ThaiNGO

Job Description

Climate Change and Gender SPECIALIST

 (Full Time Employee Position)

USAID Clean Power Asia Program, Bangkok Based

Abt Associates, a global leader in technical assistance, program implementation and international development, seeks qualified individuals to fulfill the position of CLIMATE CHANGE AND GENDER SPECIALIST for the USAID Clean Power Asia program, reporting to the Chief of Party.  This position is full-time, based in Bangkok, Thailand. While there are no nationality requirements for applicants, it should be noted that neither allowances nor relocation will be considered or offered to the successful candidate. Applicants must be able to begin work on-site within three weeks of acceptance. This position may require occasional travel and regular work outside of the office that is exempt from overtime pay.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Clean Power Asia program is a multi-year U.S. government-funded initiative that supports governments and the private sector in the Lower Mekong countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam to scale up investment in grid-connected renewable energy (RE). The Program provides assistance and expertise in energy planning and effective policy, regulatory, and technical environment for low-emissions growth in the power sector, while simultaneously attracting public- and private-sector investment in RE development.

Overall Responsibilities of Climate Change and Gender Specialist

• Work in close coordination with the project team, under the direct supervision and guidance of the Chief of Party, to integrate climate change adaptation into the program based on the risks identified during the Vulnerability Assessments and share lessons learned with the broader Lower Mekong and ASEAN communities;
• Work under the guidance of the Deputy Chief of Party to integrate a gender focus into existing activities;
• Integrate climate adaptation into the M&E plan by assisting with developing and reporting on climate change adaptation indicators, especially for urban areas;
• Manage climate resilience activities and integrate as required with Task 1 RE Planning and Task 2 RE Policy;
• Work with all Task leads to ensure gender is integrated into sub-tasks as included in the work plan and develop, with Team leads, innovative gender integration approaches to support achieving program objectives;
• Serve as the primary focal point for the program on climate adaptation and resilience;
• Work with project beneficiaries to develop creative approaches for linking climate change mitigation and adaptation, especially for urban areas and connected to national level power sector planning and policy;
• Develop and nurture relationships with other donors, NGOs, government counterparts, private sector actors and others in the region who are currently involved in climate change adaptation programming;
• As appropriate, work with partners in developing and implementing National Adaptation Plans and funding adaptation projects.

Position Specific Responsibilities

The Climate Change and Gender Specialist will lead overall activities under the program’s adaptation tasks which are integrated into Task 1 RE Planning and Task 2 RE Policy, under the direct supervision of the Chief of Party.  Overall, the climate change and gender consultant will manage mid-level staff and consultants to:

• Integrate climate change adaptation into the program and share lessons learned with the broader Lower Mekong and ASEAN communities;
• Integrate climate resilience activities as required with Task 1 RE Planning and Task 2 RE Policy;
• Ensure gender is integrated into sub-tasks as included in the work plan to support achieving program objectives;
• Integrate adaptation into the M&E plan by assisting with developing and reporting on climate change adaptation indicators, especially for urban areas.

Potential activities that the Climate Change and Gender Specialist will be expected to direct include, but are not limited to:

• Conducting Vulnerability Assessment (VA) of National Power Systems in selected countries:
  • Improve utility and power planning staff understanding of how vulnerability assessments are integrated into power sector planning in ASEAN;
  • Organize in-country stakeholder workshops to conduct and present results of VAs; and
  • Organize regional workshops for government and utility planners on results of VAs, climate resilience mitigation options and integration of VAs into power sector planning in ASEAN.
• Conducting VA of select urban areas (primary and/or secondary cities)
  • Working with Champion City(ies), build capacity of urban areas to integrate power system issues into existing or new climate resilience plans;
  • Conduct multi-city workshops to share results of VA and build capacity of urban actors to address power related vulnerability issues.
• Gender:
• Support the DCOP to ensure all project’s gender focus requirements are achieved through approved activities;
• Work with team to integrate gender related indicators into M&E plan and develop measurement tools to ascertain achievement of these indicators.
• Participate in developing and monitoring implementation of the annual work plan.
• Manage staff and consultants working on adaptation, climate resilience and vulnerability assessments:
  • Draft scopes of work, select consultants or employees to provide STTA and monitor progress and deliverables;
  • Review and approve deliverables/final work products of consultants of STTA.
• Other duties to be determined in conjunction with the COP/DCOP and USAID.

Required Qualifications (applicants not holding the required qualifications or equivalent will not be considered)

• Minimum five (5) years’ experience working on climate change adaptation and mitigation, especially in urban areas in developing countries;
• Previous work experience serving as a gender advisor/specialist in a developing country context;
• Progressive experience working on donor-funded – preferably USAID-funded — climate change, energy and/or economic growth projects;
• Progressive experience leading technical teams to develop reports and deliverables to meet project and beneficiary needs;
• Experience developing working relationships with energy sector actors, at the municipal and national levels, such as regulators, distributors, ministries as well as utility and planning agencies;
• Proven ability to manage donor-funded project activities with multiple actors including city mayors and planning personnel; energy ministries, regulators, universities, and utility and planning agencies;
• Minimum of a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline is required;
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken;
• A minimum of five (5) years experience in research, writing and editing high level reports, work-plans, annual reports and technical documents in related subject matters.

Application Procedure

Interested candidates may express their interest by emailing recruitment@usaidcleanpowerasia.com

referencing “Climate and Gender Specialist” in the subject line. Deadline for applications is April 18, 2018. Applications received after this date will not be considered.

To be considered for the position, your emailed application MUST INCLUDE the following information; failure to provide this information will result in your application being removed from consideration.

1. A written expression of interest summarizing your qualifications for the position. The expression of interest must address each of the required qualifications or your application may be considered incomplete.
2. CV clearly indicating work/consulting history and either daily consulting rate or annual compensation for each consultancy/position, stated in currency of payment.
3. Preference will be given to nationals of the Lower Mekong countries and those with immediate availability. No allowances, including relocation, will be available to the successful candidate.

Additional Documentation

If a candidate is selected for an interview, the following documents will be required. While not required as part of the initial application, Abt appreciates candidates who chose to submit these documents as part of the application package:

1. US Federal Form 1420 (EBD) https://www.usaid.gov/forms/aid-1420-17
2. Proof of Education/Degree attained (transcript or diploma)
3. Proof of annual salary or daily consulting rate as stated in the EBD (acceptable forms include employment agreement, pay stubs, employer verification letter).

Due to the volume of anticipated applicants, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Interviews will be scheduled as warranted and may be conducted in person or via electronic means.

Abt Associates is doing business as Abt Associates Thailand, registered with the Thailand Department of Commerce.  Abt Associates is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse workforce.