Climate resilient disaster risk reducation advisor

About the Role

The Climate Resilient Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Advisor will provide overall leadership and technical advice to CARE Australia and Country Offices on climate resilient disaster risk reduction. With population growth, climate change, increasing urbanisation, environmental degradation and economic globalisation, the number of disasters occurring globally has been increasing exponentially over the last century. For CARE, mainstreaming a DRR approach in our activities, which includes consideration of risks in the context of changing climate, is a pre-requisite to achieving quality programming across the Disaster Risk Management cycle —from addressing underlying causes of vulnerability to responding in times of emergencies. Leading the Development of CARE Australia’s approach to climate resilient DRR is a core part of this role. The Advisor will work closely with CARE Australia’s Climate Change Advisor and will be responsible for supporting CARE to systematically address disaster risk reduction, identify solutions for poor communities and coordinate with CARE International's disaster risk reduction and climate change working groups as well as Country Offices and other CARE International (CI) Members.

Key Responsibilities

Technical assistance

• Provide direct technical support and advice to Country Offices, particularly on the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of climate resilient disaster risk reduction projects and programs and on the integration of climate resilient disaster risk reduction into development programs
• Support Country Offices in integrating climate resilient disaster risk reduction into strategic plans, emergency preparedness plans and the program approach
• Working closely with the CARE Australia Climate Change Advisor, develop guidelines for mainstreaming climate resilient disaster risk reduction in program approaches consistently across CARE Australia-led countries and programs
• Contribute to or lead the development of funding proposals, technical materials and resources for CARE Australia and CARE International

Knowledge management and capacity building

• Develop and undertake training and capacity building of CARE Australia and Country Office (national and expat) staff as necessary around climate resilient disaster risk reduction
• Facilitate knowledge exchange and learning on climate resilient disaster risk reduction within CARE and externally
Policy and strategy
• Develop and implement a CARE Australia position paper on climate resilient disaster risk reduction building on CARE International’s DRR strategy, CARE Australia’s Climate Change Policy and drawing on the CARE Australia Humanitarian Strategy
• Support the development and continued implementation of the CARE International Disaster Risk Reduction policies and strategies
• Develop strategic partnerships and identify funding opportunities to support CARE’s work in disaster risk reduction

Networking and partnerships

• Represent CARE in DRR fora in Australia and the region, and participate in relevant DRR networks, in particular the Humanitarian Reference Group
• Liaise with AusAID and other donors on DRR initiatives
• Liaise with CARE International’s DRR Working Group and DRR policies and strategies
• Engage actively and consistently with the CARE Australia Climate Change Advisor to ensure synergies and alignment of work, including contributions to the ACFID Climate Change Working Group as relevant
• Engage with the Poverty Environment and Climate Change Network via the Climate Change Advisor and contribute on DRR in collaboration with the Climate Change Advisor to CI’s overall climate change strategy

Policy and advocacy

• Support CARE Australia as a spokesperson on disaster risk reduction
• Develop advocacy and policy positions in consultation with CARE Australia management, CARE International and other agencies

Other

• Work as a positive team member and contribute to the overall objectives of CARE Australia.

Travel

• It is expected that the post holder will travel up to 30% of the time.

Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated experience in Disaster Risk Reduction including climate change adaptation and knowledge of international development issues through a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience.
• Experience working in the international development sector, including experience in program design, monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge of participatory techniques.
• Experience implementing community based Disaster Risk Reduction and community based adaptation activities
• High level written skills and experience in policy development and strategic thinking.
• Strong engagement, communication, advocacy and networking skills and experience in external relations with donors and key stakeholders
• Strong training, capacity building, coaching and mentoring skills
• Gender and cross-cultural awareness
• Demonstrated ability to manage workflows, balance competing priorities and work effectively in a small, diverse and busy team environment.