Programme coordinator

Background and rationale

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) was established in 1986 to support 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. ADPC is governed by its Board of Trustees and annually convenes the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management (RCC) that brings together National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) from 26 countries of the Asian region. In 1999, ADPC was constituted as an independent non-profit foundation under Thai law, with its headquarters in Bangkok. In 2011, on completion of 25 years, ADPC in consultation with member countries and development partners developed the Strategy to guide its support to the countries over the next decade. The ADPC Strategy 2020, aims at focusing the involvement of ADPC on key issues in the region in relation to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, based on its long years of experience and comparative advantage. The implementation of the ADPC Strategy 2020 is being pursued through a programmatic approach on three core areas, namely Science, Systems and Applications for disaster risk reduction, with each of the three programmes having well defined Outcomes and Result Areas. At the same time in 2011, ADPC also went through an internal restructuring to organize itself in six thematic departments, with each having a niche focus and working together to contribute towards the overall outcomes of ADPC Strategy 2020.

One of the thematic departments is Safer Development Planning and Implementation (SDPI). The focus of this department is to enhance mainstreaming disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in development planning processes. The work programme of the department is based on the ongoing RCC Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development, which is underway since 2004. The Program is currently in its third phase (2012-2015) and falls under the Result Area 3.1.1 of Core Programme 3: Applications and focuses on issues related to mainstreaming disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in socio-economic development planning processes, physical planning, investment programming and sectoral development. A key area of the program is to demonstrate actions on mainstreaming and building capacity through training courses. The Program is implemented in synergy with other ongoing regional initiatives on advocacy, knowledge management and capacity building for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into development.

The Programme Coordinator will be a part of ADPC thematic department Safer Development Planning and Implementation and involved in coordinating implementation of specific components of Core Program 3: Application (Related to Mainstreaming DRR into Development)

Duties and responsibilities

• Coordinating the implementation of program activities on mainstreaming DRR into development under the Core Programme 3: Applications.
• Ensure smooth communication and coordination between ADPC, its implementing partners, including governments, donors and other stakeholders in the project countries.
• Support in developing concept notes, project proposals related to mainstreaming DRR into development.
• Participate in cross-theme collaboration for project implementation within ADPC.
• Coordinate (seminars, training programs, capacity building initiatives etc.)
• Assist in preparation of budget estimates/ proposals.
• Documentation of proceedings of events, data base of participants.
• Assistance through resource inputs to managers for conducting technical assignments, consultancies etc.

Required qualifications and specification

• Bachelors or Masters Degree (preferred) only in economics or associated specializations such as development economics, econometrics, public finance, environmental economics etc. may apply;
• Having 1-2 years practical experience in development sector with a good understanding of issues on development;
• Thorough understanding of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation;
• Strong analytical skills as well skills in writing and documentation is a necessity;
• Fluency in both spoken and written English is a necessity;
• Willingness to work in a team, respect the importance of other disciplines and knack to learn from and contribute to various disciplines;
• Willing to frequently travel in the region.