Pre-Clearance Environmental Assessment Tool (PEAT) Consultant

Job Title: Pre-Clearance Environmental Assessment Tool (PEAT) Consultant

Contract: Temporary

Duration: 30 working days (not including weekends). Days do not need to be consecutive.

Salary/Budget: GBP 350 per day

Timeframe: 01 November – 31 December 2025

Location: Remote, with some in-person meetings as required

Reporting to: HALO’s Mine Action & Environment Project Manager (MAEPM)

Additional Costs: Where travel is required for in-person meetings, costs will be reimbursed having first been agreed with the MAEPM.

About HALO:

Established in 1988, The HALO Trust is currently the world’s largest mine action organization, operating in 30 countries and territories around the world, and employing approximately 10,000 people. HALO’s mission is to protect lives and restore livelihoods, and whilst its core work revolves around the identification, clearance and disposal of explosive ordnance and weaponry used as part of conflict, it increasingly supports resilience building in conflict-impacted communities through related health, infrastructure and environmental projects. The latter includes the reinterpretation of traditional approaches to mine action operational work to reduce adverse environmental impacts and promote more sustainable practice.

In HALO’s Horn of Africa Region (northern and southern Somalia, and Ethiopia), a Pre-Clearance Environmental Assessment Tool (PEAT) is being developed to support landmine clearance operators in identifying, mitigating, and managing the environmental impacts of these activities. The tool aims to prioritize wider community participation in data collection and decision making, whilst maintaining compliance with International Mine Action Standards (IMAS). The current draft of the PEAT document outlines the conceptual framework, methodology, and implementation process; however, further development is required to finalize the tool for trials and operational use.

To support this process, HALO seeks a consultant to refine the tool’s structure and content, ensuring it aligns with specific standards and relevant best practices in environmental assessment.

Introduction to the PEAT

The PEAT survey is designed to take place in relation to confirmed minefields that have been identified and surveyed by HALO staff. The PEAT will be implemented at individual minefields before any landmine clearance operations have begun and should ultimately provide guidance on how operations should be conducted to limit significant adverse impacts on natural areas. Communities adjacent to the minefield in question are predominantly rural with their livelihood and subsistence activities tied closely to the land. These communities will be the primary source of data for the PEAT process.

At present, the PEAT process involves the following stages:

1. Desktop assessment of area in and around the surveyed minefield under consideration
2. Stakeholder consultations with district authorities and community leadership
3. Disaggregated FDGs and participatory mapping of natural resources with community members
4. Assessment of likely, significant adverse impacts of clearance operations on and around the surveyed minefield
5. Identification of appropriate and scaffolded mitigation measures at the pre-clearance, clearance and/or post-clearance stage

Scope of the Consultancy

To provide technical and editorial support to HALO’s Mine Action & Environment Project Manager (MAEPM) to finalize the PEAT document, ensuring that all guidance sections and annexes are complete, coherent, and aligned with aspects of best practices in environmental assessment and humanitarian mine action standards in preparation for the tool to be trialed.

Key Objectives

• Conduct a comprehensive review of the current PEAT draft, including its structure, methodology, and alignment with relevant standards and best practice to ensure clarity, coherence, and technical robustness.
• Develop and integrate specific components of the tool, including:
• Context relevant stakeholder engagement and participatory mapping protocols.
• Additional data collection approaches as required (e.g. key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and household survey data collection approaches).
• An appropriate scoring matrix for assessing severity and magnitude of operational impacts.
• A practical monitoring and evaluation framework for selected mitigation measures.

• Develop supporting annexes and templates, including:
• Desktop assessment guidance
• Focus group question scripts
• Digital data synthesis methods
• Monitoring report templates
• A mitigation measure reference annex

• Draft a coherent and practical guidance document (in English) for implementing the PEAT process.

• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Advanced degree in Environmental Science, Ecology, Environmental Management, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in environmental and/or social impact assessment, preferably in post-conflict or humanitarian contexts.
• Proven experience working with participatory rural appraisal (PRA) or other participatory methods for community data collection.
• Strong writing, editing, and presentation skills.
• Experience working with NGOs or mine action organizations.
• Familiarity with IMAS and mine action operations is an asset.
• Previous experience working in Somalia or dryland contexts is an asset.

If you wish to be considered for this consultancy please submit a CV or organisation profile and a short cover letter outlining your relevant experience. The closing date for applications is 30th September 2025.

We reserve the right to close the advert earlier than the advertised closing date.

The HALO Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

The HALO Trust is committed to a culture that is both diverse and inclusive and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

The HALO Trust is committed to ensuring that it provides a safe and trusted environment which safeguards and promotes the welfare and wellbeing of anyone who comes into contact with, or is part of, the Charity, with a zero-tolerance approach to behaviours which challenge this.