Disaster Risk Reduction Senior Officer

CARE International in Vietnam is a Non-Government Organization representing the CARE International network in Vietnam since 1989. CARE in Vietnam’s Program Strategy is explicitly oriented around achieving impacts for particularly vulnerable and marginalised groups in Vietnam. To achieve this, we work with Vietnamese partners across sectors such as health services, rural livelihood development, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. We recognise that women’s empowerment is a critical pathway for poverty reduction and place women and girls from marginalised population groups at the heart of our programming efforts.

CARE in Vietnam is looking for an experienced and qualified Vietnamese to fill Disaster Risk Reduction Senior Officer Position.

Position information:

Position title:        Disaster Risk Reduction Senior Officer
Unit:             Climate Change – Disaster Risk Reduction (CC-DRR)
Reporting to:         CC DRR Unit Team Leader (TL)
Contract:        From start working day to 31 December 2014
Base in:                       Soc Trang with travel to project sites as required

Position Summary:

The position is responsible for the technical quality of implemented DRR initiatives by CARE and the relevant partners ensuring compliance to technical standards and achieving long term impact. H/she is responsible for overall capacity strengthening of relevant partners on DRR and ensures efficient coordination with partners, within the CC DRR Unit and with other technical and operational units within CARE. Working closely with the Team Leader and CBA Advisor, h/she ensures coherence of the work with other CC-DRR initiatives in line with the larger CARE priorities. H/she also contributes significantly to a productive environment for sharing and learning on CC and DRR.
While focusing on a number of DRR initiatives, h/she actively contributes to delivering the priorities under the CARE Vietnam CC DRR framework in line with the larger Remote Ethnic Minorities (REM) and Socially Marginalized People (SMP) programs of CARE Vietnam.

Main duties

In close coordination with CC DRR Team Leader, CBA Advisor and other Technical and Operational officers:

1.QUALITY OF PROGRAMMING
Responsible for

At program level:

• Contribute to finalization and implementation of CC DRR framework in line with priorities of REM and SMP programs
• Ensure initiative work on DRR is in line with CC DRR framework and priorities of REM and SMP programs
• Ensure work on DRR provides evidence for advocacy
• Contribute to developing standards, tools and guidelines on CC and DRR as well as documenting and sharing lessons learned and good practice
• Monitor compliance to CARE DRR standards and guidelines
• Develop and implement individual plans and contribute to the CC DRR Unit plan

At initiative level:

• Provide technical support to develop and implement high quality DRR initiatives,  generating and incorporating lessons learned and best practices
• Strengthen capacity of partners on DRR approaches
• Support M & E and Operations Unit to develop and implement M & E plan and regular work plans
• Participate in the design of new DRR initiatives, when required, ensuring that they are aligned to CVN priorities and standards as well as Government DRR priorities and programs

Contributes to

• Ensure CARE’s Programming Principles, in particular gender and rights-based approaches, are incorporated into all initiatives.
• Ensures that programs are accountable to all stakeholders.
• Ensure that programs aim to achieve lasting impact at broad scale with selected impact groups addressing underlying causes of poverty
• The ongoing development of the program approach and priorities within CARE Vietnam

2.COMMUNICATION

Responsible for

• Timely provide monthly technical reports to CC DRR TL and relevant Portfolio Manager(s) whose initiatives are technically supported
• Ensure regular smooth and clear communication with Operations/Initiatives on planning, adjusting and implementing DRR activities in a timely manner
• Actively search and provides regular updates on national DRR progress, on trends, new policies, new approaches relevant to DRR.
• Develop and/or provide direct technical inputs for all technical publications, materials and documentation relevant to DRR with quality assurance

Contributes to

• Regular internal communication on progress in strategic priorities.
• Develop and implement the communication strategies.

3.COORDINATION

Responsible for

• Build effective working teams at the CC DRR Unit  to ensure adequate information sharing, exchanges of technical approaches, their consistent application/ adaptation to initiatives, and constructive feedback among the teams
• Efficiently coordinate with other technical Units, Operations Unit and Shared Services Pool (SSP) in all agreed mechanisms
• Promote an open, diverse and participatory work environment, fully supporting colleagues to assume responsibility and accountability within the Unit and sub-unit
• Provide timely technical inputs and ensure quality technical reporting to donors
• Provide regular updates on the relevant technical area
• Coordinate with other Units and partners during the design of new interventions

Contributes to

• Regular reporting to SMT, CI, CA and donors
• Develop program level budgets
• Development of  budgets for new interventions
• The efficiency of the new organizational structure

4.RESOURCE MOBILIZATION:

Contributes to

• Cultivate donors relevant to CC DRR area
• Provide inputs in the development of proposals relevant to DRR

5.REPRESENTATION

Contributes to

• Represent CARE Vietnam at relevant technical working groups, meetings, workshops and events, when authorized and assigned.
• Establish, maintain and strengthen positive working relationships with other institutions / partners and agencies particularly those working in the same technical area and, upon request, outside the technical areas as well.

6.KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Responsible for

• Provide recommendations to improve technical quality of DRR initiatives drawing on lessons learned
• Ensure that lessons learnt are being documented to maximize the impact of CARE’s initiatives and contribute to future program strategy and direction.

Contribute to

• Disseminate good DRR practices for scaling up
• All initiatives adhere to CARE Monitoring and Evaluation Minimum Standards.
• Contribute to develop learning and sharing mechanisms and plans within the Unit, and with other Units

7.PARTNERSHIP

Responsible for

• Support to establish and nurture strategic and non strategic partnerships
• Oversee the quality of partner’s performance on the assigned technical areas.
• Strengthen the capacity of partners on the assigned technical areas
• Partner mapping in relevant technical area

Contribute to:

• Implementation of CARE Vietnam’s Partnership Strategy
• Assurance of coherence in partnerships across programs

8.COMPLIANCE

• Oversees compliance with technical standards on DRR
• Ensure compliance with donor technical requirements
• Ensures compliance with CARE Vietnam’s procedures

Selection Criteria:

• University Degree in environment, climate change, disaster risk management or related subjects
• Strong experience/knowledge with climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and/or natural resource management , preferably in an international organization
• Good capacity to facilitate participatory climate change/disaster risk reduction tools, methodology, analysis, model development.
• Good communication, good facilitation and team work
• Fluent English
• Good writing skills in both English and Vietnamese
• Experience/skills with research, survey and documentation. 
• Understanding of ethnic minority issues, underlying causes of poverty, and respect for ethnic minority knowledge and capacities
• Experience with gender integration and women’s empowerment
• Previous experience in the Mekong Delta Region would be an advantage; and
• Willingness to travel frequently.

Child Protection:

CARE International in Vietnam is committed to protecting the rights of children in all areas we work around the world. Applicants are advised that CARE International in Vietnam reserves the right to screen candidates to ensure a child-safe environment. Further information can be found in the CARE Vietnam child protection policy.

Interested candidates should send a full CV in English and stating the position title to email: [email protected]. Closing date to apply for this position: 28 February 2014

The short-listed applicants will be contacted for interviews. Please no telephone contact after submitting the application.