Lead Specialist- Partnerships & External Relations At Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

Job Description

Lead Specialist – Partnerships & External Relations

Organization

Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)

Posting Date

24 April 2024

Location

New Delhi

Grade

Lead Specialist

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

External Relations, Partnerships, Public and International Relations, Stakeholder Management

Last Date

7 May 2024

About CDRI:

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.

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.”

CDRI Head Quarter (Secretariat)

The CDRI headquarters is established in New Delhi, India, to act as the Secretariat of CDRI. The Secretariat functions under the direction of the International Governing Council and implements CDRI programs.

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.

Position

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.

The position is open to candidates from CDRI member countries. 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.

Objective of the position

Lead Specialist Partnerships & External Relations is responsible for stewarding Coalition’s Members and Strategic Partners portfolio, which currently has 46 Members and will be expected to grow by at least 25% during the strategic period (2023-2026).

Lead Specialist plays a critical role in identifying areas of collaboration and leveraging resources to build engagements with the Member Countries and Organizations and expand the scope and impact of the Coalition’s Strategic Work Plan.

The portfolio includes Member Countries, International Organizations, MDBs, the Private Sector, Academic Institutions, and think tanks and Philanthropies. The role will lead efforts to steward existing and new members to support in the achievement of Strategic Outcomes of the Strategic Work Plan.

CDRI is looking for an experienced professional for the position of Lead Specialist –Partnerships & External Relations to work under the supervision of the Director- Partnerships, Governance, and Resource Mobilisation on the following deliverables, but not limited to:

• Steward and cultivate relationships with the existing and prospective Members of the Coalition.
• Develop Partnership Engagement and Relationship Management Framework in line with the CDRI Strategic Work Plan (2023-26).
• Develop joint work plans/areas of cooperation, formalize agreements and MoUs, make talking points, respond to inquiries, and perform other related activities.
• Design, build, and maintain systems and processes that will facilitate relationship management and engagement with a broad range of members, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Identify relevant national and international forums and platforms for strengthening CDRI’s engagement and expanding the Coalition’s membership.
• Coordinate closely with the key ministries, government agencies, development partners, private sector, and other relevant stakeholders concerning disaster resilient infrastructure activities and maintain up-to-date information on their activities and programs.
• Coordinate across teams to gather up-to-date programmatic input and facilitate the implementation of Joint Work Plans, cooperation agreements, and frameworks in alignment with organizational priorities from a partnerships and external relations lens.
• Oversee timelines and deliverables for members and streamline processes in collaboration with cross-functional teams to ensure the timely delivery of the commitments.
• Build and maintain Coalition’s member database to record and track all existing and prospective Member’s portfolios.
• Craft impactful content to support members stay connected to our mission and impact.
• Conduct thorough research and analysis to identify potential funding opportunities and stay updated on industry trends and best practices. Identify and pursue new funding opportunities and ways to expand the donor base.
• Assist with other duties as assigned.

Skills Set

• Demonstrated strategic, technical, and intellectual skills in the substantive area.
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of key donors, their priorities, and areas of interest, as well as adapting content and approaches of resource mobilization activities to their requirements.
• Demonstrated experience in managing multilateral decision-making processes.
• Understanding of more advanced aspects of resource mobilization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines.
• Experience in establishing partnerships and networks with partners.
• Demonstrated leadership, facilitation, and coordination skills and ability to manage the technical team.
• Proven ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.
• Experience working in an international organization.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and a proven ability to be flexible in demanding situations.
• Analytical and strategic planning skills and the ability to handle multiple priorities.
• The ability to present information and concepts clearly, both verbally and on paper.
• Proven ability to draw inputs from multiple disciplines and synthesize them to address specific problems.
• Experience in drafting knowledge products such as books, articles, research papers, toolkits, guides, policy papers and notes, baseline studies, and/or comparative studies.
• Familiarity with international frameworks like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
• Strong interpersonal written and oral communication skills.
• Past track record/Ability to deliver timely and quality products independently.
• Computer proficiency, especially related to professional office software packages (Microsoft Office)

Key Competencies (detailed in annexure 1)

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. Ability 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. Ability to clearly convey ideas and information.

Qualifications:

Master’s degree in international relations, public relations, international cooperation for development, communication, social science, journalism, political science, or related fields is preferred.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of overall experience with at least 4 years of leadership experience at the national or international level, including experience within the international development system on resource mobilization and partnership development.

Minimum 3 years of experience as a staff or consultant in an international organization. Familiarity with fundraising for development programming is preferred. Specific experience in disaster risk reduction will be given additional weightage.

Language Requirements:

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

CDRI Competency Definitions (Annexure 1)

S.no

Competency

Sub Areas

Definition

1

Technical & Analytical Skill (Quality of Work)

Meticulous

The resource is able to conduct comprehensive and accurate research on all subject matters; is able to conduct meaningful consultations with sector experts. The documents and presentations prepared by the resource are of high quality, i.e., cover all key aspects, have a logical flow/structure, aesthetically appealing and error-free. The resource has a high level of accuracy in data analysis and reporting. Additionally, the resource displays high-level accuracy in all other project-related tasks, e.g., assessment planning, training, logistics planning, finance management, review and quality check of the tasks assigned to junior team members.

Timelines

The resource holds self and others accountable for delivering high-quality results in a timely manner. Determines objectives, sets priorities, and delegates work. Can prioritize tasks and ensures that they are accomplished based on both importance and urgency.

Analytical & Problem Solving

The resource has a logical approach to solving problems at hand. This involves building a strong understanding of the problem statement/ tasks; using in-depth research and data analysis to effectively consider all relevant parameters/variables in the ecosystem; pre-empt any gaps or counteraction while developing/ designing solutions to the said problem; critically analyze and compare all possible scenarios and take the most effective decision. This should be evaluated in tasks such as developing frameworks for assessment, preparing a concept note or presentation, designing scope of work for new projects, data analysis/ reporting of assessment results, etc.

2

Delivering Results

Dependability

The resource goes out of their way, of their own accord to ensure that the project deliverables are met. They ensure that the team is aligned to the broader objective of the project. The person does not require follow-up regarding the progress of their deliverables, and you have absolute faith that they will put in their utmost best at all times. Their team, colleagues, members and partners can count on them.

Managing People & Process

The resource builds and manages the workforce based on organizational goals, budget considerations, and staffing needs. Ensures employees are appropriately recruited, selected, appraised, and rewarded; takes action to address performance problems. Manages a multi-sector workforce and a variety of work situations.

Innovation & Resourcefulness

In times of fast transition or when the organization needs to adapt quickly due to subpar or declining performance, the employee acts as an innovator or change agent. Has a strong sense of direction, is able to see opportunities clearly, and is at ease with change. Keeps up with significant advancements in his or her specialty and with chances for innovation within the company. Comes up with unique answers to challenging difficulties and looks for creative or unconventional solutions in challenging problem situations. possesses a sound understanding of when to introduce innovations or modifications. The resource displays managerial resourcefulness as he/she can manage one’s feelings and emotions, and one’s intentions and action orientation.

3

Engaging & Partnering (Interpersonal/ Teamwork)

Stakeholder Management

The resource has a very balanced communication etiquette with stakeholders of all ranks. The person is punctual in following up with the stakeholders and effectively collaborates with them on various tasks. The person is proactive in managing them by pre-empting their demands by reaching out to them in advance. The person is able to develop trustful relationships and ensures that the client is always well informed about relevant project details. The resource strategically analyzes situations and takes the most appropriate measures to resolve crises at his/her own level without needing help from others.

Working Collaboratively

The resource plays a key role in maintaining good culture in the team and takes special effort to ensure bad elements are addressed immediately. Helps teams increase their capabilities, maximize their potential and recognize their options while encouraging departments to work collaboratively for the good of individuals and the organization. Values and respects the contributions of all team members.

Appreciate & encourage different cultural context

The resource values the diverse backgrounds and characteristics of individuals, and helps employees understand and respond to the culture of other employees. Interacts sensitively with diverse cultures. Employs honest interactions, courtesy, empathy and sensitivity to how communication affects others. Fosters an inclusive workplace where diversity and individual differences are valued and leveraged to achieve the vision and mission of the organization.

4

Leadership

Able to see Big Picture

The resource takes a long-term view and builds a shared vision with others, acts as a catalyst for organization change. Influences others to translate vision into action. Capitalizes opportunities and manages risks. Is remarkable in his/her ability to evaluate the current state of affairs, to delve into the details, and determine how to overcome problems in order to move ahead. At the same time, can look out into the distance, visualize where the organization needs to go, and lead others towards the goal.

Decision Making

The resource is able to evaluate all variables and be pragmatic and judicious in setting the vision and roadmap for the project/ tasks. Communicates his/her plan to the team and effectively collaborates with them to execute work to the best of their capabilities. Empowers employees to participate in decision-making They are open to feedback, criticism, and questions from all members of the team (senior and junior) and are willing to discuss and adapt their point of view, in light of new information/ ideas.

Inspires, motivates, & empowers others

The resource has the ability to convey confidence in employees’ ability to be successful, especially at challenging new tasks; delegates significant responsibility and authority; allows employees freedom to decide how they will accomplish their goals and resolve issues. Uses a variety of approaches to energize and inspire others. Inspires others’ commitment to their work and organizational excellence.

Team Management

The resource inspires and fosters team commitment, spirit, pride, and trust. Facilitates cooperation and motivates team members to accomplish group goals. Identify employee’s strengths and weaknesses, evaluate workloads, and split tasks among team members accordingly. Possesses a high emotional quotient and exceptional empathy. Have the know-how to build relationships, foster communication, and strengthen bonds between teammates.

5

Communication

Willingness to listen & express dissenting views

The resource interacts sensitively with diverse cultures. Uses his/her insights and perceptions to create greater diversity and multiculturalism and to respond positively to different community and demographic groups. Knows that better ideas come from diverse perspectives, therefore, respects cognitive diversity. Understands the underlying reasons for different behaviors. Model healthy communication with employees and teammates. Employs honest interactions, courtesy, empathy, and sensitivity to how communication affects others.

Is able to clearly convey ideas & information

The resource engages effectively with all stakeholders; able to assign tasks and guide their teams & report the workings of team effectively to their senior. Summarizes or paraphrases his/her understanding of what others have said to verify understanding and prevent miscommunication. Ensures that others involved in a project or effort are kept informed about developments and plans. Has the capacity for clear and persuasive communication.