ETC Preparedness and Response Officer - North Pacific

WFP FSM organization mission TBD

Though its Multi-Country Office (MCO) in Suva, Fiji, WFP’s engagement in the Pacific focuses on strengthening national and regional capacities for emergency preparedness and response (EPR), including in logistics, emergency telecommunications, disaster risk management, adaptive social protection, anticipatory action and food security, with an emphasis on supporting government-led systems to better support the most at-risk populations. Within this context, the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) – led globally by WFP under the Logistics and Telecommunications Cluster (LTC) – is activated in the Pacific in a preparedness configuration under the Pacific Humanitarian Team (PHT). This enables sustained readiness efforts, coordination, and capacity strengthening with governments and partners, while ensuring the ability to rapidly scale up telecommunications support during emergencies. Driven by the ambition to reduce vulnerabilities faced with the increasing impact of climate change, the ETC Preparedness and Response Officer will serve as an active member of the World Food Programme (WFP)-led Pacific Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) team and will be responsible for supporting the implementation of initiatives that strengthen telecommunications resilience and coordination across the North Pacific, covering the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Nauru, Palau and Kiribati (hereon ‘the North Pacific’) working in direct collaboration with the National Disaster Management Offices (NDMO) and relevant communications authorities across the five countries.

Under the direct supervision of the Pacific MCO Head of TEC and Pacific ETC Coordinator based in Suva, Fiji, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

1. Lead the implementation of Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) preparedness and resilience projects and activities across the North Pacific, based out of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), ensuring alignment with national disaster risk management priorities and frameworks of respective countries, particularly National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) and relevant ICT authorities, while strengthening regional coordination mechanisms and addressing the region’s exposure to typhoons, drought, sea-level rise, and the challenges of remote and dispersed island geographies.
2. Support the development, contextualization, piloting, and refinement of tools such as preparedness assessment methodologies, the country emergency telecommunications preparedness index, simulation and training packages, and national preparedness guidelines and standard operating procedures, ensuring consistency across countries and promoting harmonized approaches to emergency telecommunications preparedness in the North Pacific.
3. Establish, strengthen, and sustain effective coordination for emergency telecommunications across North Pacific countries, fostering interoperability, information sharing, and mutual support arrangements between NDMOs, ICT authorities, regulators, and partners, including during both preparedness and response phases.
4. Maintain consistent and proactive engagement with key stakeholders across the North Pacific, including NDMOs, Ministries and Departments responsible for communications and ICT, telecommunications regulators, telecom service providers, humanitarian partners, and regional organizations, ensuring effective coordination, alignment, and collaboration on emergency telecommunications preparedness and resilience initiatives.
5. In collaboration with partners, develop and regularly update ICT Country Profiles for North Pacific countries, including analysis of telecommunications infrastructure, connectivity gaps, regulatory frameworks, network resilience, and the potential impact of disasters on communications systems, drawing on both desk-based research and consultations with national stakeholders and ETC partners, and identifying opportunities for regional integration and redundancy.
6. Deploy across the North Pacific to support ETC preparedness and resilience missions, including conducting telecommunications assessments, supporting project implementation, and facilitating national and regional workshops, trainings, and simulation exercises, including multi-country exercises that strengthen cross-border coordination and operational readiness.
7. Support the management and delivery of multi-country and country-level ETC preparedness initiatives, including contributing to planning, monitoring, and reporting processes, and ensuring alignment with Pacific Multi-Country Office (MCO) strategic priorities and partner requirements.
8. Design and deliver, or support the delivery of, national and regional training programmes, workshops, and simulation exercises as a subject matter expert in emergency telecommunications preparedness, with a strong emphasis on building sustainable national capacity while reinforcing regional coordination.
9. Facilitate capacity building of national stakeholders across the North Pacific, including government agencies and local partners, to strengthen preparedness, coordination, and response capabilities in emergency telecommunications, including at sub-national levels and in remote outer island contexts, while promoting peer-to-peer learning and regional knowledge exchange.
10. In collaboration with Information Management functions, contribute to the development of knowledge products, including articles, blogs, case studies, and multimedia content, to document and disseminate lessons learned, best practices, and innovations.
11. Perform other duties as required to support ETC preparedness, resilience, coordination, and regional integration objectives across FSM and the wider North Pacific region.