Head of Emergency Management, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Dushanbe

About the Agency:

A new agency, the Aga Khan Agency for the Habitat (AKAH), works to ensure that people live in physical settings that are as safe as possible from the effects of natural disasters, that residents who do live in such high risk areas are able to cope with disasters in terms of preparedness and response, and that these settings provide access to social and financial services that lead to greater opportunities and a better quality of life. The new agency merges the activities of the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, with its prize-winning water and sanitation programmes and low-cost habitat products, such as smoke-free stoves; the humanitarian arm of AKDN, FOCUS, which promotes disaster mitigation and resiliency and intervenes after disasters; the AKDN’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative, which focuses on disaster preparedness in remote areas; and the environment- and habitat-related activities of the Aga Khan Foundation, including the Prince Sadruddin Fund for the Environment and the Foundation’s highly regarded rural support programmes.

The position:

Based in Dushanbe, the Head of Emergency Management will be responsible for coordinating the AKDN’s overall readiness to respond to disaster events in Central And South Asia and coordinating non-structural programming to reduce the hazard risk of vulnerable population, particularly in high mountain areas. S/he will oversee and coordinate the development of plans, policies, procedures and guidelines governing the operation of emergency management and be responsible for at least one emergency simulation exercise per year to assess the effectiveness of AKDN, country level disaster management plans.

The Head of Emergency Management will support the establishment of Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) as required and organizing the training of staff to serve as EOC directors and incident commanders as well as the investigation of disaster incidents to determine causes. S/he will manage the AKDN Spatial Data Infrastructure in accordance with strict data governance policies and generating geospatial products and services as required.

The successful candidate would have:

• A Master’s Degree or higher in emergency management, natural hazards management or related disciplines;
• At least 10 years of emergency management experience in developing countries and demonstrable expertise in Incident Command Systems-based response methods;
• Field experience with light or medium weight urban search and rescue teams, particularly in high mountain areas;
• At least three years training experience in one or more emergency management subject areas;
• Strong cultural sensitivity to Central and South Asia, and a willingness to travel to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, India and Kyrgyzstan, as well as internationally as required;
• Proven managerial skills and an ability to collaborate effectively with regional and international subject-matter experts; and
• An exceptional ability to communicate effectively in both written and spoken English.