Practical Action recrute 01 Climate resilience officer
About us
We are an international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world.
We do things differently, so answers that start small can grow big – bringing people together in bold collaborations, combining knowledge and innovation to help shape a world that works better for everyone. We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. We work with communities to develop ingenious, lasting and locally owned solutions for agriculture, water and waste management, climate resilience and clean energy. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can grow big.
We’re a global change-making group. The group consists of a UK registered charity with community projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an independent development publishing company and a technical consulting service. We combine these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works better for everyone.
Our aims
We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems, made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. Our aims are to:
- Make agriculture work better for smallholder farmers, many of them women, so they can adapt to climate change and achieve a good standard of living
- Help more people harness the transformational effects of clean affordable energy and reduce avoidable deaths caused by smoke from indoor stoves and fires.
- Make cities in poorer countries cleaner, healthier places to live and work.
- Build disaster resilience into the lives of people threatened by hazards – reducing the risk of hazards and minimizing their impact on lives and livelihoods.
Our organisation
Practical Action is an unconventional, multi-disciplinary, change-making organisation.
A highly innovative community development charity operating in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Practical Action community projects use ingenious ideas to design, test, refine and prove new ways to overcome poverty and disadvantage and then ‘open-source’ knowledge of what works so that it can be implemented at a greater scale by others.
A world-class consulting operation that helps socially responsible business, government policy makers and other development organisations. This draws on learnings from our own development work as well as the combined brainpower of a roster of over 2,000 expert consultants. Practical Action Consulting helps to extend the reach of our influence by providing the best advice to others, whose work can make a bigger difference.
A well respected specialist development publisher. Practical Action Publishing brings together development practitioners, researchers and thought leaders to create publications that stimulate discussion, strengthen peoples’ capabilities and inspire sustainable change.
Our ambition in West Africa
- Making subsistence farming more efficient through environmentally friendly innovations
- Transforming people’s lives through affordable, renewable energy
- Reducing vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters
Intervention area
We cover the 15 countries in the West African (ECOWAS) zone, as well as the Sahel countries of Mauritania, Chad and Cameroon.
How we work
We work on holistic solutions that change systems and have a framework to help us achieve our aims:
- Analyse the root causes of a poverty and vulnerability
- Define the change at scale we need to make
- Develop activities along three complementary paths: Demonstrate, Learn and Inspire. Demonstrate that our solutions are sustainable in the real world
- Learn by capturing evidence and adapting our approach
- Inspire wider support to multiply our impact.
About the role
In the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), two-thirds of the population make their living working in agriculture. About 90% are smallholder farmers with an average plot size below 1 ha, who depend mainly on agriculture for subsistence and often live below the poverty line. In urban areas, zones at highest risk of flooding tend to be settled by low-income households (from rural exodus), often informally. Each rainy season brings reports of dozens dead and thousands displaced by floods. The frequency and severity of extreme weather events appear to be on the increase. The ever-growing population along with climate change exert an increasing and tremendous pressure on energy and food security as well as livelihoods in the region. Strengthening climate resilience– the ability to adapt to long term climate changes and to endure and recover from shorter term climate shocks including droughts and floods – is a major objective of governments in West Africa.
Practical Action West Africa has secured funding for a new phase of the Global Flood Resilience Programme, funded by the Zurich Foundation. This new phase, planned to run from 2024-2027, follows on from the first phase, which saw the development of a French-language portal on flood resilience in West Africa in collaboration with IED Afrique in 2020, and the implementation of activities to build the resilience of vulnerable communities in the commune of Thiès Nord between 2021 and 223. For this new phase of the programme, we still have the ambition to work on the theme of flooding and to consolidate it with the work on the phenomenon of heat waves. We will be extending our activities to other areas of the city of Thiès and gradually expanding to Dakar in the department of Guédiawaye, Kaffrine and Matam. At the same time, we have secured other projects around this programme focused on strengthening Early Warning Systems (EWS) in the context of flooding and food insecurity.
The Climate Resilience Officer will be responsible for supporting the Thematic Lead Climate and Resilience – Programme Manager in implementing the intervention plan for the Zurich programme; managing partnerships and working with communities and key stakeholders; and other projects related to the resilience change ambition.
Scope
Titre Climate Resilience Officer
Reporting to Thematic Lead Climate and Resilience
Direct reports None
Internal
- Group Links
- Key Working Relationships
- Change hub Climat & Résilience ;
- Change hub Agriculture
- Thematic Lead Climate and Resilience, Junior Agriculture and Climate Resilience Officer Global Flood Alliance Programme Manager Flood Alliance Programme Officer
Location Dakar or Thies (Senegal)
Duration 2 years, renewable – Full Time
Travel Within Senegal, but also in West Africa and else where
Accountabilities
- Project implementation and delivering quality
- Carry out day-to-day delivery of the Flood Resilience Project in collaboration with the Thematic Lead Climate and Resilience and the Junior Agriculture and Resilience Advisor, and the Practical Action UK ZFRP team
- Directly implement the project interventions and ensure the active and meaningful participation of community groups and all relevant stakeholders
- Ensure the timely, quality delivery of activities designed and delivered
- Work effectively with the Thematic Lead Climate and Resilience and other teams to ensure that the project is implemented according to contract (in terms of budget, activities, and time frame) and that any amendments are cleared in a timely manner.
- Support the project’s effective and systematic monitoring and evaluation and ensure findings are recorded and escalated to guide the continued successful implementation of other projects and inform the development of other new initiatives
- Ensure gender and inclusion is considered within every activity
- Engage the community and stakeholders during reflections, reviews and evaluations (using PLA tools), ensuring the voices of the most vulnerable are heard.
- Actively participate in team reflections, identifying learnings and challenges and contributing ideas for adaptive for increased impact
- Support accountability with communities and stakeholders including the running of feedback and response mechanisms
- Work with partners (and at times building their capacity) to implement the activities. Contribute to ensuring safeguarding in the project
- Contribute to the production of reports/knowledge products
- Support knowledge sharing from projects with key stakeholders within and outside the organization (including writing and reviewing relevant project reports and knowledge products).
- In agreement with line manager, provide the day-to-day delivery inputs to long-term and short term climate resilience assignments in the region in close collaboration with PA UK, other PA regional offices, external partner organizations and consultants.
- Strengthening Profile, Generating Funding and Managing Relationships
- Represent Practical Action in the Project area to local government, local communities, NGOs and other actors
- Participate in local coordination / networking meetings as required
- Support effective lesson learning, information management and lesson sharing within Practical Action, the Zurich Alliance, and externally through different medium
- Develop and maintain professional links with development agencies, government bodies, county governments, technical specialists, universities and other professional institutions as required by the project
- Support the West Africa Climate Resilience team to develop high quality Concept Notes, Expressions of
- Interests and Proposals to win new assignments in West Africa (often to very tight deadlines).
- Leadership and Strategic Alignment
- Build and maintain relationships with regional associate consultants to enable PA to effectively deliver assignments in the region.
- Represent Practical Action at national and regional meetings, workshops and other forums to share our work, our lessons, our impacts and our capabilities.
- Identify innovations, technologies and new areas for developing improved and innovative climate resilience solutions and approaches to ensure that Practical Action remains on the cutting edge in Africa.
- Undertake any other tasks as assigned by the line manager.
Person profile
- To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:
Academic Qualifications
- A Master degree in geography, climate science, agriculture, economics, international development or related field.
- Other relevant training such as project management, climate risk management, inclusive market development, gender, rural development etc., will be an asset.
Technical Skills and Experience
- 2-3 years relevant working experience in flood or climate resilience project
- Demonstrated experience in project management, including managing staff on the ground and working with communities groups and various stakeholders
- Sound knowledge and experience in the international climate and flood resilience sector relating to climate risk management, rural economics and/or agricultural market systems
- Excellent communication and influencing skills across cultures, including proven technical writing and presentation/communication skills.
- Fluency in written and spoken French and good level in English or willingness to learn quickly. Other
Competencies/Abilities/Skills desired
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, generate new project ideas and contacts and drive forward initiatives proactively
- Analytical and numerical skills, familiarity with the research process and the ability to synthesize data, present results and draw meaningful conclusions.
- Knowledge on waste management, urban planning, and food security will be an advantage. Excellent organizational and time management skills and ability to adhere to strict deadlines. Good understanding of gender issues and diversity and inclusion.
- Ability to engage stakeholders across academia, NGO, private sector and government in West Africa and run meetings or workshops.
How to apply ?
Interested candidates should submit their cover letter stating the title of the position for which they are applying and their CV to the following address: westafricarecruitment@practicalaction.org You can submit your application in English or French, but please feel free to use whichever language suits you best.
Practical Action is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from under represented groups. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive and diverse working environment and believe that people from different backgrounds or cultures give us different perspectives, and that the more perspectives we have, the more successful we are. By creating a culture where everyone feels listened to, respected and valued, we give everyone who works with us the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Women are encouraged to apply.
The closing date for applications is 5th January 2024.