Location:Port-au-Prince
Deadline: Saturday, 17 August 2013
Description
Background / General description:
The mission of the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Disaster Risk Management and Urban Unit (LCSDU) is to work with national and local governments and with communities to reduce urban poverty, expand access to services for all, especially the poor, and make cities more economically productive, environmentally sound and livable and less vulnerable. The Unit pursues these objectives by:
(i) financing investments,
(ii) providing technical assistance, and
(iii) undertaking non-lending analytical and policy advisory work, in response to client demands. The LCSDU works collaboratively toward this aim with other sector units within the Sustainable Development Department (LCSSD), in addition to working across the Bank networks and with other institutions of the Bank Group. LCSDU has two integrated lines of business: urban development and disaster risk management. The unit has 29 ongoing projects in its portfolio, with a loan/credit value of over $2.4 billion. The annual new commitment averaged about $1 billion per year. The disaster risk management program accounts for about 60% of the unit's business, and is growing fast.
With a GDP per capita of US$725, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the World. It is also one of the most unequal, with a Gini coefficient of 0.59. Over half of its population of 10 million lives on less than US$1/day, and 78% live on less than US$2/day. Haiti's history is marked by natural and man-made crises. In 2008, rising food and fuel prices led to riots and the fall of the Government. The same year, tropical storms and hurricanes caused losses estimated at 15% of GDP ($900m). While the economy contracted in 2010 by 5.6% due to the earthquake, driven by construction, manufacturing, and services, growth was 5.1% in 2011. In 2012, actual growth was 2.8% due to damage from Hurricane Sandy, a major pest infestation in agriculture, and lower than expected pace of public investment. GDP growth is projected to be 4.8 in 2013.
The earthquake of 2010 killed 220,000 people, including one in three civil servants, displaced 1.5 million, and destroyed nearly 120% of GDP. The earthquake hit the densely urban Port-au-Prince area, which concentrates 65% of the country's economic activity and generates 85% of Government revenues. The private sector suffered 70% of the losses (approx. US$5.7 billion), mostly in housing, commerce and private education. The earthquake compounded Haiti's chronic poverty and further weakened its capacity to address its major development challenges, making rapid reconstruction even more difficult.
Haiti ranks as one of the countries with the highest exposure to multiple natural hazards, according to the World Bank's Natural Disaster Hotspot study. With 96 percent of its population living at risk, Haiti has the highest vulnerability to hurricanes among the region's small island states (12.9 on a scale of 13). In addition to hydro-meteorological hazards, Haiti is located in a seismically active zone, intersected by several major tectonic faults. Over the past ten years, Haiti has been impacted by several major events. In 2004, Tropical Storm Jeanne affected over 315,000 people; in 2008, Hurricane Fay and Tropical Storms Gustav, Hannah and Ike (FGHI) affected more than 865,000 people; and in 2010, the January 12 earthquake affected more than three million people, resulting in the worst humanitarian disaster in recorded history in Latin America and the Caribbean, causing massive destruction to public and private infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, government buildings, houses, and roads.
The World Bank Group remains fully engaged to support the Government of Haiti in its reconstruction and development objectives through a program of $646M provided by the IDA Crisis Response Window for FY12-14 as well as major trust funds such as GFDRR and GAFSP, the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) and support from IFC to the Private Sector
World Bank's Investment Portfolio consists of 15 projects for US$646M, of which US$230M has been disbursed for investment operations for emergency, reconstruction and development. Key strategic areas of involvement include: Disaster Risk Management ($65M); Housing ($111M); Agriculture ($55M); Electricity ($101M); and Education ($92M). Pipeline for SD includes Heritage and Tourism ($45M) and Integrated Regional Development in Plateau Central region ($50M), to be delivered by FY14.
The Bank DRM and Urban Portfolio in Haiti is articulated around the following operations:
(i) Urban Community Driven Development Project including Housing and Community Infrastructure Reconstruction Additional Financing ($30M),
(ii) Port au Prince Neighborhood Housing Reconstruction project ($65M) and
(iii) Disaster Risk Management and Reconstruction Project ($60M). Strategic actions include:
(i) reducing the physical vulnerability of communities,
(ii) strengthening institutional capacity for strategic planning and coordination at central and local levels,
(iii) mainstreaming DRM into the policy decisions of key line ministries, with a focus on transport, health and education sectors and urban reconstruction,
(iv) developing a comprehensive risk identification, assessment and monitoring capacity,
(v) supporting innovating housing options in informal areas such as rental units or multifamily housing,
(vi) contribution to the overall habitat policy and strategy formulation and
(vii) play an active role in sector partnership and donors coordination.
LCSDU is looking for a Disaster Risk Management and Urban Specialist to be based in Haiti to provide policy and operational support to the DRM and housing-related programs in Haiti, and to provide hand-on support to our counterpart for the day-to-day implementation of the housing and DRM portfolio.
Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.
Duties and Accountabilities:
The Disaster Risk Management and Urban Specialist will help support strategic leadership, operation management, and quality assurance on various operations in the Sustainable Development portfolio in Haiti. Intellectual leadership in the development of coherent interventions to be supported by the Bank and effective program supervision and implementation will be the primary focus areas of the job.
Specific responsibilities of the Disaster Risk Management and Urban Specialist responsibilities will include, inter alia, the following:
- Support the operational aspects of the preparation, appraisal, negotiations, of LCSDU's lending products, including Sector Investments Projects and Technical Assistance activities in the country, particularly in housing and disaster risk management (DRM), including related issues such as land tenure, land management, integrated urban planning, disaster risk assessment and mainstreaming, and support DRM and housing policy dialogue with government agencies and donors;
- Serve as a field based Co-TTL for selected ongoing projects under LCSSD's portfolio, in particular the Housing and Community Infrastructure Reconstruction Project and the Neighborhood Housing Reconstruction projects, liaise closely with other specialists in the department to ensure that all safeguard aspects related to housing/reconstruction of housing are adequately implemented and monitored and provide guidance to teams on the ground;
- Donor Relations - Partnership Coordination: Provide support, and take lead when advised so by management, to donor relations team via tracking status on follow-up items with donors, consolidation of donor priorities with a regional or programmatic approach. Ensure support from and coordination of SD team for timely delivery of donor reports and development/enhancement of donor reporting formats.
- Lead and support the supervision and completion reporting of projects, including client interaction, analytical assessments, on-site reviews and the preparation of internal report documentation;
- Support and brief visiting missions on local context and issue of relevance to Sustainable Development activities, including Sector Investments Projects and Technical Assistance;
- Respond to information requests from internal and external parties, and provide input and/or prepare diverse operational products/outputs, including (i) sector and country briefings,(ii) background reports,(iii) case studies, and(iv) portfolio performance reviews;
- Participate in LCSSD country team's policy and technical discussions with recipients; Lead substantive analytical tasks, sector dialogue, and support sector assessments and analytical works;
- Support the LCSSD country team's collaboration with donors, government entities and other partners
- Support teams in all phases of operational work with a special focus of assisting clients in day-to-day project management and resource mobilization, including the preparation of operation manuals, procurements plans, disbursement schedules and project activity matrices
- Support mission preparation and monitoring documents, including (i) mission statement,(ii) Aide-memoires;(iii) Back-to-Office Report; and(iv) Implementation Status and Completion Reports;
- Provide operational support in the event of an emergency in the country, by participating in emergency response activities such as conducting damage and loss assessments.
Selection Criteria:
MS/MA degree in engineering, development or related discipline;
At least 5 years of relevant experience in one or more of the main infrastructure sector, including transport, urban, water, or energy, substantial experience with disaster risk management operation is a plus;
Familiarity with the full range of Bank products;
Proven track record in Bank operations. This would include preparation of projects and sector reports and ability to contribute to strategic thinking and to integrate strategies/policies into Bank financed programs and projects, as well as providing effective implementation support;
Experience and proven record on preparation and supervision of large multi-sector emergency reconstruction and recovery projects, disaster risk mitigation projects, and damage and needs assessment studies is an added value;
Familiarity with Latin America and prior experience in the region highly desirable.
COMPETENCIES
Urban Policy, Strategy, and Institutions - Familiarity with urban policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations.
Urban Services Delivery - Foundational knowledge of urban services delivery, with ability to applyto operations and analytical work.
Urban Poverty and Slums - Foundational knowledge of urban poverty, with ability to support operations and analytical work.
Land and Housing - Foundational knowledge of land and housing, with ability to support operations and analytical work.
Urban and Regional Planning - Foundational knowledge or urban and regional planning, with ability to support operations and analytical work.
Design and Construction of Urban Infrastructure - Deep experience in at least one subtopic; develops novel approaches to mitigate risk or overcome difficult challenges.
DRM Policy, Strategy, and Institutions - Foundational familiarity with disaster risk management institutions and governance concepts, and can apply knowledge to assignments.
DRM Infrastructure - Direct experience with disaster risk management infrastructure.
Emergency Preparedness and Early Recovery - Foundational knowledge of emergency preparedness and recovery strategies, with ability to support operations and analytical work.
Knowledge of FCS Context - Applies a foundational knowledge of fragility, conflict and violence to operations and analytical tasks including the impacts of violence and conflict, polarization of state-society relations, diminished client capacity, relevance of partnerships, etc.
FCS Behavioral Skills - Quickly adopts the mind-set needed for success in FCS settings: adaptability, resilience, determination, sound judgment, etc.
FCS Operational Skills - Implements a pragmatic approach to FCS operations.Avoids overly complex solutions in favor of approaches that are fit to FCS.
FCS Policies, Tools and Instruments - Has experience with at least two of the primary tools or instruments used in FCS settings: post-conflict needs assessment, transitional results framework, OP8.00 / OP7.30 / OP2.30, conflict assessments, political ecoomy analysis, etc.
Client Orientation - Takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs, working to remove obstacles that may impede execution or overall success.
Drive for Results - Takes personal ownership and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results, and has the personal organization to do so.
Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Collaborates with other team members and contributes productively to the team's work and output, demonstrating respect for different points of view.
Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Actively seeks knowledge needed to complete assignments and shares knowledge with others, communicating and presenting information in a clear and organized manner.
Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Analyzes facts and data to support sound, logical decisions regarding own and others' work.
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