Risk and Vulnerability Officer

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 Officer will be part of the GGGI Dominican Republic team and will be based in Santo Domingo. The Officer 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.

The Officer is expected to be a professional with a passion for contributing to GGGI's mission to drive innovation to accelerate green growth around the world and address the global climate emergency. The Officer will play a key role within the Dominican Republic team to support the country program in the development of early warning systems (EWS), conduct vulnerability and risk assessments, support in the development of online platforms to communicate vulnerabilities and risks, support in the implementation of EWS communication systems at the national level, and coordinating and supervising the technical input of individual consultants.

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 implementation of the GGGI Dominican Republic program, by leading and overseeing outcomes and activities focused on the diagnosis of the national state of the EWS, the risk and vulnerability assessments, the development of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and the timely exchange of information to reduce the country's vulnerability and risk to climate change. He/she will supervise individual consultants and small service firms, as well as review project results for quality assurance and address delivery issues with internal and external stakeholders.

ENGAGEMENT

The Officer will proactively engage in collaboration, knowledge sharing, communications, and advocacy to advance countries' efforts to meet Paris Agreement commitments through:

• Develop the collaboration and resources of international organizations (including the UNFCCC), partnerships and platforms, as well as research institutions, academic institutions and other organizations, where appropriate;
• Support the development of project proposals to access funds and donors in climate change adaptation and early warning system.
• 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;
• Engage and collaborate with donors who are focused on efforts against the effects of climate change;
• 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 Officer 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:

• Lead and conduct risk and vulnerability assessments to identify and prioritize regions, sectors, communities, and economic activities;
• Assess available data and methodologies for conducting risk and vulnerability assessments, and review best practices and methodologies for assessing climate and disaster risk.
• Oversee the development of the GIS to visualize risks and vulnerabilities to enable and foster adaptation-driven policies, planning, tools, and capacity building;
• Lead the development of EWS for different audiences.
• Ensure that all project outputs, activities, and deliverables, as well as project reports, are completed and submitted in a timely manner;
• Manage individual consultants and/or small consulting projects;
• Review project results for quality assurance and address delivery issues with internal and external project collaborators.
• Lead the implementation of capacity building programs, workshops, seminars and other activities to enhance the knowledge of stakeholders in selected countries.
• Lead and review relevant technical studies, guidelines, reports and publications, where appropriate; and
• Oversee 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 (5) years of experience in climate change with at least three (3) years in EWS development, risk and vulnerability assessment, identification of the most vulnerable or 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 for the development of online platforms is an asset;
• Experience in the use of applications such as Microsoft Project or equivalent means is an asset, as well as the construction of dashboards using tools such as Microsoft Power BI or equivalent.
• Proven experience leading or supporting the execution of completed and successful projects, i.e., managing/supporting the delivery of results on time and within budget;
• 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;
• Excellent multicultural experience 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;
• Strong stakeholder relationships and communication skills;
• Ability to work effectively with multicultural and multidisciplinary teams;
• Willingness to travel frequently as part of project implementation within the Dominican Republic and possibly to other locations;

CORPORATE

• Understand and actively support GGGI's mission, vision, and values.

• Promote 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 in a positive way, build rapport, and resolve conflicts easily.

• 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 Officer is a grade X8 on the GGGI pay scale by country. For the X8 Dominican Republic salary scale, the annual base salary starts from USD 37,341 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 successful candidate is expected to be based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
• Personnel must comply with the tax payment applicable to the Dominican Republic.