Subregional Resilience Specialist

The Pacific region is facing considerable economic and social development challenges due to the increasing impact of climate change and geo-hazards. At the same time, development in these countries is potentially increasing this vulnerability to climate change and disasters. The Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP), endorsed in 2016 by Pacific leaders, demonstrates a clear recognition that managing climate change and disaster related risk must be undertaken in the context of economic development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The Governance for Resilience Project works with Pacific governments to ensure that countries adapt their decision making and governance systems towards more resilient development. The projects theory of change rests on a core assumption that Pacific Island people will be more resilient to the impacts of climate change and disasters if countries manage all development through a risk informed approach. This is consistent with the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific which calls for the ‘mainstreaming’ of climate and disaster risk treating risk management as fundamental to all development decisions.

The Gov4Res Project three outcomes areas to work with countries across the region to address these risks by development: 1) government planning and financing systems enable gender and socially inclusive risk-informed development; 2) country oversight and accountability systems require gender and socially inclusive risk-informed development; and 3) regional organisations, policies and practices are actively supporting gender and socially inclusive risk-informed development. UNDP is partnering with a range of partners to deliver this project across the Pacific including Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Governance for Resilience Project Manager based in UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, the Sub-regional Resilience Specialist will be responsible for partnering with the government of Vanuatu to drive a whole of government approach to resilience by integrating risks into planning, budgeting and decision-making processes, with a particular focus on the Ministry of Internal Affairs Department of Local Authorities to ultimately support decision makers at the community level to better understand and respond to climate and disaster risk. Additionally, the Specialist will work closely with the project team working with other Pacific governments, including Fiji and Solomon Islands.

The IPSA will report to UNDP Governance for Resilient Development in the Pacific Project Manager. The organigram below shows the Gov4Res project team structure as agreed with IRMU and the Gov4Res board. As outlined in the ProDoc, the Technical Specialist lists functions, which will be combined as appropriate into positions. The Subregional Resilience Specialist will bring financing, planning (as part of Public Financial Management) and climate change and disaster risk technical specialist skills to this role.     

Design and support implementation of a whole of government approach to addressing resilience in Vanuatu. In partnership with key government ministries: 

• Support national agencies on policies, strategies and initiatives to enable holistic and systemic approaches for integrating risk informed development into planning and budgeting systems and processes 
• Build partnerships, liaise with and conduct policy dialogue with national finance and planning agencies, development sectors and technical agencies responsible for climate, disaster, and gender related data and information
• Analyze development policies of national agencies and how climate, disaster and gender and social inclusion considerations are embedded and support development of diagnostics to inform baseline for policy-based interventions 
• Identify opportunities and provide support to identify and seek access for financing opportunities
• Analyze and conduct research on risk informed development at the community level and utilise findings to inform scale of initiatives 
• Support efforts to strengthen capacities of national agencies on risk informed development outcomes
• Support coordination on the exchange of information, tools, good practices, emerging issues and experience on risk informing development
• Provide high level technical assistance and advise to national counterparts on risk informed development 

Integrate climate change, disaster and gender and social inclusion risks into sub-national planning processes and community implementation in Vanuatu. In partnership with the Department of Local Affairs:

• Support the development of products, tools and training materials that support incorporation of disasters and climate change and related gender and social inclusion considerations into community, area council and provincial planning processes in a manner that is meaningful to communities, and done from within existing planning mechanisms
• Strengthen linkages between national and sub-national planning and budgeting processes, through risk integration initiative
• Support DLA to roll out risk informed development training to provinces across Vanuatu 
• Support the design and implementation of pilot risk informed community projects across all provinces in Vanuatu
• Design a process to collect lessons from demonstration projects, including on financing for risks, and use these to inform design of future risk informed projects across sectors 

Foster regional learning, communities of practice and provide advice to other project countries 

• Provide technical advisory support to project countries such as Fiji, Solomon Islands and others as required
• Facilitate joint learning, advocacy and ultimately resource mobilization opportunities between country partners with common goals 
• Plan and manage peer-to-peer learning opportunities and in country placements, and where there is value and interest development and operation of regional communities of practice, with the aim of facilitating knowledge and experience sharing, coordination and advancement, on relevant issues such as climate financing, decentralization modalities 
• Develop knowledge products and undertake awareness-raising on good and effective risk informed development.
• Contribute to internal and external training and conferences on risk informed development for advocacy, dissemination and knowledge sharing
• Provide coaching and mentoring to national agencies and counterparts to support mainstreaming of the risk informed development approach and
• Work with the communications team to identify relevant initiatives for dissemination

Contribute to project management and implementation of activities 

• Contribute to initiation, development, processing and administration of country related activities with support 
• Contribute to monitoring and reporting on risk informed development interventions and other performance indicators, and 
• Contribute to knowledge management, communities and partnerships relating to risk informed development agendas
• As required, provide support and advice to the UNDP programmes more broadly

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact 
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems 
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands 
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies: 

2030 Agenda: Engagement and Effectiveness       

• SDG Integration: Institutional and Context analysis 
• Effectiveness: Performance and data analysis and sharing lessons 
• SDG Integration Foresight

2030 Agenda: Partnerships           

• SDG Finance: Innovative Finance

External Relations & Advocacy (Partnership management )

• Strategic engagement: Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives 

Business Direction and Strategy 

• System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system

Business Development   

• Human-centred Design: Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process
   

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in in finance, planning, change management, governance or a discipline relevant to disaster risk management and/or environment and climate change. 
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:         

• A minimum of 7 years’ experience (with master’s degree) or 9 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience working with national and subnational government in finance and planning, risk governance and/or climate change or disaster risk management 
• Excellent writing and drafting skills and experience of providing policy advice at the national and local level Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work
• Openness to change and the ability to receive/integrate feedback
• Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines
• Proficiency in using office IT applications and the internet in conducting research
• Outstanding communication, project management and organizational skills
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
• Proven track record of working with national and subnational government, including experience in climate and disaster risk management 
• Experience mainstreaming climate and disaster risk into government finance and planning systems
• Experience working with NGOs, CSOs and development organisations
• Demonstrated work experience in the Pacific region
• Comprehensiveness knowledge of climate risks the Pacific region
• Positive, constructive attitude to work
• Experience working in multicultural environments an asset Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards.

Required Languages:

• Fluency of English language is required, both written and verbal.
• Knowledge of Pacific Island languages and culture would be an asset.