Environmental Officer_ Construction - Bethal at Seriti

The Role

The EO will report to the  Site Manager and is responsible for implementation of the Environmental Management Programmes (EMPrs), environmental monitoring and reporting, providing environmental feedback and input to the organisation, liaising with contractors and the landowners as well as a range of environmental coordination responsibilities.

Key responsibilities include:

Environmental Compliance and Permits:

• Be fully conversant with the conditions of all environmental permits issued for the project (Environmental Authorisations, General Authorisation, biodiversity permit, etc.).
• Maintain the permits register and ensure that the necessary legal permits and / or licenses are in place and up to date.

Environmental Management Programme Implementation:

• Be fully conversant with the EMPrs.
• Be familiar with the recommendations and mitigation measures of the EMPrs and implement these
• Ensure that all stipulations within the EMPrs are communicated and adhered to by the Employees, Contractor(s).

Site Environmental Responsibilities

• Demarcate the construction area, clearly marking and communicating restricted, sensitive and no-go areas
• Confine the development site to the demarcated area.
• Conduct environmental audits with regards to the EMPrs and authorisations compliance (on the contractor’s EO (cEO)).
• Assist the contractors in addressing environmental challenges on site.

Assist in incident management:

• Reporting environmental incidents to the Site Manager, ensuring that corrective action is taken, and lessons learnt shared.
• Assist the contractor in investigating environmental incidents and compile investigation reports
• Follow-up on pre-warnings, defects, non-conformance reports.
• Measure and communicate environmental performance to the Contractor.

Training and Awareness:

• Conduct environmental awareness training on site together with Environmental Control Officer (ECO) and cEO.

Stakeholder Collaboration:

• Communicating with landowners, as and when required;
• Acting as Developer’s Environmental Representative on site and working together with the ECO and contractor.

Education & Experience

• Tertiary qualification(s) in Environmental science / management
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in a large infrastructure and construction environment as an EO or ECO
• Sound technical and commercial understanding of the construction Industry
• Good understanding of the appropriate South African Legislation and International Standards and Regulations
• Desirable to have wind farm project delivery experience
• Demonstrated high level of commercial acumen, with a proven ability to navigate complex deal structures.
• Demonstrated capacity to work for a multitude of internal and external clients with conflicting interests and priorities. Demonstrated capacity to influence outcomes.
• Demonstrated capacity to develop and manage relationships to ensure outcomes are achieved as harmoniously as possible.
• Demonstrated capacity to work both autonomously and within the team environment; use initiative; solve problems through analytical thinking; and make decisions within an intense construction environment.
• Experience with environmental, health and safety risk mitigation controls.