Climate Change and Local Adaptation Technical Coordinator at BRAC Rwanda

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Introduction

BRAC International is a leading nonprofit organization with a mission to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. Our approach is grounded in the conviction that people living in vulnerable situations can be agents of change if they are empowered with the tools, skills, and hope they need to change their lives. We design proven, scalable solutions that equip people with the support and confidence they need to achieve their potential. BRAC's institutional expertise on successfully implemented programmes is applied across 10 countries, touching the lives of over 130 million people, where our models are adapted according to the country's context. 

In 2022, the Mastercard Foundation in partnership with BRAC International (BI) started an initiative that will create positive and measurable impact for 1.2 million adolescent girls and young women and 9.5 million people across seven countries in East and West Africa, including Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda.

There is mounting urgency to support adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) living in poverty, which has been further amplified by the global pandemic. Through this partnership, scalable economic development approaches will be delivered in communities to foster the agency and voice of AGYW. They will have the opportunity to fulfill their aspirations, achieve sustainable livelihoods, and engage in advocacy issues.

In this regard, BRAC International is seeking applications from competent, dynamic and self-motivated individuals to fill the following position in Rwanda

Position: Climate Change and Local Adaptation Technical Coordinator

Job Location: BRAC Country office and LODA

Responsible to: Country Director, BRAC Rwanda, with dotted reporting to the Director General of LODA, through the Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Unit.

Contract nature: 12 months full-time with a 3-month probation period.

Job Summary

Rwanda’s hard-won development gains, particularly in local economic development (LED), are threatened by climate change. The frequency and severity of climate-related disasters, including floods, landslides and droughts, have significantly increased in Rwanda since the early 2000s, causing human casualties and economic and environmental losses. For instance, the Rwanda National Institute of Statistics estimates that 75% of households in the country were affected by destructive rains, nearly 17% were affected by mountain slides, and nearly 8% by floods in 2019-2020. It is therefore critical that the planning, implementation, and operation and maintenance stages of future LED investments in Rwanda integrate targeted adaptation approaches to ensure they can withstand climate change.

In July 2023, the Government of Rwanda launched the €35 million Pro-Poor Development (PPD) Basket Fund to support inclusive and sustainable local LED by improving local service provision in rural and poor districts of Rwanda. The Basket Fund seeks to improve access to basic public services, provide employment opportunities, improve resilience to climate change, and have a positive impact on women and young people, while ensuring that no one is left behind.

To support the Project’s objectives of promoting inclusive and climate resilient development, Rwanda’s Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA) and Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) is partnering with Stichting BRAC International- Rwanda and the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) to pilot a people’s-led approach to plan and implement adaptation in two climate vulnerable districts, Nyabihu and Ngororero. This will be accompanied by capacity building support to the Project’s implementation teams across the 16 districts covered by the PPD Basket Fund, to support similar planning processes.

Key Duties/Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the Country Director, BRAC Rwanda, and dotted reporting to the LODA DG through the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, the post holder will:

1. Oversee the design and implementation of a People’s Adaptation Planning process in the two districts, ensuring consistency with the LLA Principles; and the policies, processes and modalities of LODA, and of the PPD Basket Fund.
2. Manage and supervise the District Climate Adaptation Advisors.
3. Engage the scientific and academic community in Rwanda to facilitate and support community groups to understand and plan for climate threats and make proposals to District Steering Committees. Identify local leaders to lead such planning processes in future.
4. Lead in the design and delivery of a capacity building module for PPD Basket Fund implementation team and government staff in the 16 districts covered by the Fund.
5. Identify opportunities to embed locally led adaptation approaches into wider district planning systems and support the development of guidelines to embed the approaches.
6. Provide technical guidance in explaining Rwanda’s Nationally Determined Contribution to local government staff and communities, and its relevance to the PPD Basket Fund.
7. Provide technical guidance in explaining Rwanda’s Nationally Determined Contribution to local government staff and communities, and its relevance to the PPD Basket Fund.
8. Coordinate and work with national-level LODA staff engaged in planning, monitoring and evaluation, environment and climate change adaptation, and disaster management, as related to the PPD Basket Fund interventions.
9. Coordinate Technical and Steering Committees, and lead on the preparation of committee reports.
10. Oversee the project management including planning, coordinating, and monitoring project activities, work plan and budget
11. Prepare and submit regular progress /donor reports as per the project contract.
12. Any other tasks/duties as assigned.

Requirements/Person Specification

• Masters degree in environmental science, rural development, environmental economics, geography or related areas.
• 10 years’ experience of working in rural development, climate adaptation, climate finance projects and NDC implementation.
• Experience managing and leading a team.
• Working knowledge of government planning systems.
• Experience of successful management of multiple stakeholder processes, ideally in decentralised governance systems.
• Knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of rural livelihoods and economies.
• Strong communication skills to convey complex messages in a clear, concise and effective manner in English/French.
• Experience of writing and editing for a range of audiences including narrative reports, briefing papers and technical and non-technical publications.
• Ability to work in innovative, self-motivated and organized ways and able to collaborate with people from diverse background and cultures.
• Knowledge of business software (word processing, spreadsheets, presentation software, databases and communications).
• Open to both national and regional applicants.

Safeguarding Responsibilities

• Ensure the safety of team members from any harm, abuse, neglect, harassment and exploitation to achieve the programme’s goals on safeguarding implementation.
• Act as a key source of support, guidance and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment
• Practice, promote and endorse the issues of safeguarding policy among team members and ensure the implementation of safeguarding standards in every course of action
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place and encourage others to do the same

Safeguarding Policy:

BRAC is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share the same commitment. We believe every stakeholder and every member of the communities we work with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, harassment, and exploitation - regardless of age, race, religion, and gender, status as an individual with a disability or ethnic origin. BRAC holds a zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation, discrimination, exploitation, abuse and harassment. Violations to stated policies will be subject to corrective action up to and including termination of contract.

If you feel you are the right match for the above-mentioned position, please follow the application instructions accordingly:

Candidates need to send a signed Cover letter in PDF format indicating the title of the position applied for, an updated CV mentioning educational grades, years of experience, and notarized copies of academic qualifications. All those documents should be sent through email: bracrwandarecruitment@gmail.com, Application deadline is 27^th  June 2024

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be called for interview.