CLOSED: Team leader, disaster management systems

Extended - previous closing date: 11 December 2008

Background

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), established in 1986, is a regional non-profit foundation with headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand supporting the advancement of safer communities and sustainable development, through implementing programs that reduce the impact of disasters upon countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific. ADPC is governed by its Board of Trustees and annually convenes the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management (RCC) that brings together National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) from 26 countries of the Asian region. ADPC is currently in transition to an Intergovernmental Organization, with the ADPC charter signed in 2005 by 9 founder member countries of the Asian region.

ADPC has 4 thematically focused teams that support the achievement of the overall vision, mission and goals of ADPC- namely Climate Risk Management (CRM), Disaster Risk Management (DMS), Public Health in Emergencies (PHE) and Urban Disaster Risk Management (UDRM). Details about the organization and its present programs are available at www.adpc.net

The Disaster Management Systems (DMS) Team focuses on the following areas:

1. Promoting good DRM Governance through Strengthening and Building Capacities of national, provincial and district government authorities and mechanisms on Disaster Risk Reduction.
2. Mainstreaming disaster risk management into development policy, planning and implementation in Asia
3. Promoting and enhancing capacities on Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) and its integration into local development planning and community development work.
4. Promoting regional cooperation and supporting the work of regional and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms in disaster management

There are 3 work groups/project clusters that deal with these thematic areas, led by Program/Project Managers.

The DMS team undertakes activities ranging from DRR program implementation, capacity building, training courses, networking and consolidating partnerships, developing tools and techniques, information management, research and documentation of good practices, and new program development related to the above thematic areas.

The DMS team works closely with the National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) to implement its projects in the partner countries as well as provides coordination and technical support as the Secretariat for the Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) for Disaster Management.

At present, the DMS team implements disaster risk reduction programs/projects in countries of South and South East Asia with national, regional and global partner agencies namely:

• Sectoral Agencies and ministries in national government including Ministries of Disaster Management, Planning, Education, Health, Agriculture, Public Works and Environment as well as provincial and district authorities on disaster management and development.
• UN agencies including UNDP, UN-ISDR, UNESCAP, UNEP, World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• International financial institutions namely World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• Donor agencies namely ECHO, GTZ, AusAID, DANIDA, Italian Ministry of Environment (IMET)
• Regional bodies namely ASEAN, SAARC, Mekong River Commission (MRC), and ICIMOD
• Regional organizations such as ADRC, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Pacific Disaster Center (PDC)
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and National Societies of South and South East Asia
• International and National NGOs in the region
• Research and Academic Institutions in Asia

Since its formation in July 2003, the DMS Team, headed by a full time Director and Team Leader with a multi disciplinary team of 15 professionals, has been implementing programs/projects from ADPC Office in Bangkok as well as ADPC project offices in Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao PDR and a newly established project team in Myanmar. The team works with reputed DRR specialists and practitioners on a regular basis for specific technical inputs in implementation of its programs.

The current Director and Team Leader of DMS who has been in this position since 2003 has assumed the responsibility of the Deputy Executive Director (DED) of ADPC since July 2008. It is planned that he will continue to hold the position of Director, DMS on part time (20 % of his time) basis and would provide overall guidance to the selected Team Leader and team members during a phase of transition.

Primary purpose of the position

• Strategic direction to the four DMS thematic areas;
• Programmatic leadership and operational management of programs/projects of DMS Team in Bangkok and in country offices;
• Accountability for achievement of expected results in the thematic areas
• Leadership to future program development and proposal writing
• Contribute to ADPC resource generation; program development and overall institutional growth

The position requires a high degree of technical knowledge, understanding and ability to interact with partners in the area of disaster risk reduction and development worldwide including senior level government officials, donors, UN Agencies, ADPC personnel, and other key partners.

General duties and responsibilities

• The DMS Team Leader has overall responsibility for the realization of the team vision, growth of thematic areas; the management, coordination and budgetary oversight of programs to achieve program results, ADPC goals and long term outcomes; and lead the development of a portfolio of projects for achievement of the team objectives and realization of the thematic areas.

Specific duties and responsibilities

• In consultation with Director (DMS) and the Program/Project Managers within DMS devising strategies and action plans as per the changing environment and the needs of stakeholders in the region;
• Build partnership with global, regional, and national parties to promote ADPC’s work in the thematic areas of the DMS team
• Providing leadership, mentoring and supervision of the Program Managers, Deputy Program Managers, Project Managers in the team
• Work with the Program Managers and Deputy Program Managers to develop the program frameworks for the key thematic areas
• Provide strategy, leadership and technical input to the existing projects/programs of DMS Team and for the design and development of future programs
• Develop new initiatives to strengthen ADPC’s work in the thematic areas
• Manage the provision of consultancy services in the DMS thematic areas to various partners, including program development, needs assessment, designing and delivery of training courses, program evaluation, and development of manuals etc;
• Manage the implementation of regional programs in the DMS thematic areas covering strategy planning, implementation, capacity building, advocacy, networking and facilitating sharing of experiences of multi-country stakeholders
• Develop and/or lead development of technical materials; e.g. manuals, guidebooks, handbooks on as needed basis;
• Identify opportunities and mobilize resources (which also includes writing and development of proposals) to expand and implement ADPC’s work in the DMS thematic areas
• Closely supervise the management of finances of programs being implemented by the DMS team
• Organize reporting to the donors for programs of the DMS team
• Manage the staff of DMS team; including development of work plans, supervision and professional development.
• Provide overall supervision and management of a multi-cultural and multi-skills team, developing its resource and skills
• Cultivate, nurture and sustain partnerships with donors, government agencies, and NGOs and other stakeholders on DRR and development
• Participate as a member of ADPC’s Executive Committee and contribute to ADPC resource generation strategy and institutional development
• Work closely with Directors/Team Leaders of Public Health Emergency (PHE), Climate Risk Management (CRM) and Urban Disaster Risk Management (UDRM) for program coordination, integration and synergy

Supervisor(s)

Director, DMS and Deputy Executive Director

Required qualifications/selection criteria

• Advanced University Degree in development and/or a related field.
• A minimum of 12 years of experience in disaster risk management including field experience; experience in developing/application of disaster risk reduction at different levels of which 5 should be at a senior management level in an organization of comparable nature
• Personal expertise and experience in at least one of the key technical areas of DMS Team and broad understanding and interest in developing expertise and capacities in other DMS technical areas
• Knowledge of the international and regional disaster management system; working experience with the National Disaster Management Offices in the Asian region would be an advantage
• Integrity and fairness -- embodies ADPC values and promotes the well-being of all individuals regardless of gender, religion, race, nationality, or age.
• Cultural sensitivity and adaptability – communicates effectively with and relates to people of different cultures, demonstrating an ability to see issues from other perspectives •
• Strong commitment to achieve the goals of ADPC as a whole making significant contributions to advancement of safer communities and sustainable development
• Ability to build strong partner relationships - establishes lasting relationships and substantive dialogue with partners and donors that create valuable intervention opportunities for the DMS team and ADPC as the whole
• Excellent computer/information systems skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to manage projects effectively - consistently ensuring timeliness and quality of project work
• Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment
• Excellent interpersonal and supervisory skills
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills
• Resourcefulness, initiative, and maturity of judgment