35-010 | Senior Program Officer - Water Resource Management

VACANCY TITLE: Senior Program Officer – Water Resources Management

LOCATION: Rotterdam, The Netherlands or Nairobi, Kenya

TERM: Initial contract duration 1 year with possibility of extension

INTENSITY: Full time – 40 hours per week

ANTICIPATED START DATE: As soon as possible

SALARY INDICATION: EUR 60,000 - 80,000 gross annually for the Netherlands. Salaries in other countries are adjusted to local market practices and cost of living.

ABOUT GCA

The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization that works as a solutions broker to catalyze action and support for adaptation solutions, from the international to the local, in partnership with the public and private sector, to ensure we learn from each other and work together for a climate resilient future. Adapting to impacts of climate change provides a “win-win” for health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth. The work of the GCA elevates the visibility and political importance of climate adaptation and facilitates solutions, such as smarter investments, new technologies and better planning to become more resilient to climate-related threats. GCA is a rapidly growing organization with offices in Rotterdam, Nairobi, Beijing, Dhaka, Abidjan and Groningen.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Join GCA’s Water and Urban Team as a Senior Program Officer – Water Resources Management. In this dynamic position, you will be at the forefront of policy advocacy and technical support for water climate adaptation. You will have the opportunity to shape a climate resilient future for Africa, under GCA’s work aiming to scale up and accelerate climate adaptation and resilience for water services in Africa. You will play a vital role in the technical and operational implementation of transformative technical assistance projects that facilitate integration of climate adaptation into a wide range of water resources management and water supply and sanitation investments and programs by collaborating closely with Multi-lateral Development Banks and national stakeholders across Africa. You will have the unique opportunity to develop and lead capacity-building activities with global experts, mainstreaming climate resilience in water and sanitation projects and programs. You will also pro-actively support the team’s activities under the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) with a specific focus on analytics and transformative technical assistance on climate adaptation policies that accelerate and scale up climate adaptation. In this role, you will have a chance to make a substantial impact, shaping strategies to enhance water resources resilience, protect communities, and address gender inequalities in the face of climate change. Join us at GCA, where we value diversity and inclusivity, offering a supportive and empowering work environment. Be part of a team that is driving meaningful change in securing a resilient future.

You will have the opportunity to shape a climate resilient future for Africa, by promoting and guiding integration of climate adaptation into a wide range of investments and programs by cultivating close collaboration with Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), such as the World Bank and Africa Development Bank, and national and local governments across Africa. You will be prompted to innovate climate adaptation strategies and solutions that are inclusive and scalable.

Under the oversight of the GCA Water and Urban Lead, the Senior Program Officer will carry out the following:

Project Management

• Conceptualize, design, implement, and supervise highly innovative and transformative technical assistance projects to accelerate water climate adaptation and resilience, particularly in Africa.

• Foster strong partnerships with MDB task teams to support the integration climate adaptation and resilience solutions in their water and sanitation projects, programs, and investments.

• Collaborate closely with MDB task teams, governments (national and local), and regional and local partners to support the integration of climate adaptation and resilience technical assistance activities into their water projects, programs, and investments.

• Coordinate with international, regional, and local partners to build climate risk informed decision-making capacities of national and local governments and non-governmental stakeholders.

• Participate in program planning, progress tracking, and reporting.

• Oversee the procurement of external expertise (individual consultants or firms) and implementation of their work, by developing Terms of References (ToRs) and evaluating bids.

• Technical management of specialist water climate adaptation and resilience firms and individuals and quality control of their deliverables.

Pipeline/Business Development

• Support pipeline development through concept note preparation, design, and implementation of highly innovative and transformative technical assistance projects to accelerate water climate adaptation and resilience in Africa. These technical assistance projects can cover climate risk assessments, gender vulnerability assessments, multicriteria prioritization of adaptation options pre-feasibility design of adaption options, nature-based solutions, climate- risk-informed water resources planning and management, and capacity building of water authorities.

• Explore and promote innovative approaches to climate adaptation in the water and sanitation sector.

Knowledge Management:

• Lead the preparation of knowledge products (e.g. policy briefs, news stories, reports) on GCA activities, in line with recent developments and trends in climate adaptation for the water and sanitation sectors.

• Ensure the quality of knowledge products and other outputs from external experts.

• Promote capacity strengthening internally among GCA staff and externally with partner organizations.

• Represent GCA’s Water and Urban Team in relevant workshops, capacity building events, and meetings to promote GCA’s agenda, strategy, and programs.

• Expand and maintain GCA’s network of international, national and local stakeholders in the water adaptation sector.