.

P4I plays an upstream role in infrastructure development, related to the overall infrastructure policy and institutional enabling environment, planning and prioritisation, procurement policy and procedure, or regulatory settings. It does not finance infrastructure or manage infrastructure delivery. On rare occasions, P4I supports project preparation.

Scope of Work

The position holder may be engaged to:

• Provide advice on or update P4I safeguarding policies and systems in line with DFAT policy.
• Provide training and capacity-building support to activity teams on safeguard policies, procedures, and best practices.
• Assess the accuracy of activity safeguard and risk assessments, and advise on risk mitigation strategies, or any additional analysis that needs to be undertaken during activity development.
• Provide advice to the Program Executive on safeguards risks associated with P4I activities to help inform the approval process, in particular with respect to potential project preparation activities.
• Assist in scoping more detailed safeguards analysis that may be required on individual P4I activities.
• Work with other P4I teams to encourage knowledge sharing in the region, including through the development of knowledge products, participating in regional workshops or events, or collaborating with research organisations.
• Contribute to ad-hoc briefings on safeguards issues, as requested by the P4I Program Executive, Australian Embassies in the region, or DFAT in Canberra.

Selection Criteria

• Qualifications in a relevant discipline.
• Extensive experience (more than 10 years) undertaking environmental and safeguards assessments for infrastructure projects.
• Experience with DFAT safeguards policies and their application to development assistance activities, ideally in Southeast Asia. Ideally, will also have familiarity with multilateral development bank approaches to safeguarding.
• Experience identifying areas of safeguard risk associated with design and implementation of policy reform.
• Technical experience with undertaking analysis in the five areas covered by DFAT safeguarding policy: environmental protection; children, vulnerable, and disadvantaged groups; displacement and resettlement; Indigenous people; and health and safety.
• Excellent analytical, presentation, writing, and oral communication skills.
• Ability to undertake initiative with limited oversight.

Terms of Engagement

Members of the panel will be engaged through Tasking Notes, distributed by P4I Activity Leads to suppliers with services and rates reflecting those put forward by candidates during the panel application process. Tasking Notes will include additional relevant terms such as deliverables and duration of the engagement. Suppliers will be free to engage on activities once the tasking note is signed by P4I’s Senior Operations Manager.

Opportunities will be made available to members on an as-needed basis and offered in a range of ways, including, but not limited to: open calls to all panel members; limited calls for expressions of interest; and occasional cases of sole sourcing.

Each opportunity is dependent on an assignment’s requirements and the skillsets of the available panel members. Inputs will vary in terms of scope and duration, depending on the needs identified. Being a member of P4I’s Safeguards Panel provides no guarantee of work. The panel will operate in accordance with Australia’s Commonwealth Procurement Rules.