Director - Technical Assistance

Position

The position is open to candidates of all nationalities.

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 hire.

Objective of the position

• CDRI seeks an experienced professional for the role of Director – Technical Assistance to lead and manage the Coalition’s core technical expert teams across critical infrastructure sectors, including transport, power, telecommunications, and water. The candidate should have a strong engineering and infrastructure development background, with expertise in disaster resilience, climate adaptation, design standards, planning, and global best practices. The position requires demonstrated leadership in overseeing multi-sector technical teams, technical assistance, and guiding the integration of resilience measures into infrastructure planning, design, and implementation.
• The position is responsible for providing strategic and technical leadership to CDRI’s infrastructure resilience initiatives, ensuring the scientific and technical credibility of outputs. The incumbent will manage and mentor technical experts in their respective domains and ensure alignment of their work with international standards, climate resilience frameworks, and risk-informed infrastructure development. The Director will also lead the development of sector-specific guidelines, technical assistance, risk assessments, and technical knowledge products that support capacity building and decision-making at the global and national levels.
• The incumbent will play a critical role in supporting the delivery of Strategic Priority 3 of the Strategic Work Plan 2023–2026, focused on enhancing the resilience of infrastructure systems. The role will also contribute technical leadership to other strategic priorities as needed, ensuring consistent quality and innovation across CDRI’s programs. The ideal candidate will bring a combination of deep technical expertise, global exposure, and strong leadership to strengthen CDRI’s position as a thought leader in disaster and climate-resilient infrastructure.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

Leadership & Oversight

• Lead and mentor a technical experts team comprising infrastructure sector experts (transport, power, telecom, water other relevant areas).
• Provide strategic guidance on infrastructure resilience and technical innovation across CDRI programs.
• Promote cross-sectoral coordination and ensure alignment of infrastructure resilience goals across technical portfolios with the CDRI mandate.

Technical Strategy & Standards Integration

• Provide technical leadership and direction, defining and implementing activities to achieve the greatest impact toward project goals and objectives.
• Ensure adoption and adaptation of global codes, standards, and climate-resilient design practices into programmatic workstreams.
• Lead technical reviews of reports, design frameworks, risk assessments, and resilience strategies to maintain technical quality and credibility.
• Guide the development of CDRI’s technical frameworks, model codes, and knowledge products.

Programmatic Engagement

• Provide technical leadership to ongoing and upcoming programs under Strategic Priority 3 of the Strategic Work Plan 2023-2026, while also providing leadership to other strategic priorities as appropriate.
• Collaborate with international and regional stakeholders, including governments, multilateral institutions, and technical agencies, to ensure program relevance and global resonance.
• Work closely with the other internal teams to integrate technical inputs into program design, budgeting, and implementation plans.

Capacity Development & Knowledge Exchange

• Drive institutional learning by curating and disseminating best practices on infrastructure resilience, disaster risk reduction, and technical innovation.
• Oversee capacity-building initiatives including technical training modules, guidance documents, and sector-specific resilience assessments.
• Engage in global forums, technical advisory panels, and expert committees representing CDRI’s thought leadership.

Quality Assurance & Monitoring

• Develop and implement internal technical quality assurance protocols.
• Review technical deliverables and ensure alignment with project milestones and international expectations.
• Monitor emerging trends, technologies, and innovations in infrastructure engineering and resilience.

Management

Contribute to Secretariat’s management functions, including:

• Program and Project management.
  • Developing Key Results Areas and Key Progress Indicators for the practice and program team.
  • Reporting to CDRI governing bodies and funding agencies.
  • Representing CDRI in global dialogues related to resilient infrastructure.
  • Convening and conducting strategic consultations with external stakeholders, as required.

Skills

• Proven leadership in managing multi-sectoral infrastructure resilience programmes across countries, with a strong background in infrastructure engineering, resilience planning, and technical program management.
• Demonstrated ability to design and deliver complex infrastructure programs focused on infrastructure resilience, climate adaptation, including oversight of technical assistance, project design, risk assessment, stress modeling, and implementation of integrated infrastructure solutions.
• Deep expertise in infrastructure engineering principles, performance-based and climate-adaptive design, and application of national and international codes and standards for resilient infrastructure development.
• Demonstrated ability to drive transformative impact in the resilience of critical infrastructure sectors through strategic technical leadership, by guiding cross-sectoral teams, advancing infrastructure resilience solutions, and mainstreaming risk-informed, climate-adaptive design across programs and projects.
• Advanced technical proficiency in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, sustainable infrastructure planning, and integration of nature-based and hybrid engineering approaches into critical infrastructure systems.
• Proficient in the use of geospatial technologies, hazard risk modeling, project management tools, and methodologies for vulnerability assessment and risk-informed planning.
• Experienced in developing sector-specific technical guidance documents, resilience assessment frameworks, engineering toolkits, and decision-making checklists tailored to infrastructure systems.
• Strong track record of engaging with global and national stakeholders, including governments, private sector, international development agencies, UN bodies, multilateral institutions, and regulatory authorities to mainstream resilience and sustainability in infrastructure policies, programs, and planning.
• Proven capability to align infrastructure strategies with international frameworks such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement.
• Adept in inter-agency collaboration, establishing technical partnerships, and contributing to the design and development of donor-funded infrastructure programs, including drafting technical proposals and investment plans.
• Experienced in working with international organizations, governments, the UN system, multilateral development banks, financial institutions, research institutions, and industry bodies across multi-country settings
• Strong analytical, strategic planning, and technical writing skills with the ability to synthesize complex technical data into policy-relevant recommendations and high-level deliverables.
• Track record in fostering innovation within technical teams, ensuring quality assurance, and applying project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Primavera) to monitor and report impact on round.

Qualifications

• Master's in transport, energy, power, telecommunications, water resource engineering, infrastructure planning, disaster risk management, or a related technical field relevant to disaster risk management (DRM). Candidates with international education are highly desirable.

Experience required

• 15+ years of relevant professional experience, including a minimum of 6 years in senior leadership roles at the national or international level, managing multi-sectoral technical teams and leading infrastructure resilience projects or initiatives with demonstrated expertise across key sectors such as transport, telecommunications, power, and water.

Reporting Line

• The incumbent will report to the Senior Director or the appropriate role per the approved organizational structure.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English, both oral and written.
• Proficiency in UN languages other than English will be an asset.

If you have experience working in a similar capacity and want to make an active and lasting contribution to a global initiative spearheaded by India, please apply through the online application form only.