Director – Research, Knowledge Management, and Capacity Development

About CDRI

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions that aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development.

Vision

CDRI seeks to rapidly expand the development and retrofit of resilient infrastructure to respond to the SDG of expanding universal access to basic services, enabling prosperity and decent work. 

Mission

To support countries to upgrade their systems to ensure disaster and climate resilience of existing and future infrastructure.

Impact (that CDRI aims to achieve)

By 2050, over US$10 trillion of new and existing infrastructure investments and services are resilient to natural hazards and climate change through enhanced capacity, informed policy, planning, and management, leading to improved quality of environment, livelihood, and life of over 3 billion people. 

CDRI Mandate & Value Proposition

CDRI has been envisioned and established as a global network to advance the agenda, support coordinated action among stakeholders, and focus on bringing voices from vulnerable geographies and populations to international policy forums. Internationally agreed-upon goals in the SDFRR, the SDGs, and the Paris Climate Agreement provide the foundational framework that guides the Coalition’s vision and mission. 

As a global partnership, the Coalition aims to ensure that the investments of its members and partners are aligned and well-coordinated in support of the shared ambition of disaster and climate resilience of new and existing infrastructure. The two unique yet interconnected roles that CDRI shoulders in this direction are: 

• A Strong Coalition Driving Collaborative DRI Action: In 2023, CDRI stands as a partnership of 31 national governments, six international organizations and financial institutions, and two private sector organizations. The Coalition enjoys robust political support, which propels its efforts to advance the interests of its members and partners. 
• A Solution-Focused Centre of Excellence for DRI: As a Centre of Excellence for DRI, the Coalition strengthens the individual and collective capacities of its members and partners by aggregating and sharing knowledge, brokering need-based partnerships, and strengthening capacities through collaborative learning and action. 

Strategic Work Plan 2023-2026

CDRI’s Strategic Work Plan 2023-26 describes the broad contours of its priority actions and planned initiatives in the next four years. The Strategic Work Plan sets out a clear direction for the Coalition to pursue a transformational agenda for DRI in response to a changing risk landscape and evolving on-ground realities of its members. In the next four years, the Coalition will continue to leverage the expertise of its Member Countries and partners to develop context-specific, innovative solutions for resilient infrastructure towards the achievement of national priorities and global commitments of its members. 

With the Strategic Work Plan for 2023 – 2026, CDRI has set out the following strategic outcomes.

Strategic Outcome 1: A strong Coalition that has the membership, resources, and global leadership to drive global, national, regional, and local DRI action. 

Strategic Outcome 2: Global DRI research, Coalition-led peer engagement, and CDRI-curated and generated knowledge promote risk-informed policy and practice. 

Strategic Outcome 3: Enhanced capacities of government, private enterprises, and communities to implement post-disaster recovery and DRI action at scale. 

CDRI Headquarter (Secretariat)

The CDRI Headquarter is established in New Delhi, India, to act as the Secretariat of the Coalition. The Secretariat functions under the direction of the International Governing Council and Executive Committee to implement the programmes of CDRI. 

About the Position

CDRI is seeking an experienced professional for the Director – Research, Knowledge Management, and Capacity Development position to lead the research, knowledge management, and capacity development functions of the Coalition. The candidate will have indepth understanding of disaster resilience of infrastructure, can demonstrate leadership in (a) actionable research, (b) curation of global knowledge, and (c) capacity development for a variety of stakeholders and in multiple contexts, and can help establish CDRI as a global center of excellence on DRI. 

Reporting to the Director-General CDRI, the incumbent will head and ensure the effective accomplishment of activities under the Strategic Priority 2 of the Strategic Work Plan 2023-2026, while also providing leadership to other strategic priorities as appropriate.

The position is open to candidates from CDRI member countries and organizations. For candidates demonstrating considerable international experience, an international salary and benefits package will be offered. Candidates will have to demonstrate considerable experience in at least 5 countries across two UN geographic regions (from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern America, and Oceania) to meet the criteria for international staff.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Provide Thought Partnership to Coalition Leadership

• Be well-versed in global and regional agreements and commitments, such as the Sendai Framework for DRR, Sustainable Development Goals, and G20 communique, that influence global and regional actions related to disaster-resilient infrastructure.
• Provide thought partnership to members of the Governing Council, Executive Committee, and the Director General on these global and regional agreements and commitments.
• Develop research agendas and knowledge generation related to DRI that CDRI should support through regional and global partnerships. This includes building partnerships and support with governments, global organizations, philanthropies, think-tanks and academia. 
• Be responsible for curating knowledge products from CDRI’s programmatic engagements and lead research activities to inform programme development at CDRI
• Contribute knowledge to drafts of op-eds and other materials in accordance with the Coalition’s communications strategy to support the advocacy agenda for the Coalition.

2. Lead the Research, Knowledge Management and Capacity Development Functions at the Coalition

• In partnership with Coalition members, prepare and lead the organization’s research, knowledge management and capacity development strategies aimed at promoting action on disaster-resilient infrastructure.
• Lead key initiatives such as IRAX that aim to facilitate knowledge curation and generation to promote risk-informed policy and practice in member countries. 
• Establish a system of collecting, curating and synthesizing the latest research on topics related to disaster resilient infrastructure, from academics, think tanks and others, to share with coalition members.
• Develop capacity building initiatives, including using emerging technologies and tools, to train professionals and leaders across member countries on topics related to DRI. 
• Facilitate communities of practice and peer-learning modalities to support Coalition member and partner engagement on topics related to DRI.
• Lead the Fellowship Programme at CDRI.
• Represent the Coalition as a domain expert at global, regional, and local platforms focused on DRI.
• Study global best practices and innovation in DRI and identify opportunities for adapting and transferring such practices in various contexts.
• Examine institutional gaps and needs for the development of regulation of disaster risk reduction professionals worldwide.
• Facilitate the establishment of the CDRI’s DRI Connect as a one-stop DRI knowledge exchange and collaboration platform.
• Lead the preparation of CDRI’s Biennial Report on the state of global resilient infrastructure.

3. Be Part of the Leadership Team at the Secretariat

• Be part of the senior leadership team along with other Senior Directors and Directors, under the guidance of the Director General, to manage the operations of the Secretariat.
• Engage in organization-building activities, providing leadership as needed, to support the Coalition’s transition to an international organization.
• Develop, maintain, and update the CDRI Work Plan and its implementation. The strategy and work plan would include environmental and stakeholder assessment, objectives, monitoring and evaluation of impact, success, and improvement opportunities, and ongoing refinement of the work plan and its implementation strategy.
• Ensure that the CDRI Secretariat has a well-maintained and continually developed knowledge pool of individuals, groups, and organizations (including Governments, the UN, and National and International development agencies) whose support is essential in framing research projects and outcomes. 

4. Manage Research, Knowledge Management and Capacity Development Teams at the Secretariat

• Direct and oversee all activities related to stakeholder management, administration, planning, and programme support within the Research, Knowledge Management and Capacity Development team.
• Lead formulation and coordinated implementation of the substantive work programme of CDRI’s Research, Knowledge Management and Capacity Development team, determining priorities and allocating resources, including human resources, for the timely completion and delivery of outputs.
• Oversee the programmatic/administrative tasks necessary for the functioning of the team, including preparation of budgets, assigning and monitoring of performance parameters and critical indicators, reporting on budget/programme performance, preparation of inputs for results-based budgeting, evaluation of staff performance, interviews of candidates for job openings and evaluation of candidates.
• Manage the work of external consultants and research institutions engaged by the Coalition to support research, knowledge management and capacity development functions, including procurement, quality control, timely deliverables, and close-out of contracts.
• Work with other teams within the Secretariat and coalition partners on the monitoring and evaluation of CDRI’s key intiatives 
• Perform other duties as decided by the Director General, CDRI. 

Key Competencies (refer to Annexure 1 for the detailed definitions)

1. Technical and Analytical Skill
2. Meticulous 
3. Timeliness 
4. Analytical & Problem Solving
5. Delivering Results
6. Dependability 
7. Managing people & process 
8. Innovation & Resourcefulness
9. Engaging & Partnering (Interpersonal / Teamwork)
10. Stakeholder Management 
11. Working Collaboratively 
12. Appreciate and encourage different culture context.
13. Leadership
14. Able to see Big Picture
15. Decision Making
16. Inspires motivates & empowers others.
17. Team Management
18. Communication
19. Willingness to listen and express dissenting views. 
20. Is able to clearly convey ideas and information.

Qualifications:

Educational Criteria:

• Post-Graduate qualification covering research in infrastructure, engineering, architecture, earth sciences, disaster management, climate change, environment, knowledge management, policy, management, or another related field. 
• A doctorate or equivalent degree in a field relevant to the profile's technical requirements is desirable. 

Experience Criteria:

• Over 15 years of progressively responsible experience in research, knowledge creation and management, and capacity building related to disaster risk reduction, infrastructure resilience, climate change, sustainable development, environment, or related area is required. 
• Demonstrable experience of high-quality research involving multiple research methods, tools and techniques, qualitative and quantitative approaches, and industry-driven research is required.
• Demonstrable experience in collaborative research to influence high-level leadership, policymakers, industry, and other external stakeholders is required. 
• Experience in leadership positions, including leading complex planning processes, interacting with, and establishing productive cooperation with diverse partners comprising Governments, the UN, multilateral systems, industry, financial sector, knowledge, and Research institutions, is required. 
• Track record of patents, publications in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, serving as editor or reviewer of international journals, publishing books/chapters, serving in technical or standard committees, etc., is desirable.
• Experience in leadership positions at global organizations, including familiarity with internal organizational systems and processes related to procurement, team management, budgeting, resource allocation, etc.
• Demonstrable experience in designing and delivering innovative capacity building on topics related to DRI in a variety of contexts is required.  
• Experience working in the UN systems is desirable. 
• Experience in hosting and representing organizations at high-level international conferences and events is desirable. 
• Experience in research on key infrastructure sectors is desirable.
• Strong analytical, written, editing, and verbal skills for communicating with broad and diverse stakeholders, including the ability to present complex ideas in simple ways.

Location

This position will be based at the CDRI Secretariat in New Delhi, India, as a full-time staff with a Fixed Term Contract of three (3) years, renewable for an additional three (3) years.   

Reporting Line 

The Director – Research, Knowledge Management, and Capacity Development will report to the Director General, CDRI.

Language Proficiency

• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Knowledge of any of the UN official languages will be an asset.

How to Apply:

If you have experience working in a similar capacity, are passionate about sustainable development, and want to make an active and lasting contribution to a global initiative, please apply through the online application form on or before the last date.

Application Process: Online application form will be available at https://app.cdri.world/career/public/.

CDRI is committed to achieving workforce diversity in gender, nationality, and culture. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. CDRI's promotes equal employment opportunities at all stages of recruitment. CDRI does not discriminate against any candidate on any grounds, including age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or disability.

CDRI has ZERO Tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment and gender / racial discrimination. Any selection, therefore, will be subject to satisfactory reference and background checks.