I.    BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
In Cameroon, the prevalence of poverty is still high with growing disparities between rural and urban areas, particularly in conflict-affected regions. The national average poverty rate is 37.5%, but the poverty rate is 74.3% in the Far-North region and 67.9% in the North region, folloed by the North-West region (55.3%) and the Adamawa region (47.1%). In future, the persistence and geographical concentration of poverty in certain regions are likely to exacerbate regional disparities and inequalities in the country, unless the situation is addressed.
Instability and violence are on the rise in Cameroon and these phenomena take root in the prevailing regionalised and concentrated poverty. There are diverse causes and drivers of fragility, conflict, and violence in Cameroon with different regional characteristics. In a nutshell, there has been a significant increase in the occurrence of violence against civilians alongside fighting within the population. The displacement of the population as a result of the ongoing violence against civilians is another significant challenge that adds additional layers of complexity.
The fragility of the population and poverty dynamics are further exacerbated by the growing challenges caused by natural hazards and climate change. Cameroon is experiencing irregular rainfall patterns, temperature changes, and extreme environmental events, including an increase in the frequency and duration of droughts, floods, erosion of coastal areas, and soil degradation. These events cause damage to homes and infrastructures. Furthermore, the increased frequency of droughts generates a negative impact on the agricultural sector and the livelihoods of those who depend on it, particularly in the Adamawa region. Food insecurity caused by climate change and natural disasters is also increasing pressure on communities that are already affected by high levels of poverty.
Cameroon's multifaceted socioeconomic and fragile contexts call for an integrated and holistic response to address the drivers of fragility, conflict, and violence in the country. The response should also seek to strengthen social resilience with a view to preventing conflicts and promoting the active participation of the poor and the inclusion of marginalised groups.
The Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project contributes to the efforts of the Government of Cameroon (GOC) to strengthen the socioeconomic resilience of vulnerable populations by pursuing the implementation of effective decentralisation. 
On 20 November 2023, the Government of Cameroon and the World Bank signed a funding agreement amounting to 300 million US dollars, or approximately 180 billion CFA francs, to finance the PROLOG project. The aim of this project is to increase community access to basic services and climate-resilient infrastructure and to strengthen local capacity to manage resources and effectively deliver services. 
PROLOG is based on the two key intervention pillars below: (i) direct interventions at the level of the communities to improve community infrastructures and (ii) building the capacity of Regional and Local Authorities. The project seeks to combine support for decentralisation with bottom-up development commitments in order to strengthen the climate resilience of community infrastructure and access to basic services.
The project will be implemented under the supervisory authority of the Ministry of Decentralization and Local Development (MINDDEVEL) and will comprise a Steering Committee, a National Project Management Unit (PMU), Regional Coordination Units (RCUs), and Regional Frameworks for concerted action. 
The project is structured into the following components:
•    Component 1: Improvement of community infrastructure and basic services;
•    Component 2: Improving the multi-level governance framework and the capacity of decentralised entities to deliver services;
•    Component 3: Project management, monitoring, and evaluation;
•    Component 4: Emergency response contingency.
The infrastructure works envisaged under the project may have negative impacts on the environment and local residents. To avoid these negative impacts, there is need to comply with the World Bank's Environmental Framework which applies to this Project. In this regard, the Government of Cameroon has taken measures and actions to effectively manage the environmental risks and impacts inherent in these works. These measures and actions are contained in the Project's Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP).
To monitor compliance with environmental and social commitments, MINDDEVEL intends to recruit a Social Expert in the North-West region to work within the Regional Coordination Unit, based in the regional capital.
II.    ROLES AND RESPONSABILITIES 
Placed under the general supervision of the Coordinator of the RCU and the guidance of the Social Expert of the PMU, and working in collaboration with sector-specific representatives at regional level, the Social Expert shall specifically be required to ensure compliance with the social requirements related to the implementation of the project. To this end, he/she shall provide the following services:
1.    Planning and coordination of social aspects of the project;
•    Verifying and assessing the effectiveness, efficiency, and efficacy of the implementation of the social measures recommended in the project;
•    Supervising, in conjunction with the Environmental Expert, the implementation of the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), the Workforce Management Procedures (WMP), the Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework (IPPF), and the Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF);
•    Updating or otherwise preparing, discussing, adopting, making public, and implementing any social management plan and/or any other instrument required for each of the Project's activities based on the assessment process, in accordance with the regulations in force in Cameroon and the World Bank Group's social guidelines;
•    Ensuring the assessment of projects/sub-projects in close collaboration with the environmental safeguards specialist to find out whether they integrate the social mechanisms provided for in the project and/or envisage the preparation of a resettlement plan for the populations; 
•    Preparing, where applicable, the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the development of social safeguard studies and instruments, in conjunction with the Environmental Expert; 
•    Identifying, where appropriate, disadvantaged and marginalised groups (women, young people, refugees, internally displaced persons, the elderly, people with disabilities, etc.) and formulating specific support to be provided in the project's areas of intervention;
•    Acting as the project's interface with the regional entities of the technical ministries involved in the project and the administrations/organizations involved in managing social aspects; 
•    Coordinating the monitoring of sub-project social performance indicators based on the evolution of the problem in the project areas;
•    Supervising the management of complaints within the framework of the ad-hoc complaints management committee in collaboration with the Environmental Expert and other partners. 
•    Ensuring that the project's grievance management system is functional (in terms of receiving and handling complaints and reporting the system's results to the project coordination unit, the monitoring and evaluation experts, and donors; 
•    Promptly reporting any incident or accident related to the Project that has and/or is likely to have serious social consequences for the affected communities, the public, or workers, including any serious accidents related to the Project;
•    Ensuring that potential project suppliers and service providers forward monthly monitoring reports to the Project’s Regional Coordination Unit (RCU), covering both technical activities and environmental, health, social and safety (EHSS) aspects;
•    Promptly performing any other administrative and management tasks related to their duties that may be assigned to them by the Regional Coordinator or the Project Management Unit's safeguards experts.

2.    In connection with the implementation of the Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWPB):
• Ensuring that social issues are taken into account in the Regional Coordination Unit's Operational Work Plan;
• Participating in the consolidated evaluation of the RCU's Operational Work Plan at the end of each quarter.

3. In connection with social monitoring and surveillance:
•    Ensuring compliance with the World Bank's Environmental and Social Standards, as well as national environmental and gender legislation, during the conduct of studies within the framework of the implementation of PROLOG at regional level;
•    Identifying potential social impacts that were not adequately identified or addressed by project managers, RLAs/CREPs, or contractors, and implementing mitigation measures;
•    Supporting the RCU in validating social safeguard documents (prepared by independent consultants) in collaboration with the Environmental Affairs Manager and the relevant authorities;
•    Ensuring the integration of social requirements in tender Documents and/or Request for Quotations (RFQ) documents, as well as in service provider contracts;
•    Ensuring the integration of social mitigation measures and the consideration of their cost in sub-project budgets when preparing bidding documents;
•    Conducting field supervision missions to assess and evaluate the effective implementation of Environmental Management Plans (ESMPs), Environmental and Social Clauses (ESCs), (ii) the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), (iii) Health and Safety Plans (HSPs), (iv) the CERC manual, (v) the Emergency Response Plan, etc. 
•    Contributing to the technical preparation of World Bank supervision and review missions and meeting the requirements through the related check-lists;
•    Participating in validating the monthly reports of the project managers from the social standpoint.

4. Production of expected reports/deliverables:
•    Producing quarterly reports on the Project's environmental and social performance at the RCU level, in collaboration with the Environmental Affairs Manager; 
•    Reviewing the sub-project social monitoring reports produced by the contractors;
•    Developing an early-warning system and informing the RCU Coordinator of any delays observed in the implementation of the reports prescribed in the social safeguards instruments;
•    Verifying and monitoring the implementation of the conditions and obligations related to site restoration in the contractual documents;
•    Monitoring and evaluating the performance of institutional stakeholders on social aspects.
III.    CONSULTANT'S PROFILE
The following qualifications and experience are required for this position:
Qualification
-    Certificates: Be a holder of a postgraduate degree (GCE A-level + 5 years of university education) in social sciences, local social development, governance, or any other similar discipline;

Professional experience
-    Justify at least 10 years of relevant professional experience in social issues management, particularly in development activities in rural areas based on participatory approaches, environmental analysis, women empowerment, youth employment, consideration of the most vulnerable groups, etc.;
-    Have sound knowledge and experience of at least 5 years in development projects implemented in keeping with the World Bank's safeguard policies, the environmental and social performance standards of the World Bank or of any other international donor and international development institutions (AfDB, EIB, AFD), and social guidelines;
-    Have experience in the analysis and management of social risks and impacts
-    Be familiar with the national and international legal texts in force regarding social safeguards.
-    Have experience in the governance and local development sector;
-    Have a good command of standard computer tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet, etc.);
-    Be able to work in the field;
-    Be able to work in a team and under pressure;
-    Have a perfect command of French (spoken and written) and be able to communicate satisfactorily in English;
-    Have good writing skills, experience in holding public consultations, and the ability to express oneself and to present simply and clearly the issue of integrating youth and disadvantaged groups;
-    Have a good understanding of the concepts of social cohesion, the social contract, and the involvement of vulnerable groups in project implementation
-    Have excellent knowledge of rural areas in Cameroon and be able to travel to remote areas of the country.
Strengths  
-    Mastery of popular local languages (Pidgin English, etc.);
-    Must have worked in an infrastructure project; 
-    Have experience in gender and social inclusion issues.
IV.    DURATION OF CONTRACT AND PLACE OF ASSIGNMENT 
The duration of the contract shall be two (2) years, possibly renewable for the duration of the project, with a six (6)-month probationary period. The contract shall only be renewed if the service record is satisfactory for the project and the World Bank. The performance of each recruited consultant shall be evaluated annually based on the performance contracts including predetermined performance indicators, starting six months after the start date (that is, after the end of the probationary period) and up to the end of the contractual period.
The successful candidate must be immediately available at the Bamenda location and be willing to cover the entire North-West region. 
V.     EVALUATION CRITERIA
Applications will be evaluated based on the candidates' experience and qualifications.
The evaluation will be conducted in two stages: The first stage will consist of reviewing the applications, followed by an interview with candidates whose qualifications are relevant to the first stage.
Application Review:
The application review will be based on:
- Eligibility;
- The candidate's experience in relation to the mission.
Skills Assessment:
The skills assessment will be conducted through candidate interviews.
Each application review stage will account for 50% of the final score. Only candidates who achieve a score of 60% or higher in the first stage will be invited to the interview stage.
VI.    COMPOSITION DU DOSSIER DE CANDIDATURE  
Applications must be submitted by email (PDF) and must include the following documents:
- A detailed cover letter highlighting the candidate's specific skills that will help them succeed in their role and collaborate with key stakeholders;
- A curriculum vitae (CV) of the candidate, emphasizing similar experience, dated within the last three (3) months, signed, and including their full contact information (mailing address, telephone number, email address, etc.);
- Photocopies of diplomas, certificates, and/or work references, and any other documents demonstrating the candidate's skills/qualifications;
- A photocopy of the National Identity Card (CNI).
NB : No physical files will be accepted at the UGP or the UCRs. Only electronic files conforming to the format indicated above will be evaluated.
VII.    DISPOSITIONS GENERALES
1. Candidates will be selected using the "Individual Consultant Selection" method as described in paragraph 7.36 of the "Procurement Regulations for Borrowers Seeking Investment Project Financing," 7th edition, revised in september 2025.
2. Applications, written in French or English, must be submitted exclusively by email no later than fourteen (14) days from the date of publication of this Notice, with the subject line:
NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST N°043/ASMI/MINDDEVEL/PROLOG/UGP/SPM/CA-SPM/2025 OF 13 NOVEMBER 2025
FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF A SOCIAL EXPERT WITHIN THE NORTH-WEST REGIONAL COORDINATION UNIT (RCU) OF PROJET GOUVERNANCE LOCALE ET COMMUNAUTES RESILIENTES (PROLOG)
Adresses courrier électronique :
•    recrutementcompt@prolog.cm