SHA-Secondment World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Strategic Program Officer WMO, Geneva

Context

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is an important pillar of sustainable development. The significance of DRR is particularly high in regions where natural hazards such as flooding, mud flows, droughts or earthquakes occur frequently and with high intensity. As global warming continues unabated some of these events are going to become even more intense and frequent, calling for a stronger consideration of DRR and climate change adaptation in development processes.

The international community has acknowledged this urgent need in 2015. With the negotiation of the international agreement of Sendai on DRR, the Climate Agreement in Paris (COP21) as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2030) it laid out the ground to integrate DRR and Climate Change in political development strategies, programs and processes. The challenges remain however large and international cooperation agencies, including SDC, need to collaborate to address them.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) supports as response to these rising needs and international agreements the « Climate Risk Early Warning Systems (CREWS) » initiative (for more information see https://www.crews-initiative.org/en). Together with the World Bank (GFDRR) and the UN (UNISDR and WMO) CREWS aims to strengthen meteorological and climatological early warning systems in the least developed countries of the world. SDC finances in light of this new partnership a strategic Secondment at the WMO (Secretariat of CREWS) to support efficient, effective and sustainable implementation of weather and climate early warning systems.

The Secondment will assist the WMO in the following tasks:

• Contribute to leverage the CREWS initiative within WMO’s broader efforts to scale up effective partnerships in support of developing countries in the context of the upcoming WMO Strategic Plan (2020-2023)
• Lead work to position and leverage the CREWS initiative as part of the planned creation of the Hydromet Alliance for Development, co-spearheaded by WMO, World Bank, and Green Climate Fund.
• Contribute to set up the WMO expert service mechanism in support of the CREWS initiative. This mechanism is expected to tap best available evidence and knowledge across WMO’s institutional network.
• Contribute to CREWS initiative and to scale up the leverage factor of the CREWS contributions.

Requested profile

Please note: Swiss citizenship or holder of valid Swiss working permit C (with place of residence in Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein) is required.

The applicant should have at least 10 years of working experience in international cooperation in the field of meteorology, climatology or hydrology, preferably in the context of weather services and early warnings. Further experience in working with multilateral partners and the motivation to become acquainted with the thematic fields and processes alluded above is expected.

The applicant fulfils further the following criteria:

• University degree or equivalent education, preferably in Meteorology, Climatology, Hydrology, Environmental Sciences or International Cooperation.
• Good analytical, conceptual and writing skills as well as organizational capacities
• Good negotiating skills and political sensibility
• Experience in the design, planning, implementation as well as evaluation of programs and projects (Project Cycle Management)
• Responsible, independent, target and result oriented work principles
• Motivation and determination to make a change
• High social competence, team spirit as well as intercultural comprehension
• Good networking and communication skills
• Required languages: Good knowledge of 2 Swiss national languages, fluency in spoken and written English, knowledge of other UN language is an advantage.

Contract starting date and duration: 1 October 2018 (as available) for one year with the possibility for extension.

Mission location: Geneva

Information:

For additional information please contact the following responsible officers:

• Regina Gujan, Deputy Head Multilateral Division / Team leader DRR - regina.gujan@eda.admin.ch, +41 58 48 527 25, or +41 78 677 13 30
• Omar Bellprat, Program Officer Strategic Partnerships DRR - omar.bellprat@eda.admin.ch, +41 58 48 50643 or +41 78 677 13 30