In accordance with Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 216 (22 CFR 216), and other legal mandates, USAID must evaluate potential adverse environmental and social impacts of all its development projects and activities, identify needed mitigation measures, and ensure that implementing parties carry out these mitigation measures. USAID’s policies and operations procedures, set out in ADS 204, require that environmental considerations be integrated into and throughout the Agency’s overall program cycle in order to ensure that operating units identify, account for, and mitigate the environmental impacts of USAID activities. USAID also strengthens capabilities of developing countries to evaluate and mitigate potential adverse impacts of development projects.

The USAID Development Assistance Specialist is officially designated as Mission Environmental Officer (MEO). The MEO is the environmental compliance official, designated in each Mission, responsible for overseeing implementation of the regulations and the Agency’s policies and procedures (ADS 204). The MEO provides advice to the Mission Director and Mission teams, including program officers, project/activity managers, and technical evaluation committees on implementation of environmental compliance requirements. The MEO supports the integration of environmental compliance into planning, design, and implementation of Agency actions, as well as strategy development. The MEO leads the provision of capacity building to Mission staff, implementing partners and host country government and ensures that compliance requirements are monitored.

The MEO serves as a technical resource in strategic planning, program and activity design, budgeting, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the entire Mission portfolio for environmental compliance. As MEO, the Specialist ensures all Mission programs/projects/activities are in compliance with Title 22 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulation (22 CFR 216 or “Reg. 216”).

The MEO contacts and collaborates, at technical level, with counterparts and staff in the host government, with the private sector, with other donor and international organizations, and with other U.S. Government (USG) entities. The MEO exercises extensive judgment in planning and carrying out tasks, in resolving problems and conflicts, and in taking steps necessary to meet deadlines. In addition, it is anticipated that the Specialist will be in a travel status to remote areas of the host country and/or the Region at least 25 percent of the Job Holder’s time.

Major duties and responsibilities: Mission Environmental Officer (MEO) (55%), Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) (35%) and Capacity Building (10%).

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