Technical Specialist – Climate Risk Management

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), established in 1986, is a regional non-profit foundation with headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand supporting the advancement of safer communities and sustainable development, through implementing programs that reduce the impact of disasters upon countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific. The primary geographical focus of ADPC’s activities is Asia with the South, South East and East Asia being the primary sub-regions.

ADPC has more than 30 years of working experience in Asia along with the national and local Government of its charter member countries as well as countries of the Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) on Disaster Management. ADPC works to build preparedness at all levels, from regional, to national, sub-national and even to individual communities. Further details on ADPC and its programs can be found at www.adpc.net.

The Government of Bihar has successfully validated the Bihar Roadmap for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015‑2030) in January 2016 with the support from various stakeholders at international, national and state-level.

In partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) will be providing technical assistance to the Government of Bihar in implementing priority capacity building activities of the recently developed Bihar Roadmap for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Statement of Intent

ADPC is currently looking for a suitable candidate for the position of Technical Specialist – Climate Risk Management. The Technical Specialist will support with preparation of climate risk management system/tools by working closely with the Department of Agriculture, and contribute in developing, managing, and implementing related project activities according to the need and work closely with the project management team to evaluate impacts of the project on the ground. This position is open only to Indian nationals.

Note: It is not the intent of this Position Description to cover every aspect of the position requirements, rather to highlight the most important areas of personal and joint responsibility.

Work base: Department of Agriculture, Government of Bihar, India

Required Qualifications and Specification

• Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Water Resource Engineering, and/or a related field (such as disaster management, climate risk management, agriculture); Ph.D. degree in relevant field will be an added advantage;
• Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction, strong analytical skills, including needs assessments; experience in remote sensing and geographic information system will be preferred;
• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience with 3-4 years in the field of eco-system studies, risk management, environment/climate impact assessment or researcher on Environmental Science, Natural Resource Management, Water Resource Engineering, and/or a related field (such as geospatial sciences, disaster management, climate risk management, agriculture) in India and/or the Asian region;
• Knowledge and experience on impacts of multi-hazards and climate change on climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture/food security, water, etc.;
• Experience in design, implementation and management of projects related to climate risk management and adaptation in climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture/food security will be an advantage;
• Previous proven experience in application of specific technical information and data into training and capacity building programs is essential;
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding related to international agreements, practices, and policies on the field of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation;
• Excellent English proficiency in oral and written communication, including a demonstrated track record in training material development, technical report writing and ability to communicate technical matters effectively to general audience. Proficiency and communication skills in Hindi will be an added qualification.

Desirables

• Strong networking capacity and understanding of development work at local and regional scales
• Familiarity with the context of disaster risk reduction in Bihar and/or other states of India in general.
• Experience with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis and reporting.

Personal Qualities

• Self-motivated
• Demonstrated ability and plan and organize work and time independently.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, team-oriented work style, and experience in working in a multi-cultural environment.
• Strong desires to learn, undertake new challenges, must a creative problem-solver, and must have self-confidence and willingness to work hard.

General Requirements

• Represent ADPC to the highest of professional and scientific standards at all times;
• Operating within all ADPC Guidelines & Procedures/Policies;
• Provide ongoing internal capacity building, training, and development to ADPC staff as required.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical support to establish and strengthen climate risk management system by improving management and utilization of information between stakeholders;
• Analyze socio-economic and physical vulnerabilities to changing climate and climate risk environment, utilizing results from research on historical impacts, current adaptation/coping strategies and policy and institutional landscape, and changing socio-economic conditions (population growth, urbanization, economic growth, consumption trends, environmental degradation, etc.)
• Analyze hazard, vulnerability and risk in climate sensitive sectors, based on subject specific information in order to design appropriate climate risk reduction interventions and climate change adaptation/mitigation measures to suit all levels (state to community level);
• Analyze climate information and utilize them to build eco-system resilience, manage climate risk and adapt to climate change;
• Conduct capacity assessment of data flow from collection, analysis, forecasting to dissemination of useful information to end-users (among related stakeholders- Remote sensing applications center, IMD, Universities, Department of Agriculture, end users, i.e., Farmers);
• Develop a system to improve the role of information and communications technologies for accurate, reliable and timely climate information and risk-informed planning; Assist to integrate the decision support system and climate risk management in development planning process and mainstreaming;
• Provide recommendations for bridging local and scientific knowledge for improved local weather forecast and early-warning systems;
• Provide technical training related to climate risk management for integrating climate change and disaster risk impacts into annual development planning process, and mainstreaming initiatives of the department of Agriculture in Bihar;
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the State Program Manager

Reporting Relationship

• Reports directly to the State Program Manager
• Report and work closely with the Principal Secretary – Department of Agriculture

Secondary Reporting relationship

• Principal Secretary – Disaster Management and other staff of State program management team and ADPC.
• Department Head, Climate Risk Management of ADPC

Contract: One (1) year contract with possibility of extension.

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested Candidates, please submit the completed ADPC application form,

(downloadable from www.adpc.net),

resume, copy of diploma(s) and certificate(s) together with a cover letter, to adpcjobs@adpc.net or

Human Resources and Administration

979/69, 24th Floor

SM Tower, Paholyothin Road

Samsen Nai, Phayathai

Bangkok, 10400

THAILAND

Tel: +66-2-2980681-92

Fax: +66-2-2980012

Only Short-listed candidates will be contacted. d