Anticipatory Action Advisor REG INT CST-II

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JOB TITLE: Anticipatory Action Advisor
TYPE OF CONTRACT: REG CST-II
UNIT/DIVISION: APARO Programme Unit, Climate Change and Resilience.
DUTY STATION (City, Country): Bangkok, Thailand

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetime. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need. The Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Programmes (PRO-C) unit in WFP Headquarters and outposted teams at the Regional Office for Asia and Pacific in Bangkok provide guidance and support to WFP Country Offices (COs) and governments on activities related to climate risk management, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
One of WFP's flagship programmes for climate risk management is Anticipatory Action (AA), an innovative approach that enables the implementation of actions to prevent and mitigate, to the extent possible, the impact of extreme weather events on the food security and nutrition of the most vulnerable populations. Piloted in 2015 together with the German Red Cross, WFP's AA portfolio now includes over 21 countries in the regions of Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, where, together with national and local government partners, WFP is implementing projects to link early warning systems with AA embedded in national disaster risk management for critical natural hazards such as droughts, floods, and cyclones. In the Asia Pacific, WFP's AA approach has largely focused on droughts, floods, and cyclones, which can benefit agriculture, livelihoods, and food security in the short, medium and long term. Gradually, the Bureau seeks to embed AA throughout the disaster risk management cycle, from preparedness to response and strengthening solutions to scale up, like the linkages with the national shock-responsive social protection programmes.
WFP is seeking an expert with specialized skills in climate-risk information and experience in early warning systems, AA and disaster preparedness to coordinate and technically support WFP RBB's expanding AA portfolio, currently encompassing eight countries across the Asia Pacific region. Based in WFP's Regional Bureau in Bangkok, the expert will provide technical support to WFP COs implementing AA, and those in the design stage of AA frameworks.
In each of the project target countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, Philippines, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan) the Regional AA Advisor shall provide support on the following activities: co-development together with government and other partners appropriate actions to mitigate disaster losses and damages ahead of a drought, cyclone and/or flood impact; development and implementation of a rigorous monitoring and evaluation framework for programme learning and the generation of evidence with respect to the impact of AA for droughts, cyclones and floods; regional oversight and coordination of implementation of AAs in the case of a hazard trigger activation; generation of synergies with complimentary WFP programmes and the in-country AA projects implemented by WFP's key partners such as the Red Cross, FAO, UN OCHA and DFAT.The AA Advisor shall also support with the design, review, and submission of project proposals for COs and APARO with an interest and capacity to engage in AA to be able to access climate finance sources, such as through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF). The Advisor will also coordinate the expansion of APARO's current AA portfolio, providing strategic and technical support to COs.
Next to wider strategic, advocacy and technical guidance provided to APARO and implementing COs, the AA Advisor will ensure the mainstreaming of resilience, gender, nutrition, disability, and inclusion into the design of the AA process; and ensure congruence with social protection systems.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

Working under the supervision of the Regional Climate and DRR Advisor and with technical guidance from the HQ, the consultant will carry out the following main tasks:

1. Provide technical guidance and support to COs in the design, preparation and implementation of AA work also including WFP technical assistance to governments in the region.

2. Coordinate AA activities in the region with COs, HQ and Regional teams. Collaborate with APARO Emergency Preparedness/Response, Social Protection and Research Analysis and Mapping teams in several areas:

• identify appropriate anticipatory actions that can be implemented before a specific climate shock;
• identify regional and national climate hazards- including but not limited to seasonal drought/dry spell/crop/cyclone/flood forecasting tools that can be used to trigger anticipatory actions;
• oversee the development and simulation of Anticipatory Action Plans (AAPs) with forecast thresholds and triggers for hazard-specific anticipatory actions;
• support COs in setting up and implementing a monitoring and evaluation framework to measure process improvements, results and impact of anticipatory actions and body of evidence on AA;
• assess CO capacity gaps to implement AA and help identify solutions to address gaps through appropriate capacity building and temporary surge support;
• support assessment, testing and uptake of AA mechanisms in relevant government processes and systems for disaster management, social protection and meteorological and climate services.

3. Ensure effective project and grant management and coordination at the regional level by supporting target COs with the development and implementation of annual country-specific workplans and budgets for the submission to HQ.

4. Support project oversight and implementation of anticipatory action projects funded by the Green Climate and Adaptation Fund in Laos and Cambodia and others as needed.

5. Provide strategic guidance to COs in their formulation of Country Strategic Plans and the potential integration of AA activities with an integrated climate risk management approach.

6.Work with the M&E team to ensure the effective inclusion of AA results in AA project log frames and corporate reporting processes, including through the provision of inputs to the design of FbF-related indicators in WFP's Corporate Results Framework (CRF), support to the AA COs to include AA CRF indicators in CSP log frames and report on them according to the corporate guidance available, review and validate the figures reported by COs, and providing support as needed during the ACR and APR reporting processes.

7. Coordinate with government focal points as well as relevant national and international organizations and stakeholders to support integration of AA into national systems.

8.Ensure effective coordination and collaboration with WFP partners working on AA, such as through the development of national technical working groups for AA where WFP is a leading actor, and the co- development of regional conferences (e.g. Asia Pacific Dialogue Platforms) on anticipatory action together with the German Red Cross, FAO, OCHA, IFRC, CREWS, CERF and WFP COs/HQ as needed.

9. Document and disseminate best practices and lessons learned from the AA projects in the region by generating guidance and advocacy material and organizing regional knowledge-exchange opportunities including other COs and partners engaged in AA or complimentary projects.

10. Support proposal development for the further scale-up of AA in existing and new countries supported by APARO working closely with APARO Partnerships and HQ teams.

11. Other complimentary tasks as required.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education

• University degree in environmental science, development studies, social science, or other science related field.
Experience

• Minimum of 6 years post-graduate experience in anticipatory action, forecast-based financing, early warnings early action.

• Experience in managing anticipatory action projects in the Asia Pacific region. Sound understanding of main stakeholders (including donors, national entities, universities) in the development sector working in the anticipatory action.

• Experience in project implementation and coordination of multi-stakeholder platforms.

Knowledge and Skills

• Knowledge of anticipatory action; in-depth understanding of climate regimes in the Asia Pacific region.

• Working knowledge of utilising forecast products, Forecast-based Financing, knowledge about Asia Pacific climate regimes.

• General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations, and procedures is considered a plus.

• Ability to establish effective working relationships with multi-disciplinary teams.

• Excellent written and oral communications skills.

• Ability to work with minimal supervision and set priorities, ability to plan and organize work programmes.

• Excellent mentoring and coordination skills with staff and partners.

• Excellent cognitive/analytical skills with ability to analyze complex problems and proactively implement workable solutions.

• Strong ability to respond quickly to emergencies with a solution or decision.

• Strong ability to actively seek information and opinions of client to understand their requests and identify needs and expectations.

• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to work harmoniously with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Languages

• Fluent in English including strong writing.

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