Risk Analyst

The African Risk Capacity (ARC) is a Specialised Agency of the African Union (AU) established in November 2012. The ARC Agency leads the ARC Group, a development finance institution that provides financial tools and infrastructure to help countries manage natural disaster risk and adapt to climate change.

In 2014, ARC launched its initial risk insurance product for member states through its financial affiliate the ARC Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd). ARC Ltd is a specialist hybrid mutual insurance company and Africa’s first ever disaster insurance pool, aggregating risk by issuing insurance policies to participating governments and transferring it to the international market. ARC Ltd uses the satellite weather surveillance software Africa RiskView, developed by WFP, to estimate the impact of drought on vulnerable populations – and the response costs required to assist them – before a season begins, and as it progresses, so that index-based insurance payouts, based on Africa RiskView, are triggered at or before harvest time if the rains are poor. ARC aims to reach up to 30 countries with drought, flood and cyclone insurance coverage by 2020.

Since its creation in 2012 the ARC Agency has been working towards establishing and mainstreaming its operational procedures and in-country work programme with ARC Member States. At the country-level the ARC Secretariat of the ARC Agency supports ARC in-country technical working groups on several technical and political work-streams as they progress towards making an informed decision on participating in the ARC Ltd insurance pool. The ARC Secretariat Technical Support Division supports the technical aspects of this interaction, including working with countries to customise and validate Africa RiskView and select risk transfer parameters for their insurance products.

Responsibilities:
Based in ARC Headquarters in Johannesburg, the Risk Analyst will be a member of the ARC Secretariat Technical Support Division supporting all aspects of the ARC Technical Support Division’s work, with a particular focus on the in-country interactions with ARC Member States. Reporting to the Technical Team Manager, the Risk Analyst’s responsibilities will include the following:

• Understand ARC and the Africa RiskView software and its underlying methodology;
• Assist the Technical Support Division on all matters relating to the customisation of Africa RiskView and preparation for participation in the insurance pool, including:
  • Conduct background research to understand the risk factors and risk profiles of ARC Member States;
  • Gather and prepare historical data on droughts and other natural disasters inARC Member States;
  • Lead the data analysis and customisation work for assigned ARC Member States;
  • Support the drafting and review of customisation reports;
  • Monitor and verify Africa RiskView’s estimates against information from the ground;
  • Monitor Africa RiskView’s estimates to contribute to monthly bulletins and other ad hoc analyses and publications;
  • Document the ARC Technical Team’s in-country activities.
• Support the Technical Support Division in designing and conducting Africa RiskView country and regional trainings, preparing training material and support documentation;
• Support the development, upgrade and update of the Africa RiskView software and its related manuals, documentation and country briefs;
• Contribute to the design and development of new methodologies for the expansion of Africa RiskView to new risks including flood and cyclone and support the in-country work required to ground-truth and calibrate new models;
• Support senior Technical Support Division and ARC staff in other tasks, including reporting to donors and in collaborations with ARC partners, as necessary;
• Represent the ARC Secretariat at conferences and meetings, as required.

Essential Requirements

Education:

• Advanced university degree in Economics, Statistics, Food Security, Natural Sciences, Agriculture, Development Studies or similar relevant discipline

Experience:

• At least 5 years of postgraduate progressively responsible professional experience in food security analysis or a closely related area, such as agricultural risk management or early warning
• Experience in modelling of natural disasters (particularly drought) would be an asset.

Technical Skills & Languages:

• Expert user of Microsoft Excel. Good knowledge of statistical packages, SPSS, Stata
• Basic knowledge of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing
• Fluent in English and French; knowledge of Portuguese is an asset

Competencies:

• Strong analytical and data interpretation skills
• Reliability, attention to detail and problem solving skills
• Ability to work both collaboratively and under the minimum supervision, and under tight deadlines
• Availability to undertake frequent travel