Emergency and Resilience Specialist

Organizational Context

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) supports the 2030 Agenda by transforming agrifood systems for better production, nutrition, environment, and life. As a UN specialized agency, FAO leads global efforts to combat hunger and ensure food security. In Nepal, the FAO Country Office provides policy advice, technical assistance, and capacity development. The Emergency and Resilience Specialist will collaborate with national ministries and agencies, joining the emergency and resilience team to address disaster preparedness, recovery, and response efforts in the country.

Job Purpose

The Emergency and Resilience Specialist will provide technical leadership and coordination for the design, implementation, and monitoring of comprehensive emergency preparedness, anticipatory action, disaster response, recovery, and resilience programmes. This role ensures that all programming is evidence-based, effectively coordinated within humanitarian frameworks, including the Food Security Cluster, and fully aligned with Nepal's national policies and FAO's strategic priorities. The specialist will drive initiatives that strengthen the country's capacity to anticipate, respond to, and recover from disasters, fostering long-term resilience in agrifood systems. This involves strategic planning, operational oversight, and fostering strong partnerships to achieve sustainable outcomes.

Responsibilities

The Emergency and Resilience Specialist will lead the formulation of strategic documents, including project proposals, concept notes, and analytical reports, for emergency preparedness, anticipatory action, disaster response, recovery, and resilience programming. This role involves representing FAO in national humanitarian coordination mechanisms and the Food Security Cluster, providing technical inputs on disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, and climate risk management. The specialist will foster strong partnerships with government, UN agencies, and NGOs, ensuring interventions align with national policies. Key duties include coordinating multi-sectoral needs and impact assessments, utilizing climate forecasts and early warning data for evidence-based programming, and providing technical and operational support for programme design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The incumbent will also develop country-level strategies, facilitate capacity development initiatives for partners, monitor programme performance, and contribute to resource mobilization efforts. Furthermore, the role involves managing programme information systems, supporting geospatial analysis, and contributing to advocacy and communication to document achievements and promote best practices.

Work Experience

A minimum of three years of professional experience is required in emergency and resilience programming, encompassing disaster risk reduction (DRR), preparedness, anticipatory action, and humanitarian response. This experience should include project formulation, implementation, coordination, and monitoring. Working knowledge of both English and Nepali languages is essential, and candidates must be nationals of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

Skills

The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong results focus, teamwork, communication, relationship building, and a commitment to knowledge sharing. Essential technical skills include expertise in emergency preparedness, disaster risk reduction, climate risk management, anticipatory action, and early warning systems. Proficiency in humanitarian response, recovery, and resilience programming, alongside project formulation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation, is crucial. The role requires strong coordination abilities, particularly within the Food Security Cluster and inter-agency settings, and effective stakeholder engagement. Candidates must be skilled in needs assessment, vulnerability analysis, evidence-based reporting, resource mobilization, and knowledge management. Excellent computer skills, including MS Office, are necessary for preparing technical documents, coupled with strong communication and interpersonal skills for effective teamwork under pressure.

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