Capacity Development Lead

About the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)

ADPC is an intergovernmental regional organization with a vision to reduce disaster and climate risk impacts on communities and countries in Asia and the Pacific by working with governments, development partners, international organizations, NGOs, civil society, private sector, media, and other key stakeholders. In addition to its headquarter in Bangkok, Thailand, ADPC currently has offices/representation in 11 additional countries.

Established in 1986 as a technical capacity building center, ADPC has grown and diversified its expertise across social and physical sciences to support sustainable solutions for risk reduction across a broad range of specialist areas. With over 100 staff from 19 different nationalities and a wide range of professional expertise from atmospheric scientist to social scientists with experiences from all levels of engagement typically required for disaster risk reduction and climate resilience in an effective manner. ADPC is a competent regional resource center and has seven thematic departments: ADPC Academy, Risk Governance, Climate Resilience, Urban Resilience, Health Risk Management, Preparedness for Response and Recovery, Geospatial Information. These are supported by Finance, Human Resources and Administration and Strategic Planning departments. In addition to the departments, ADPC address three cross-cutting themes: Gender and Diversity, Poverty and Livelihoods, and Regional and Transboundary Cooperation through permanent working committees.

ADPC Strategy 2020 guides the organization in providing comprehensive risk reduction support to countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific. ADPC recognizes the importance of examining the linkages between disaster risk management, poverty reduction, gender equality, sustainability, rights-based approaches, climate change, and regional cooperation.

ADPC takes various levels of actions in a close connection with the national, regional and global frameworks including; e.g. ASEAN, SAARC, MRC, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR), the Paris Agreement for climate change, the New Urban Agenda, the World Humanitarian Summit, etc

The Geospatial Information Department

The overall goal of the Geospatial Information Department of ADPC is to increase uses of geospatial technology, data, and information by countries in Asia for supporting decision making related to disaster risk management and climate resilience. The department supports all thematic areas of focus of ADPC to achieve its goals, mainly through:

• Increased accessibility and technical capacity to develop, maintain, and use geospatial information including disaster and climate risk maps, forecasted and real-time disaster data for early warning, and damage data for post-disaster assessment and recovery planning,
• Increased awareness by decision makers on applications of geospatial information in disaster risk management and climate resilience decision making, and
• Geospatial solutions, such as maps, tools, models, and data, customized to the demands of stakeholders

ADPC, together with its consortium partners, is implementing a project, “SERVIR-Mekong,” a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). SERVIR-Mekong brings NASA's scientific and technical know-how to help developing countries use the information provided by Earth-observing satellites and geospatial technologies to sustainably prepare for and respond to disasters, manage natural resources, and improve food security in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Geospatial Information Department of ADPC is seeking highly qualified candidates to fill the Capacity Development Lead position. Further details are provided in subsequent sections.

Statement of intent

The Capacity Development Lead is one of the key positions in the SERVIR-Mekong hub. S/he will take a leadership role in the development and delivery of all capacity development activities such as training, hands-on co-development engagement, and online learning. S/he will maintain an active network of academic institutions in the Lower Mekong region, but also will seek to establish contacts with universities and research institutes globally. S/he will manage internship programs already established with universities such as the University of Twente and Chulalongkorn University. The SERVIR-Mekong Capacity Development Lead will also work closely with the counterparts from the other SERVIR hubs, NASA, and USAID and contribute to the global SERVIR capacity development strategies and plans.

This position is located in Bangkok, Thailand, but will require frequent travels to countries in the Lower Mekong region.

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.

Key responsibilities

Technical

• Lead the development and delivery of all SERVIR-Mekong training, which include e-learning courses as well.
• Lead in the designing, monitoring, and evaluating capacity development strategies and plans for all of the SERVIR-Mekong services through close working relationship with service leads.
• Contribute in scientific discussion as per the area of expertise.
• Ensure that the capacity development objectives of the overall program, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan, annual work plans are clear and concise and that all team members clearly understand these objectives.
• Constantly look for opportunities to advance the science aspect of SERVIR-Mekong and ADPC.
• Manage internship programs and work closely with identified supervisors from the team to manage interns.
• Maintain relationship with existing university partners and seek to establish new partnership with other universities.
• Provide curriculum development support for university partners in the region, with a focus on courses and topics related to geospatial information and technology.
• Contribute to the development of knowledge sharing events, and ensure appropriate tailoring of communications and knowledge management products.
• Lead the capacity assessments of partners and stakeholders, in close coordination with the M&E Lead.
• Coordinate closely with the Capacity Development Leads from the other SERVIR hubs, USAID, and NASA on capacity development matters.
• Support user engagement in service delivery of all geospatial products.
• Travel as needed to countries in the Lower Mekong to facilitate inputs to and coordinate the implementation of activities related to SERVIR-Mekong objectives.
• Help facilitate uptakes of SERVIR-Mekong services by prospective partners and users.
• Provide inputs to the Communication Lead to capture success and impact of ADPC in capacity development related to geospatial information.
• Support the Science and Data Lead and team members in publishing work under the department in peer-reviewed articles.
• Ensure that ADPC staff are capacitated to use SERVIR-Mekong products in the work outside of SERVIR.
• Coordinate with the NASA Applied Science Teams, as requested.
• Work with and support the ADPC Academy in capacity development related activities, as requested.

Management

• Establish and maintain the relationship with partners and clients, including representatives of government agencies, academic and research institutions, multi- and bi-lateral development partners, non-governmental organizations and other civil society groups, and private sector entities at national and regional levels.
• Represent the SERVIR-Mekong program in external meetings, workshops, conferences, and other events as requested.
• Provide input for the recruitment of SERVIR-Mekong staff (including drafting and reviewing job descriptions, reviewing candidate qualifications, etc.) as requested.
• Proactively seek to identify and take advantage of opportunities for the professional development of self and colleagues, especially those related to the development and refinement of geospatial analysis and geospatial information technology skills and experiences.
• Provide inputs to USAID reporting such as the Annual Work Plans, the Bi-annual and Annual Progress Reports, and the M&E Plans.

Corporate responsibilities

• Provide technical resource inputs to other departments as requested.
• Participate in corporate functions and external events, as required.
• Collaborate with Government officials, NGO, IGO, donors and other stakeholders at the International, National, Sub-national, and Community levels.
• Initiate various documents to support the implementation of activities of the department such as contract agreements, statement of work for consultants, MOU, and agreements, in accordance with the approved procedures and policies of ADPC.
• Conduct internal capacity development activities for ADPC staff.
• Provide inputs in program and project development.

Qualifications

• At least a Master’s level degree in remote sensing, information technology, environmental science, natural resource management, or other field related to this position.
• At least seven years of experience in development of training or academic curricula, capacity building programs, assessment and strengthening of institutional capacities, and/or development of multi-stakeholder knowledge sharing platforms.
• Project management experience overseeing training, capacity building, knowledge sharing, or other related activities mandatory.
• Knowledge of/or experience with remote sensing topics, programs, software, and/or training.
• Knowledge of/or experience with IT infrastructure development and management desired.
• Proven record of productive engagement with government institutions, NGOs, and scientists.
• Knowledge of the political, social, cultural, environmental and development context of the Lower Mekong region.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Ability to communicate in at least one of the Lower Mekong languages desired.

Personal qualities

• Self-motivated, pro-active and takes initiative.
• 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 desire to learn, undertake new challenges, must be a creative problem-solver, must have self-confidence, willingness to work hard, good sense of humor but with seriousness about the quality and excellence of work.

Reporting relationships: Report to the SERVIR-Mekong Chief of Party, Geospatial Information Department.

Qualified applicants may be evaluated through a competency-based interview and/or other assessment methods.

We encourage diversity in our workplace and support an inclusive work environment. Women are especially encouraged to apply.

Contract

One (1) years contract with possibility of extension.