Program Manager

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 disaster risk reduction in the Asia-Pacific and selected countries in Africa. The primary geographical focus of ADPC is Asia with the South, South East, and East Asia being the primary sub-regions, while the center also supports selected African countries such as Ethiopia. In 2005, nine countries, namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Sri Lanka signed a Charter establishing ADPC as an inter-governmental organization.

ADPC has 31 years of experience, working in the Asia-Pacific and Africa regions along with the national and local Government of its charter member countries as well as countries of the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management (RCC) and other regional and national mechanisms. ADPC also shares a close partnership with sub-regional inter-government agencies, such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Secretariat for Pacific Community (previously known as SOPAC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), etc. It works in close collaboration with a range of UN agencies including UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCAP, WHO, WMO, UNISDR, UNOCHA, UN-Habitat, etc. on DRR related projects and consulting services. ADPC works with international and local NGOs, national technical and training institutions, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 

The primary focus of ADPC is to assist national and sub-national Governments in the Asia-Pacific region and selected countries in Africa to build the capacity to respond to, prepare for and recover from disasters. Accordingly, ADPC is comprised of several thematically organized operational departments such as Preparedness for Response & Recovery, Risk Governance, Climate Resilience, Urban Resilience and Health Risk Management.

Statement of Intent:

ADPC recently signed a grant agreement with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for Strengthening Institutional Capacity of the National Disaster Risk Management Commission of Ethiopia. The overall goal of this program is to, “improve the institutional capacity to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters in Ethiopia by strengthening the institutional system and technical capabilities of the National Disaster Risk Management Commission and other key stakeholder agencies. This will be achieved through the provision of institutional partnerships, knowledge resources, training, and networking opportunities. The program focuses on strengthening the institutional and human resource capacity of federal, state and local level governments and other stakeholders, who are involved or shall participate in humanitarian response and risk reduction activities in the country. The project will offer a formal platform for capacity development, provision of technical inputs and tools for preparedness, emergency response and recovery planning.

In this context, ADPC is inviting applications from the qualified candidates to fill the position of “Program Manager," who will be responsible for the implementation of the program and provide strategic, operational and management support to the National Disaster Risk Management Commission of Ethiopia.

Note:

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

Required qualifications / selection criteria:

Qualifications and experience:

• Ph.D. or MSc in Disaster Management, Agriculture, Public Health, Economics, Natural Resource Management, or any other related fields is essential;
• At least 12 years of proven experience in program design, implementation, and M&E in the field of Disaster Risk Management in Ethiopia;
• Previous experience in humanitarian response and recovery is essential;
• Previous experience in working with UN, Government agencies of African countries and Humanitarian NGOs would be an added advantage;
• Previous work experience in Asia would be an added advantage;
• Proven experience in working with multiple donors, familiarity with donor requirements, donor reporting, and progress reports submission

Personal qualities

• Self-motivated, proactive and takes initiatives;
• Demonstrated ability and plan and organize work and time independently;
• Demonstrated ability to mentor staff and support staff career development;
• 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, must have self-confidence, willingness to work hard, good sense of humor but with seriousness about the quality and excellence of work.

General requirements:

• Operate within all ADPC Guidelines & Procedures/ Policies;
• This position is open only to Ethiopian nationals.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Design capacity development programs and projects on DRR based on the country needs and donor priorities that determined by government of Ethiopia
• Provide programmatic leadership to the project managers, coordinators and technical experts under the program and government guidelines
• Develop project annual and quarterly work plans and implementation arrangements;
• Guide project coordinators and technical experts in implementing program activities in a timely manner;
• Provide technical and operational resource inputs and advice in activities such as institutional capacity assessment, program formulation, training needs assessment, institutional capacity assessment;
• Liaise and coordinate with the NDRMC and other key stakeholders on regular basis
• Conduct program monitoring and evaluation, contribute in achieving all expected results, develop M&E reports;
• Draft progress reports and updates to the donors on a regular basis;
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Director, Preparedness for Response and Recovery Department of ADPC.

Reporting relationship:

• Report directly to the Director, Preparedness for Response and Recovery
• Report to the designated official of the NDRMC, Ethiopia