Communities and Social Performance Specialist

Communities and Social Performance

About the company:

The mining industry has steadily become worse at finding new ore deposits, requiring >10X more capital to make discoveries compared to 30 years ago. The easy-to-find, near-surface deposits have largely been found, and the industry has chronically under-invested in new exploration technology, relying on the manual techniques of yesteryear – even as demand accelerates for copper, lithium, and other metals to build electric vehicles, renewable energy, and data centers.

KoBold builds AI models for mineral exploration and deploys those models—alongside our novel sensors—to guide decisions on KoBold-owned-and-operated exploration programs. Since our founding in 2018, KoBold has become by far both the largest independent mineral exploration company and the largest exploration technology developer. Our data scientists and software engineers, who come from leading technology companies, jointly lead exploration programs with our renowned exploration geologists.

KoBold has proven its first discovery with materially less capital than the industry average and found one of the best copper deposits ever discovered: the copper is far more concentrated than the global average of copper mines, and this asset alone is expected to generate meaningful revenue for decades. KoBold has a portfolio of more than 60 other projects, each of which has the potential for another high-quality discovery.

KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, and Standard Investments; and natural resources companies Equinor, BHP, and Mitsubishi.

About The Role:

The Communities and Social Performance Specialist will play a leading role in ensuring that KoBold builds strong relationships with communities everywhere we operate, delivers benefits to lift up these communities, and gains lasting, informed community support for our mineral exploration and mining projects. This role will support KoBold’s Director of Community Engagement, by providing technical and operational support to the Communities & Social Performance (C&SP) team across exploration and development projects. Working under the guidance of the Director of Community Engagement, the Specialist contributes to stakeholder engagement, social due diligence, compliance monitoring, and community relations activities. The role requires a hands-on professional who can work effectively in a multicultural, field-based environment and support the company’s commitment to responsible mining practices aligned with the highest international standards.

Key Responsibilities

Community Relations and Stakeholder Engagement

• Support the design and implement stakeholder engagement, ensuring alignment with company values and business objectives.
• Identify, map, and analyze stakeholders, including communities, indigenous peoples, local authorities, civil society organisations.
• Participate in community consultations, information sessions, and multi-stakeholder forums, ensuring inclusive and culturally appropriate engagement.
• Build constructive relationships with local communities, traditional authorities, and government agencies to foster social acceptance and secure land access.
• Support Indigenous and First Nations engagement activities, including consultation planning, relationship-building with Indigenous governments, communities, and organisations.
• Prepare, track, and administer agreements with Indigenous and First Nations groups (e.g., consultation protocols, exploration/access agreements).
• Integrate traditional knowledge and traditional land-use information into project planning.
• Maintain stakeholder registers, interaction logs, and engagement records, ensuring all interactions are documented and traceable.

Social Due Diligence

• Conduct social due diligence reviews for new exploration projects.
• Assist sites with social baseline studies, social impact assessments (SIA), and risk assessments to identify potential social risks and opportunities.
• Participate in the development and review of social risk registers and mitigation measures at the site and project level.

Compliance and Reporting

• Track compliance with social obligations across various jurisdictions.
• Maintain risk, obligations, and commitments registers, ensuring they are current and accurate.
• Support audit and assurance processes related to social performance, including preparation of documentation and evidence.
• Track and report on compensation processes, community development programme delivery, and outcomes monitoring.
• Prepare internal and external presentations.

Project-Level Support

• Provide dedicated social performance support to specific exploration and development projects as assigned, working closely with site-based Communities and Social Performance teams.
• Coordinate with other site departments (Geology, Operations, Security, Health & Safety) to ensure social performance considerations are integrated into project planning and execution.
• Support permitting processes by preparing social inputs and ensuring community engagement requirements are met.
• Assist in the planning, implementation, budgeting support, and monitoring and evaluation of community development and community investment programs, including tracking outcomes against agreed indicators.
• Support land access processes, including stakeholder identification, preparation of supporting documentation, logistics, note-taking, and tracking of commitments arising from land access and compensation negotiations.

Knowledge Management and Capacity Building

• Contribute to the development and improvement of social performance procedures, tools, and templates for integration into the management system.
• Lead training and awareness-raising activities on social performance topics for non-specialist staff (e.g., geology, operations, contractors).
• Stay informed of emerging trends, standards, and good practices in social performance within the mining and extractive industries.

Qualifications

Required

• 5 - 8 years of progressive experience in social performance, community relations or stakeholder engagement within the mining, energy, agriculture or infrastructure sectors.
• Strong listening skills and the ability to build trust across cultures and power differentials
• Experience working with First Nations, Métis, Inuit, or other Indigenous communities
• Experience conducting social due diligence, social impact assessments, or human rights due diligence.
• Excellent skills in data collection, social monitoring, and report writing
• Willingness to work flexible hours and adapt to changing project priorities.
• Willingness and ability to travel to and work at remote field sites, at a pace of approximately 6 - 10 weeks of travel per year
• High level of integrity, cultural awareness, and professional maturity, with the ability to operate effectively in a diverse, cross-functional team
• Curiosity and eagerness to learn about all aspects of mineral exploration and development
• Excitement about joining a fast-growing early-stage company, comfort with a dynamic work environment, and eagerness to take on an evolving range of responsibilities

Preferred

• Fluency in French
• Working knowledge of international social performance frameworks: IFC Performance Standards, ICMM Mining Principles and Performance Expectations, Equator Principles, Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• Experience with stakeholder relationship management or grievance-tracking databases and GIS or mapping tools
• Experience with Resettlement Action Plans

What to Expect

Joining KoBold means getting the opportunity for hands-on exposure to our exploration projects around the world. All employees are expected to travel to project sites, with a minimum of one week per year. Field-facing and technical roles spend significantly more time in the field.

KoBold Metals is an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity for people of any race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, age, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.

This position is full-time.

Location:

Remote, Candidates can be located anywhere in the United States or Canada. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States or Canada.

Originally posted on Himalayas