Risk and Vulnerability Senior Associate
INTRODUCTION TO GGGI
The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page.
CONTEXT
This position will support the implementation of the project “Dominican Republic National Multi Threat Early Warning System”, funded under the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) programme window of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). This project aims to enhance capabilities to improve the accuracy and dissemination of alerts to the population in the event of extreme disasters. To achieve this, three action components are proposed to develop with the Emergency Operations Center (COE in Spanish) as the lead focal point, and the Climate Change National Council National (CNCCMDL in Spanish) as the technical focal point: (a) Designing a Multi-hazard Early Warning System, (b) Developing the National Risk Atlas, and (c) Strengthening “Alerta-COE.” These three components present an integral vision and a long-term response that would contribute to the mitigation of atmospheric effects and climate change in the country.
The main objectives of the proposed Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (EWS) are aligned with the needs of the Dominican Republic as a Small Island State in the Caribbean as set out in the SAMOA Pathway for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development/SDG, the Paris Agreement, and the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III).
This initiative aims to strengthen the Emergency Operations Center (COE), which plans and directs all coordination actions among the institutions of the National Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Response System, as well as other relevant institutions, such as National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI), National Meteorological Office (ONAMET), National Geological Service and other relevant government agencies in the Dominican Republic, with the necessary technical support and knowledge products related to infrastructure resilience.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Risk and Vulnerability Senior Associate will be part of the GGGI Dominican Republic team and will be based in Santo Domingo. The Senior Associate will work closely with other staff members from Climate Action and Inclusive Development (CAID), Investment and Policy Solutions Division (IPSD) and other GGGI divisions, in particular the Dominican Republic country team and under the guidance of the Caribbean’s Country Representative.
The Senior Associate is expected to be a professional who is passionate about contributing to GGGI’s mission to drive innovation to accelerate green growth around the world and address the global climate emergency. He/she will support the Dominican Republic country program in addressing Early Warning Systems (EWS), conducting vulnerability and risk assessments, developing online platforms to communicate vulnerabilities and risks, supporting the implementation of EWS communication systems at the national level.
He/she will report directly to the Dominican Republic Program Leader, and will work embed within the offices of the Emergency Operations Center (COE) and the National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism (CNCCMDL).
PURPOSE
The purpose of this position is to support the technical activities and deliverables focused on the EWS assessment, the design and evaluation of the actions to be carried out during the EWS alerts, and the diagnosis of the national state of the EWS to evaluate the adaptive capacities of the Dominican Republic to reduce the risk and vulnerability of the country to climate change.
ENGAGEMENT
The Senior Associate will proactively engage in collaboration, knowledge sharing, communications, and advocacy to advance countries’ efforts to meet Paris Agreement commitments by:
- Engage and collaborate with key GGGI staff, including other country teams, throughout the project design and implementation process and support in-country technical advisory services;
- Support stakeholder engagement, visioning exercises, consultations, and other activities needed to formulate relevant systems, strategies, and policy documents;
- Collaborate, where necessary, with governmental and non-governmental counterparts to support the implementation of relevant projects and policies.
DELIVERY
The Senior Associate is responsible for supporting and, in some cases, leading technical assistance activities as part of GGGI’s efforts to promote integrated planning for climate-resilient and low-emission green growth. Relevant tasks will include:
- Support the development of risk and vulnerability assessments lead by the Vulnerability and Risk Officer, to identify and prioritize regions, sectors, communities and economic activities;
- Evaluate national data to propose methodologies and practices focused on climate risk and vulnerability;
- Develop the Geographic Information System (GIS) to visualize risks and vulnerabilities to enable and foster adaptation-driven policies, planning, tools, and capacity building;
- Support in the development of the EWS for different audiences;
- Ensure that project outputs, activities, and deliverables under his/her responsibility are completed and submitted in a timely manner;
- Develop training materials and support the implementation of capacity building programs, workshops, seminars and other activities to enhance the knowledge of stakeholders in selected countries.
- Prepare relevant technical studies, guidelines, reports and publications, where appropriate; and
- Preparation of relevant, high-quality communication materials (factsheets, project brochures, press releases, website content, etc.).
REQUIREMENTS
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in fields relevant to the position described (such as environmental policy, engineering, environmental science and management, economics, statistics, climate change, or any related field);
- At least five (3) years of experience in climate change adaptation with at least three (2) years in early warning system development, disaster emergency management, risk and vulnerability assessment, identification of the most vulnerable or most at-risk regions, areas, economic sectors and communities.
- Experience in international organizations working with developing countries is an asset;
- Experience in the design and implementation of capacity-building activities aimed at improving countries’ capacity to identify climate and disaster risk in order to alert the population in a timely manner;
- Experience in quantitative data analysis and ability to produce compelling arguments from the analysis of adaptation-related issues;
- Experience with Geographic Information Systems to develop online platforms will be an asset;
- Fluency in written and spoken English and Spanish; knowledge of other languages relevant to GGGI partner countries is an asset.
FUNCTIONAL
- Strong understanding of the concepts of climate change (adaptation), green growth and/or sustainable development in the context of developing countries, sectoral issues and policy and regulatory approaches in developing and emerging countries, and recent developments and global trends in the area of expertise;
- Ability to work in a multicultural team and interest in being part of an international team working in an entrepreneurial and evolving environment;
- Exceptional analytical and quantitative skills, along with strong synthesis and strategic thinking skills;
- Stakeholder skills and communication competencies;
- Ability to work effectively with multicultural and multidisciplinary teams;
- Willingness to travel frequently as part of project implementation within the Dominican Republic and possibly elsewhere;
- Ability to work under stressful conditions or under pressure.
CORPORATE
- Understand and actively support GGGI’s mission, vision, and values.
- Promoting the optimal use of public resources
- Promote an organizational culture of trust, transparency, respect, and collaboration.
- Easily process and share information.
- Manage emotions and stress positively, build rapport, and resolve conflicts easily to achieve a “win-win.”
- Promote creativity and innovation among staff.
- Be able to lead where needed and provide solutions to project-level challenges.
WORKING CONDITIONS
- The Risk and Vulnerability Senior Associate is a grade X7 on the GGGI pay scale by country. For the X7 Dominican Republic salary scale, the annual base salary starts from USD 28,724. The determination of base salary is subject to experience, academic background, and internal equity.
- GGGI provides 15% of base salary for retirement/long-term savings plan, 27 days of annual leave, and private health insurance
- GGGI is committed to providing a work environment that is flexible enough to adapt to the various lifecycle challenges and help staff members achieve a better balance between work and personal/family commitments, thus ensuring high performance, long-term productivity and well-being of staff members.
- The elected candidate is expected to be based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
- Personnel must comply with the tax payment applicable to the Dominican Republic.
Child protection – GGGI is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. GGGI’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.