Disaster risk reduction and resilience advisor

About CARE Australia

CARE is an international humanitarian aid organisation fighting global poverty, with a special focus on working with women and girls to bring lasting change to their communities. As a non-religious and non-political organisation, CARE works with communities to help overcome poverty by supporting development projects and providing emergency relief. We believe supporting women and girls is one of the most effective ways to create sustainable outcomes in poor communities. We are primarily dependant on support from the Australian public to carry out our work.

CARE Australia is a member of the CARE International confederation. We strive for a world of hope, tolerance and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and people live in dignity and security.

For almost 25 years, CARE Australia has earned an international reputation for our ability to respond quickly to emergency situations in countries as diverse as Haiti, Pakistan and East Africa. We are also renowned for our innovative, sustainable and effective long-term development projects. All our projects are designed to equip the people we support with skills and resources so they can take charge of their lives and work towards a better future.

CARE Australia is directly responsible for program design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, as well as management and contractual control of all projects. As a consequence, we have a high degree of accountability and transparency. CARE Australia is committed to protecting the rights of children in all areas we work around the world.

About the department

The International Programs Department (IP) comprises of four units, Country Programs, Quality and Impact, Humanitarian and Emergency Response, Program Compliance and Information Management. IP ensures high quality and accountable project cycle management with a particular focus on Australian funded projects, and is focused on demonstrating how CARE is making a positive difference to the lives of our beneficiaries.

IP works with Country Offices to improve how we measure and report on impact, mainstream gender across our program, and adapts our program to a changing climate. IP focuses on developing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders sharing information and contributing to policy and strategy development. Staff in IP have expertise in climate change, gender, livelihoods, aid effectiveness, community and civil society development, capacity building and emergencies.

About the Role The Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) & Resilience 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 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 disaster risk reduction programs and on the integration of disaster risk reduction and resilience into development programs, with particular attention to gender equality, climate change, food security, environmental sustainability and conflict sensitivity
• 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, contribute to the development of guidance for mainstreaming climate change adaptation & 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
• Contribute to wider CARE Australia research program and to CI programming on resilience, including the Horn of Africa Resilience Initiative

Policy and strategy

• Contribute to the development of a CI positioning document on resilience which articulates the synergies change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, drawing on CARE International’s DRR strategy
• Support the development and continued implementation of the CARE International Disaster Risk Reduction policies and strategies and of CARE Australia’s Climate Change Policy and drawing on the CARE Australia Humanitarian Strategy and CARE’s Climate Change Strategic Plan.
• 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 and knowledge of international development issues through a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience. Experience in climate change adaptation, food security, and/or sustainable livelihoods would be an advantage.
• Experience working in the international development sector, including experience in program design, monitoring and evaluation, and knowledge of participatory techniques.
• A minimum of three years demonstrated experience in gender and women’s empowerment in a development and/or humanitarian response environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge and skills in gender mainstreaming, analysis and integration
• Experience implementing community based Disaster Risk Reduction or other community-based programs.
• 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
• High level of cross-cultural sensitivity
• Demonstrated ability to manage workflows, balance competing priorities and work effectively in a small, diverse and busy team environment.