Crisis Anticipation and Risk Financing: Technical Specialist

Crisis Anticipation and Risk Financing: Technical Specialist

Responsibility: Specialist
Department/Project/PN: START Fund Nepal
Work station: Central office, Kathmandu
Incumbent’s Name: TBD
Supervisor: Programme Manager

CARE is an international NGO with local staff and community partners in more than 90 countries. We create local solutions to poverty and inequality and seek dignity for everyone every day and during times of crisis. CARE puts women and girls at the center of everything we do because they have proven to be the best hope for creating lasting change in the world. CARE has been operational in Nepal since 1978 and works in partnerships with government and non-
government stakeholders across the spectrum of humanitarian action and long-term development programs.

Start Network is made up of more than 50 aid agencies across five continents, ranging from large international organisations to national NGOs. Together, our aim is to transform humanitarian action through innovation, fast funding, early action, and localisation. We’re tackling what we believe are the biggest systemic problems that the sector faces.

Problems including slow and reactive funding, centralised decision-making, and an aversion to change mean that people affected by crises around the world do not receive the best help fast enough, and needless suffering results. Our work focuses on three areas to change the system:

Localisation: shifting power to those closest to the front line for more effective response. New forms of financing: providing fast, early, and predictable funding to improve community resilience and preparedness.

Collective innovation: sharing expertise, insights, and perspectives to shape a more effective humanitarian system.

The Start Network is at a critical point in its journey. We have grown and diversified our membership over the past 10 years. We are now set to evolve into a decentralised “network of networks” by 2025. We are currently working with five national and regional networks (hubs) in Pakistan, DRC, Guatemala, India, and the Pacific. They are developing locally owned ways of anticipating and responding to humanitarian crises. We aim to support the emergence and development of further Hubs in the coming years. Our ultimate ambition is to devolve leadership, membership, programming, and decision making to the hubs, while the UK team transitions to provide services of support.

Start Network is committed to protecting people, particularly children, at-risk adults and affected populations from any harm that may be caused due to their encountering the Start Network as well as responding effectively should any harm occur. We are also committed to safeguarding staff from any forms of bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and abuse of power as outlined in the Dignity at Work policy.

Start Network embraces diversity, promotes equality of opportunity and eliminates unlawful discrimination. We are an equal opportunities employer and treat every application on merit alone. We particularly welcome applications from disabled, black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC), and LGBT+ and non-binary candidates. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet our essential selection criteria.

Our roles are open to discussion about flexible working. While our team is office based, home working is part of our culture. For part-time working and job-shares, please get in touch with us for a conversation about possibilities.

START Fund Nepal
Start Fund Nepal is a Start Network programme and is hosted by CARE – Nepal. SFN is a collectively managed financing mechanism, developed in Nepal by international (15 INGOs) Start Network members and partner NGOs (16 LNGOs) based in Nepal with support from the global Start Fund. SFN was launched in June 2021, with the support from the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and its first pilot year ended in March 2022 after which the exposure and coverage of the fund has grown significantly. Its pilot project was completed in March 2022. Phase II of the project started in April 2022 and will conclude in March 2024. Following global guidelines, Start Fund Nepal adheres to a 45-day implementation cycle, ensuring swift decision-making within 72 hours of a crisis alert and initiating primary activities within 7 days. Thus, the fund’s primary focus lies in rapid financing and response.

Recently, Start Fund Nepal has expanded its scope with the introduction of the Forecast-based, Warning, Analysis, and Response Network (FOREWARN) within its Crisis Anticipation and Risk Financing Unit. This initiative aims to engage non-member, multi-disciplinary actors in Nepal involved in disaster risk analysis and management, particularly in crisis anticipation and early action. FOREWARN aims to facilitate the quick assembly of experts to forecast disasters and provide support to humanitarian efforts in the vicinity of anticipated crises. Additionally, FOREWARN advocates for the normalization of early action in disaster response protocols.

JOB SUMMARY
As a Technical Specialist in the Crisis Anticipation and Risk Financing unit at Start Fund Nepal, the incumbent will lead efforts to anticipate and analyze humanitarian crises. The incumbent role involves providing humanitarian expertise across raised SFN humanitarian response alerts, advanced data analysis, trend monitoring, and scenario planning to identify emerging risks. The incumbent will design and implement projects that support the members of SFN raise anticipatory alerts, advocate for mainstreaming AA in the DRR community, provide technical expertise in areas like data analyses, weather forecasting, GIS, and foster partnerships to strengthen our crisis anticipation and response capabilities. The incumbent work will be crucial in building resilience and reducing the impact of crises on vulnerable communities in Nepal.

The Incumbent will also be leading and managing FOREWARN Nepal under the direct supervision of global CARF team and in-country program manager. Through this network, the incumbent will connect Start Fund Nepal members with local, national, and regional forecasting providers, hazard specialists, academia, government agencies, private organizations, and relevant sectoral experts in Nepal. The goal is to enable meaningful engagement with the wider early action framework in Nepal, and to drive forward joint initiatives to support appropriate and successful anticipatory activities and early action.

Since its launch in May 2023, FOREWARN Nepal has been enabling:

• Start Fund Nepal members to become familiar with AA and effectively use quality risk information in advance of crises.
• The creation of FOREWARN expert groups, who will provide technical support on Anticipatory Actions to Start Fund Nepal members and decision-makers.
• Start Fund Nepal members to monitor risk and raise anticipation alerts based on independently set triggers.
• Advocacy with other Local to International Organizations to mainstream AA.

More information is included in the FOREWARN Theory of Change.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Technical Specialist objectives

• Provide humanitarian technical expertise to support and guide SFN’s humanitarian objectives including through assessments and design and delivery of response by drawing on data and evidence and provide bespoke humanitarian advice tailored and consistent with local contexts.
• Disseminate scientific forecasting data and analyses to Start Fund Nepal members and partners in an accessible format, facilitate timely decision-making, and drive innovation in Nepal to develop proactive and effective humanitarian response.
• Draft bespoke briefings on evolving humanitarian situation (including anticipatory action) to enable SFN members to raise alerts using gaps and needs assessment and emerging context by working closely with relevant government and non-government stakeholders.
• Lead and manage FOREWARN Nepal, working closely with the SF Nepal team, to deliver the workplan, execute ongoing and new projects, and manage the associated budget.
• Work with Start Network stakeholders including global risk pools, and existing global FOREWARN Coordinators and wider Crisis Anticipation and Risk Financing team scientists and academics, government agencies, risk modelling companies and insurers, humanitarian donors and UN counterparts, as well as humanitarian agencies.
• Understand and use humanitarian data and diagnostic to support response including anticipatory action by programming (example: through the Humanitarian Programme Cycle), by sector (e.g. nutrition and health, food security, livelihoods, market, protection, shelter, education, and water, sanitation and hygiene, WASH), differences in needs and gaps (severity, coping/resilience, and risk due to intersecting and overlapping
  vulnerabilities including gender, age, disability, ethnicity/tribal identity, religion etc) and the differences and utility of predictive, early warning, real time and “moment in time” data and analysis using digital innovations ensuring the quality and ethical use of different data sources.
• Support Start Network Anticipation and Risk Financing work in Nepal, through the development, testing and provision of scientific hazard data, models which are used to monitor risks and related early action protocols, and early humanitarian action.
• Engage in wider Start Network activities where appropriate, including providing support to activities happening in Nepal as required.
• Organize events including training and workshops to advocate for and mainstream AA, localised humanitarian response in coordination with other actors.
• Support the team in humanitarian analysis for both response and anticipation along with supporting in alerts raising and field monitoring.
• Provide humanitarian analysis and expertise whilst appraising SFN alerts raised by INGO and NGO members ensuring that the activities are based upon evidence, data, needs and gaps and that activities are practical ensuring timely delivery and implementation.
• Provide real time monitoring support to SFN members during humanitarian response and also provide inputs to post distribution monitoring undertaken after each alert.
• Engage with FCDO’s implementing partners and share experience on forecast based early action for multiple hazards such as floods, droughts, heatwaves, coldwaves, fires and landslides. Specifically, this role will facilitate:

Expert groups

• Undertake the ongoing establishment of a national FOREWARN expert group that supports anticipatory humanitarian action, lead on the induction of FOREWARN members and develop relevant institutional partnerships.
• Provide leadership and guidance on preparedness/response capabilities in priority sectors and multi-sector areas (e.g. cash), including their effectiveness; appropriateness; relevance; coverage; risks (including safeguarding and GBV risk mitigation); innovation;
  monitoring and accountability (Esp. to affected populations) and links to resilience efforts at individual, household, community, and local levels.
• Establish collaboration with technical experts on a national and global scale to conduct thorough analysis of hazard forecast data and information. This will involve the development of standard operating procedures (SOP), triggers, and thresholds. Laison with technical experts, nationally and globally, to ensure that hazard models are scientifically robust, functional for humanitarians, and that the purpose and functionality of the models are accessible/understandable to non-scientists (especially humanitarians).
• Actively coordinate and support the Nepal expert groups through regular meetings and documentation, alert reviews, and shared learning.

Disaster Risk financing and anticipatory action planning

• Initiate Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) in Nepal in consultation with the members and non-members.
• Lead the identification and prioritisation of key hazards and activities of focus, including tool and stakeholder mapping exercises and identification of risk information needs.
• Connect Nepal members and partners to local and international risk information providers, ensuring access to nationally appropriate forecasting expertise and information where available.
• Lead on tasks related to the development, identification and analysis of scientific risk data, statistical modelling and operational decision making within anticipation and risk finance systems.
• Work closely with hazard and modelling experts to ensure model suitability for humanitarian needs and fit within Start’s human-impact driven and localisation approach.
• Work to ensure that members, partners, and wider stakeholders are equipped with the training and support to participate effectively and bring their expertise into the technical development processes. Present scientific data in ways that are understandable and useful to humanitarians.
• Advocacy and engagement with members and wider stakeholders
• Support members to raise timely anticipatory alerts to Start Fund Nepal, including leading on ‘horizon scanning’ activities for potential alerts and keeping members well informed of any upcoming risks appropriate for anticipatory action.
• Where appropriate, support members and partners to access grants to support risk analysis and liaise with CARF Technical Advisors on the creation of tools and training.
• Raise awareness of Start Network early action initiatives among Start Network members and other stakeholders in Nepal.
• Work with the CARF Technical Advisers (learning, analysis and partnerships) to ensure the early action work of members is well supported, evidenced, and communicated, including evidence gathering activities, contracting discrete pieces of research, and external reporting as required.
• Build and maintain relationships with relevant early action and coordination platforms, tools and mechanisms in Nepal/regionally where appropriate. Represent Start Network, including Start members, and support Start Fund members and the FOREWARN group to actively participate in these groups.

Upholding CARE’s Core values and ensuring its principles

• Link and demonstrate CARE Nepal’s core values, programming principles, strategic objects, gender equity, equality & social inclusion in programming and behaviors
• Comply and exercise organizational values and culture
• Help to promote rights and good governance
• Responsible for gender-responsive behavior in all actions and decisions
• Demonstrate positive behaviors following CARE code of conduct and uphold implementation of CARE Safeguarding policy at all levels.
• Conduct awareness raising on CARE Safeguarding policy, feedback and accountability channels and code of conduct.

Working conditions:

• The position will be mostly desk-based with frequent national and international travel as required

PERSON SPECIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:
Qualifications and Experience

• At least a Master’s degree in a relevant field such as Disaster Risk Management, Climate Change, Environmental Science, Geography, Engineering, Crisis Management, Hydrology, Meteorology, or related disciplines.
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in crisis anticipation, risk analysis, humanitarian response, emergency preparedness or related fields, preferably within the context of humanitarian or development organizations.
• Experience in working with Local to International NGOs, Intergovernmental Agencies, UN agencies, Donor organizations, and the government is desirable.
• Strong technical expertise in data analysis, remote sensing, weather forecasting, GIS, with preferably some knowledge in climate modelling, disaster risk financing, and/or predictive analytics.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing early warning systems and risk assessment methodologies.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and trends to inform decision-making.
• Experience of having delivered and managed humanitarian response for emergencies in Nepal (floods, landslides, and earthquakes) and beyond. International humanitarian experience is also welcome.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams, a team player and collaborate with diverse stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to effectively present technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Fluency in English and Nepali languages, both written and verbal.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to interpret technical and non-technical information and disseminate it to non-experts with ease.
• Innovative and confident on testing new ideas, and scientifically.