Program Officer

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. ADPC aims at supporting governments, strengthen institutions and build capacity for mainstreaming DRR into development processes at all levels. The primary focus of ADPC is to assist national and sub-national Governments in Asia to build capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recovery from the natural disaster and adaptation to climate change. It includes developing Institutional and Legal systems in reducing risk due to natural disasters and adapting to climate change, assessment of disaster risk; undertaking risk reduction programs and programs for adapting to climate change, hazard-specific mainstreaming of DRR & CCA into development, etc.

ADPC has been supporting the Ethiopia Government to implement the program “Strengthening Institutional Capacity and Preparedness for Emergency Response in Ethiopia” funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) from November 2016 to October 2020. The overall goal of the 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 Federal Disaster Risk Management Commission and other key stakeholder agencies. The program focuses on strengthening the institutional and human resource capacity of federal, state and local governments and other stakeholders who are involved or shall participate in humanitarian response and risk reduction activities in Ethiopia. The program will offer a formal platform for capacity development, provision of technical inputs and tools for preparedness, emergency response and recovery planning.

Statement of intent:

The Program Officer will be responsible for providing technical assistance to program team in project planning and implementation with the Government, local NGO partners, private sector and with ADPC staff in Ethiopia and Head Office in Bangkok, Thailand. 

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.

Qualifications and experience:

• Masters in Disaster Management, Environmental Sciences, Engineering, Social Science, Sustainable Development or any other related fields is essential.
• At least 10 years of proven experience in project management, implementation, coordination, planning, and capacity building.
• Proven experience in disaster preparedness and emergency response management such as baseline assessment, mainstreaming disaster risk management into sectoral planning process, risk assessment and profiling, early warning system development, emergency operation center management, scenario-based contingency planning, incident command system development, application of specific technical information and data into training and capacity building programs.
• Experience in the application of monitoring & evaluation standard tools in humanitarian response, Disaster Risk management and Institutional capacity building will be an added advantage.
• Proven ability to develop manuals, guidelines, case studies, training modules and deliver training.
• Familiarity and at least 5 years of experience of working with the national and sub-national governments in the field of disaster management. Experience in integrating disaster management into agriculture and health sectors will be an added advantage.
• Previous experience in working with Humanitarian NGOs or international organization in similar programs.
• Knowledge of working ethics of national or sub-national government agencies, International NGOs, National NGOs, private organizations and international organizations would prove to be an added advantage.
• Knowledge to integrating research and training into disaster risk management practices and promote knowledge product development and sharing

Personal qualities:

• Self-motivated, pro-active and takes initiative;
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, plan, and organize work & time independently;
• Proven ability to coordinate and work with government institution and ensure cross learning provide creative strategic policy and operational advisor support
• Verbal and written communication skills in both English and Amharic is essential;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, team-oriented work style, and experience in working in a multi-cultural environment;
• Strong networking capacity and understanding of development work at local and regional levels;
• Strong desires to learn, undertake new challenges, be a creative problem-solver, and must have self-confidence, willingness to work hard, good sense of humor but with seriousness about the quality and the excellence of work.

General requirements:

• Operate within all ADPC Guidelines & Procedures/ Policies;
• Operate within Government Procedures/Policies;
• Learn and apply ADPC technical knowledge, networking, and partnership experience to promote institutional capacity building of the target government institutions.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Provide technical resources and inputs to ADPC programs and coordinate with Government, Local NGO partners, the private sector and other stakeholder agencies.
• Work with the project team in project planning, coordination, and implementation in the country.
• Assist program manager in managing day-to-day activities of the projects in Ethiopia and represent ADPC as and when needed.
• Take lead in risk assessment and profiling and early warning system development.
• Provide technical support to coordinated institutional capacity building program activities of ADPC and NDRMC with Ministries of Agriculture and Health
• Develop guidelines, manuals, training curriculum, tools, and case studies according to local needs and establishing a facility for knowledge management & promotion of learning among sector government, communities and private sectors.
• Review training design and training materials for capacity building & training programs being implemented for preparedness for emergency response and recovery.
• Develop regular progress reports and capture evidence-based good practices and case studies to highlight the project impacts on the ground.
• Coordinate with project manager/s in ADPC HQ in implementing the project activities on a regular basis.
• Act as ‘Communication and Information Management Focal Point’ of the project team in Ethiopia.
• Coordinate with other members of ADPC staff, and provide necessary support in the implementation of the training and capacity building activities in Ethiopia.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Director, Preparedness for Response and Recovery Department.

Reporting relationship:

• Program Level: Respective Thematic Directors of ADPC, particularly, Preparedness for Response and Recovery Department;
• Regular reporting to Program Manager based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on a daily basis.
• Work closely with other staff of ADPC from Head Office, India and Ethiopia.

Contract duration:

One (1) year contract with the possibility of extension depending on the availability of the fund.