Senior Specialist - Capacity Development

1. POSITION(S) VACANT: Senior Specialist - Capacity Development, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), New Delhi

2. ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND:

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programs, 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.

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 SFDRR, 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:

(1) A Strong Coalition Driving Collaborative DRI Action: In 2025, CDRI stands as a partnership of 48 national governments and eight international organizations. The Coalition enjoys robust political support, which propels its efforts to advance the interests of its members and partners.
(2) 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.

(1) Strategic Outcome 1: A strong Coalition that has the membership, resources, and global leadership to drive global, national, regional, and local DRI action.
(2) Strategic Outcome 2: Global DRI research, Coalition-led peer engagement, and CDRI-curated and generated knowledge promote risk-informed policy and practice.
(3) Strategic Outcome 3: Enhanced capacities of government, private enterprises, and communities to implement post-disaster recovery and DRI action at scale.

For more information about CDRI, please visit https://cdri.world/

3. JOB DESCRIPTION/ RESPONSIBILITIES:

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 is looking for an experienced professional for the position of Senior Specialist (Capacity Development) to work under the supervision of Lead Specialist (Capacity Development)/Director (RKM&CD). The incumbent will support activities relating to capacity development and deployments for disaster and sustainable development sectors.

Responsibilities:

Key responsibilities include:

(1) Support in delivery of online and in person capacity building programmes of CDRI including master classes, webinars, in-person training programmes and other such capacity building initiatives.
(2) Support in development of capacity building training modules and online courses for CDRI.

(3) Support in coordinating with various partner organizations for delivery of webinars and other capacity building initiatives through the Learning and Knowledge Management Portal of CDRI.

(4) Support in designing and delivery of peer learning visits and other such knowledge exchange initiatives.

(5) Support and facilitate developing a system for identifying and contracting of professionals and partners for delivering of various online and in person capacity building programmes of CDRI.

(6) Conduct horizon scanning and analysis to draw in learnings from various capacity building and learning initiatives and networks that exist across CDRI member countries and globally.

(7) Work closely with the programme teams and support in conducting capacity building need assessment across sectors and geographies/programme constituencies (national, regional and global).

(8) Support close coordination with government agencies, development partners, training institutions and other relevant stakeholders to support the design and delivery of various capacity building initiatives.

(9) Support in organizing needs assessment survey, pre and post workshop assessment and development of workshop reports.

(10) Attend and document meetings or consultations with external stakeholders as required.

4. QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS:

Qualifications:
(1) Master's in management, international development, sustainable development, disaster management, infrastructure planning, urban and regional planning, and/or any other relevant related fields. PhD in relevant subjects will be given additional weightage. Candidates with international education are desirable.

(2) Candidates who do not meet the minimum academic qualification requirements, such as a Master’s degree or equivalent, may be considered eligible (with Bachelor’s degree) if they possess at least two (02) additional years of relevant professional experience beyond the required years of experience for the position.

Experience:
(1) Minimum eight years of overall experience with proven experience of designing and delivering capacity development programmes, roster management in private and/or public and/or international development sectors. Specific experience in infrastructure resilience and disaster risk reduction will be given additional weightage.

(2) Candidates meeting the minimum academic qualification requirements (master's) but falling short of the stipulated years of experience requirement by no more than six months can also apply.

Skills:

Essential:

(1) Demonstrated technical, planning and coordination skills and the ability to work effectively in a technical team.

(2) Proven ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.

(3) Excellent written, communication and analytical skills and the ability to present information and concepts clearly, both verbally and on paper.

(4) Proven ability to be flexible in demanding situations and handle multiple priorities.

(5) Ability to work independently, deliver timely and quality products.

(6) Familiarity with international frameworks like the SDGs and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

(7) Computer proficiency, especially in professional office software packages (Microsoft Office).

Desirable:

(1) Experience of working in international organizations.

(2) Proven relevant experience of about 5 years in the field of capacity development.

(3) Experience of implementing capacity development initiatives/ e-learning modules in developing countries and good understanding of capacity building and roster development strategies worldwide would be an advantage.

5. REPORTING LINE:

The incumbent will report to the appropriate role per the approved organizational structure

6. LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS:

(1) Fluency in English, both oral and written.

(2) Knowledge of any of the UN's official languages will be an asset.

7. SALARY AND BENEFITS:

Competitive.

8. LOCATION:

CDRI Secretariat, New Delhi, India.

9. REFERENCE: SS-CD-CDRI

10. CONTRACT DURATION:

Fixed Term Contract (3 years), extendable for up to another 3 years.

11. CONTACT INFORMATION:

Team SAMS
Strategic Alliance Management Services P Ltd.
1/1B Choudhary Hetram House, Bharat Nagar

New Friends Colony, New Delhi 110025
Phone Nos.: 011-4081 9900; 4165 3612

12. APPLICATION PROCESS:

Eligible candidates interested in this position are requested to submit their Cover Letters and Resumes at the earliest at the following link https://samsstc.com/Jobs/job-description/senior-specialist-capacity-development-coalition-for-disaster-resilient-infrastructure-new-delhi/157. The Cover Letter should be a maximum of two pages, discussing the candidate’s interest and suitability for the role.

CDRI is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, and culture. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with strict confidence.

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.

[Note: Data Privacy (DPDPA Compliance): Personal data submitted by all applicants, including international candidates, for recruitment purposes, will be processed by SAMS in accordance with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA).]