Director – Program Management & Technical Support

Posting Date

23 June 2023

Location

New Delhi, India

Grade

Senior Director or Director depending on experience and qualifications

Salary and benefits

Salary will be offered commensurate with experience and qualifications

Contract

Fixed Term Contract (3 years), extendable to another 3 years, Full-Time

Occupational Groups

Programme and Project Management, Infrastructure Resilience, Disaster Risk Mitigation, Technical Support, Stakeholder Management

Last Date of application

16 July 2023

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 seeks an experienced professional for the role of Senior Director/ Director – Program Management & Technical Support to lead the technical programmes at the Coalition. The candidate will have an indepth understanding of disaster resilience of infrastructure and can demonstrate leadership in (a) programme development and implementation, and (b) technical assistance related to resilience of critical and social infrastructure across multiple country contexts.

Reporting to the Director-General CDRI, the incumbent will head and ensure the effective accomplishment of activities under the Strategic Priority 3 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 regional and global partnerships to support delivering innovative technical support to member countries. This includes building partnerships and support with government departments, global organizations with domain expertise, professional organizations, etc.
• Contribute expertise to drafts of op-eds and other materials in accordance with the Coalition’s communications strategy to support the advocacy agenda for the Coalition.

1. Lead the Technical Support Functions at the Coalition

• In partnership with Coalition members, prepare and lead the organization’s technical support strategies aimed at promoting action on disaster-resilient infrastructure.
• Lead and oversee the development and implementation of the Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund (IRAF) Multi Partner Trust Fund programme portfolio and funding windows in line with approved programmatic priorities set by the Trust Fund Management Committee.
• Lead key initiatives such as IRIS, as well as sectoral studies related to critical and social infrastructure, and disaster risk financing, that aim to to promote risk-informed policy and practice in member countries.
• In partnership with Coalition members, develop programmes to scale up current initiatives, and develop new programmes aimed and strengthening resilient infrastructure across member countries.
• Work with other Directors to build a robust capacity building programme on DRI, including sourcing case studies on innovations and best practices from members, and delivering programmes for leaders and infrastructure professionals in member countries.
• Prepare a roster of experts across different domains related to DRI who can participate in CDRI’s programme development and implementation.
• Represent the Coalition as a domain expert at global, regional, and local platforms focused on DRI.

1. 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 and implement programme management systems that support the functioning of the coaltion as an international organization.
• Develop training initiatives to build internal staff capacity to deliver technical programmes effectively, to high standards, and in a timely manner.

1. Manage Technical Support Teams at the Secretariat

• Direct and oversee all activities related to stakeholder management, administration, planning, and programme support within the Technical Support team.
• Lead formulation and coordinated implementation of the substantive work programme of CDRI’s Technical Supportteam, 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 institutions engaged by the Coalition to support technical assistance 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 including IRAF funded programmes and projects.
• Perform other reasonable 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:

Education Criteria –

• Post-Graduate qualification in engineering, planning, architecture, environmental sciences, climate change, applied sciences, or a related field are preferred.
• A doctorate / PhD degree in a field relevant to the profile’s technical requirements would be desirable.

Experience Criteria –

• A minimum of twenty (20) years of relevant experience for Senior Director position or fifteen (15) years of relevant experience for Director position in programme/project management related to disaster risk reduction, sustainable development, resilient infrastructure, environment, or related areas is required.
• Experience working in infrastructure sectors (such as Power, Telecom, Transport, Water, Health, Urban Infrastructure, etc.) for at least 7 years is desirable.
• Experience in senior management positions, including resource mobilization and partnership building, is required.
• Experience in leadership positions, including leading complex programmes, and interacting with, and establishing productive cooperation with a diverse number of partners comprising Governments, the UN, multilateral systems, business, science, and civil society, is required.
• Experience overseeing office management in large international organizations is desirable.
• Experience working in an infrastructure consultancy or advisory with expertise in strategy and organizational leadership is desirable.
• Experience representing organizations at high-level international conferences and events is desirable.
• Experience advocating for the core mandate of organizations with a wide range of partners is desirable.

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 Senior Director/ Director – Program Management & Technical Support will report to the Director General of CDRI.

Language Requirements:

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