Anticipatory Action DRR Resilience and Climate Specialist

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges girls and vulnerable children face. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood and we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

For over 85 years, we have rallied other determined optimists to transform the lives of all children in more than 80 countries.

We won’t stop until we are all equal.

The Opportunity

The Global Lead for Anticipatory Action, Resilience, and Climate will oversee the development and implementation of global initiatives aimed at enhancing preparedness and resilience to disasters and climate risks. This role is vital in aligning the organization’s goals with frameworks like the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Global Lead will drive cross-sector collaboration, promote anticipatory action strategies, and advocate for systemic changes to reduce vulnerability, particularly in high-risk communities.

The risk landscape is increasingly complex, with climate change driving more frequent and intense crises, often leading to economic hardship, displacement, or conflict. Protracted conflicts also contribute to fragility, undermining development, reversing gender equality progress, and negatively affecting girls’ rights. Strengthening resilience can protect development gains and safeguard girls’ rights during crises.

At Plan International, resilience is defined as the ability of communities and institutions to withstand and recover from shocks and stresses that threaten human rights. Our approach addresses both sudden shocks (e.g., natural disasters) and slow-onset events (e.g., climate change, conflict, instability). Resilience programming is central to our strategy for tackling the climate crisis, with a focus on multi-risk analysis to assess and address impacts on girls’ rights.

While traditionally focused on disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, we are shifting towards enhancing resilience in prolonged crises like forced displacement and political instability. This approach supports both immediate relief and long-term development, reducing dependency on humanitarian aid.

This role will provide technical leadership on resilience, both internally and externally, and ensure that all of Plan International’s work strengthens resilience, particularly at the intersection of development and anticipatory action in humanitarian programming.

Accountabilities

Programming (50%)

• Define and design Methodologies: Develop methodologies and program approaches to strengthen resilience in protracted contexts (e.g., prolonged conflict, drought, food insecurity), prioritizing Anticipatory Action to address risks before they escalate. Build on existing resources designed for sudden onset shocks, such as cyclones, to ensure comprehensive resilience approaches.
• Tools and Guidelines: Identify, develop, and disseminate tools (e.g., Plan International’s ‘Pathways to Resilience’ framework), guidelines, and standards that integrate Anticipatory Action for effective resilience implementation across the organization.
• Support Country, Regional, and National Offices in embedding Anticipatory Action within their resilience strategies and programs, focusing on the roll-out of Plan’s resilience framework to ensure timely, proactive responses to emerging risks.
• Gender Aware Programming: Ensure all resilience, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Climate Change Adaptation projects, including those addressing loss and damage, contribute to gender aware programming, with a focus on Anticipatory Action as a proactive, rights-based approach.
• Technical Support: Provide technical support to country offices for developing stand-alone and cross-cutting resilience projects, integrating Anticipatory Action into project design and execution, in coordination with regional humanitarian heads.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Lead the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation tools that measure resilience outcomes, ensuring that Anticipatory Action strategies are evaluated and refined for maximum impact.
• Resilience Needs Assessments: Support Country and Regional Offices in assessing resilience needs and capacities, prioritizing Anticipatory Action to strengthen readiness, ensuring a global portfolio of high-quality resilience programming.
• Sendai Framework and Grand Bargain: Assist Country Offices in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the relevant aspects of the Grand Bargain, emphasizing Anticipatory Action for risk mitigation in collaboration with regional humanitarian heads and the Resilience Network.
• Collaboration and Integration: Coordinate with resilience and climate advisors at Country, National and Regional levels, supporting integrated programming that incorporates Anticipatory Action to strengthen the resilience of girls in both humanitarian and development contexts.
• Internal Coordination: Build and maintain close working relationships with relevant departments, especially the Gender Transformative Policy and Practice ensuring the alignment of Anticipatory Action strategies with climate and resilience frameworks.

2. Resource Mobilization (30%)

• Resource Mobilization and Innovation:Lead mapping opportunities and development of proposals to secure funding for anticipatory action, DRR, climate resilience, and adaptation projects. Identify and pilot innovative tools, technologies, and financing mechanisms for DRR, resilience, and climate adaptation. Build partnerships with donors, academic institutions, and technical agencies to drive resource acquisition and co-create solutions.
• Integrated Program Design: The Global Lead will be key technical expert to Develop and implement an integrated Programme and Influence model on climate and resilience, spearheading a collaborative approach to co-design that prioritizes Anticipatory Action to mitigate risks and attract funding.
• Strategic Alignment: Align climate and resilience work with key organizational strategies such as Global Strategy Update, Global Advocacy Strategy and Country Strategies, ensuring cohesion with external commitments, with a focus on securing resources for Anticipatory Action initiatives.
• Joint Initiatives: Take a collaborative approach to fundraising, programmatic, influencing, and operational aspects with various entities across Plan International, ensuring Anticipatory Action is prioritized in proposals and resource mobilization efforts.
• Global Environmental Policy: Coordinate and manage Plan International’s commitments related to the Global Environmental Policy, integrating Anticipatory Action as a key pillar in these commitments.
• Fundraising Coordination: Collaborate with national, country, and regional offices to expand Plan’s resilience programming portfolio, ensuring all designs incorporate Anticipatory Action and are gender.

3. Representation, Policy and Advocacy (10%)

• Global Representation: Represent Plan International at key global resilience events and networks, such as Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector and the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, promoting Anticipatory Action as a leading approach to climate resilience. Advocate for inclusive and child-centered climate policies at national, regional, and global levels. Contribute to positioning Plan International as a strategic leader in anticipatory action and climate-resilient humanitarian programming.
• Strategic Partnerships: Network with academics, UN agencies, multi-laterals, and peer organizations to develop strategic partnerships that prioritize Anticipatory Action and raise Plan International’s profile in climate resilience and girls’ rights.
• Partnership Expansion: Identify opportunities and explore additional strategic partnerships related to resilience and climate change (e.g., private sector, philanthropies), focusing on Anticipatory Action to attract long-term funding.
• Contribute to positioning Plan International as a strategic leader in anticipatory action and climate-resilient humanitarian programming.
• Policy and Advocacy: Report on Plan International’s contribution to the Sendai Framework and the Grand Bargain, ensuring Anticipatory Action is a key advocacy priority at the global level, in coordination with the Climate Change Policy and Advocacy Advisor.
• Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing: Lead the design and deliver training for regional and country teams on anticipatory action, DRR, resilience, and climate adaptation. Facilitate cross-learning and documentation of best practices across Plan International’s programs globally.
• Strengthen internal systems for monitoring and evaluation of climate resilience and anticipatory action outcomes.
• Research and Evidence: Identify research needs and utilize findings to support high-quality, technically sound resilience projects that integrate Anticipatory Action. Lead or support climate change and resilience research initiated by the Global Hub or Country Offices.
• Knowledge Management: Ensure resilience and climate change communications, tools, and resources are maintained and updated within Plan’s intranet, prioritizing Anticipatory Action resources, and promoting information sharing across the organization.
• Good Practice Documentation: Establish systems to document and disseminate best practices in gender-transformative resilience programming, with an emphasis on Anticipatory Action, contributing to learning across the organization and the broader sector.
• Capacity Building: Provide mentoring, training, and support for Plan International staff on resilience and climate change, including developing training manuals and toolkits that highlight Anticipatory Action. Manage the roll-out of Plan’s ‘Pathways to Resilience’ framework and lead the Resilience Network.
• Learning and Evaluation: Facilitate lessons learned from resilience projects, focusing on Anticipatory Action, and support project evaluations that contribute to evidence-based program design.

4. Research, Learning, Knowledge Management, and Capacity Building (10%)