Resilience and Anticipatory Action Specialist

Act International; Karachi Division; On-site; PKR 2,400,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

ACT International in Pakistan seeks a Resilience and Anticipatory Action Specialist to provide technical leadership for the design, implementation, and coordination of Anticipatory Action and resilience-building interventions. The role strengthens multi-hazard AA systems, early warning, disaster preparedness, climate resilience, and collaboration with PDMA, DDMAs, PMD, FFD, WFP, and other partners.

The specialist guides project teams, supports capacity-building, and ensures alignment with

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Disaster Management, Climate Change, Development Studies, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Natural Resource Management, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for Anticipatory Action, disaster risk reduction, and climate resilience activities.
• Develop and harmonize AA protocols, SOPs, and implementation frameworks.
• Align project activities with national policies, donor requirements, and international best practices.
• Strengthen DEOCs and enhance linkages with PDMA IDSS.
• Strengthen early warning, risk monitoring, and hazard analysis for proactive decision-making.
• Coordinate with PDMA, DDMAs, PMD, FFD, WFP, and partners for joint actions.

Skills

Disaster Risk Reduction

Anticipatory Action

Climate Resilience

Stakeholder Coordination

Capacity Building

Reporting & Analysis

Education

Master's degree in Disaster Management

Tools

GIS

Data Visualization

MS Office

Job description

Resilience and Anticipatory Action Specialist

The Resilience and Anticipatory Action Specialist will provide technical leadership for the design, implementation, and coordination of Anticipatory Action (AA) and resilience-building interventions under the project. The incumbent will strengthen multi-hazard anticipatory action systems, early warning mechanisms, disaster preparedness, climate resilience, and institutional coordination with government authorities and humanitarian partners, including the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Flood Forecasting Division (FFD), and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The Specialist will provide technical guidance to project teams, support capacity strengthening initiatives, and ensure that project interventions are aligned with national disaster risk reduction frameworks, donor requirements, and international best practices.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Provide overall technical leadership for the implementation of Anticipatory Action (AA), disaster risk reduction (DRR), and climate resilience activities.
• Lead the development, review, and harmonization of multi-hazard Anticipatory Action protocols, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and implementation frameworks.
• Ensure project activities are aligned with national disaster management policies, WFP guidelines, and global best practices in resilience and anticipatory action.
• Support the strengthening of District Emergency Operations Centres (DEOCs) and enhance their operational linkages with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS).
• Strengthen early warning systems, risk monitoring, hazard analysis, and anticipatory decision-making mechanisms.
• Promote integration of climate risk information into disaster preparedness and response planning.

Coordination and Partnership

• Establish and maintain effective coordination with PDMA, DDMAs, PMD, FFD, WFP, government departments, humanitarian organizations, UN agencies, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Represent ACT International in technical coordination forums, working groups, and government meetings related to disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, and anticipatory action.
• Foster collaboration among technical partners to improve preparedness and coordinated response mechanisms.

Capacity Building

• Develop technical manuals, training materials, guidelines, and standard operating procedures related to Anticipatory Action and resilience programming.
• Design and facilitate capacity-building workshops, simulations, and training sessions for government counterparts, project staff, and community stakeholders.
• Provide ongoing technical mentoring and support to field teams throughout project implementation.

Monitoring, Learning and Reporting

• Monitor implementation of technical activities and provide recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Document best practices, lessons learned, innovations, and case studies from project implementation.
• Contribute technical inputs to donor reports, project progress reports, assessments, evaluations, and knowledge management products.
• Support evidence generation and learning to strengthen future resilience programming.

Compliance and Organizational Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with ACT International policies, donor (WFP) requirements, and applicable national regulations.
• Maintain confidentiality of beneficiary, partner, and project information.
• Adhere to ACT International's Code of Conduct and organizational values.
• Comply with Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), Safeguarding, Child Protection, Anti-Harassment, Anti-Fraud, Anti-Corruption, and Whistleblowing policies.
• Promote gender equality, diversity, disability inclusion, accountability, and protection principles throughout project implementation.
• Maintain the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct.
• Perform any other duties assigned by the Project Manager or Senior Management.

Qualification

• Master's degree in Disaster Management, Climate Change, Development Studies, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Natural Resource Management, Humanitarian Studies, or a related discipline from a recognized university.

Experience

• Minimum eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional experience in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Anticipatory Action (AA), climate resilience, emergency preparedness, humanitarian programming, or resilience-building programmes.
• Demonstrated experience working with government institutions such as PDMA, DDMAs, PMD, FFD, and humanitarian partners, including WFP, UN agencies, or international NGOs.
• Proven experience in developing disaster preparedness strategies, early warning systems, contingency planning, and resilience programmes.
• Experience in donor-funded projects and multi-stakeholder coordination is highly desirable.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong technical expertise in disaster risk reduction, anticipatory action, climate resilience, and humanitarian programming.
• Excellent knowledge of early warning systems, hazard and risk analysis, climate adaptation, and emergency preparedness.
• Strong stakeholder coordination, networking, and partnership management skills.
• Excellent analytical, report-writing, presentation, and facilitation skills.
• Experience in developing technical guidance, training curricula, and capacity-building programmes.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications; knowledge of GIS, data visualization, or risk analysis tools will be an added advantage.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to engage effectively with government officials, donors, and technical partners.
• Fluency in English and Urdu; knowledge of local languages will be considered an asset.

ACT International is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, safeguarding, and accountability. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and all forms of misconduct.