VACANCY TITLE Senior Program Manager, Africa Regional Office

LOCATION Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire 

INTENSITY Full time 

ANTICIPATED START DATE As soon as possible

APPLICATION DEADLINE 31 01 2022; 5pm CET

ABOUT GCA

The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization that works as a solutions broker to catalyse action and support for adaptation solutions, from the international to the local, in partnership with the public and private sector, to ensure shared learning and collaboration for a climate resilient future. Adapting to impacts of climate change provides a “win-win” for livelihoods, food security, water supply, health, security and economic growth. The work of the GCA elevates the visibility and political importance of climate adaptation and facilitates solutions, such as smarter investments, new technologies and better planning to become more resilient to climate-related threats. GCA is a rapidly growing organization with offices in Abidjan, Beijing, Dhaka, Groningen, and Rotterdam.

The GCA has an ambitious 2020-2025 business plan with three pillars:

• Programs and Action: Food Security; Using Nature for more resilient infrastructure; Water for Urban Growth and Resilience; Climate Finance; Youth Leadership
• Knowledge Acceleration: Building adaptation knowledge globally through cutting edge products such as the State and Trends in Adaptation Report and the Knowledge Exchange Platform
• Agenda Setting and Advocacy: Formulating policy messages to move the global, regional, and local adaptation agendas forward.

GCA’s work program in Africa is of paramount importance. All the components of GCA’s Business Plan must succeed to support changing the momentum and pace of adaptation in Africa. Guiding GCA’s program in Africa is the Africa-owned and Africa-led Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), co-created with the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to implement the vision of the Africa Adaptation Initiative to support African countries on key adaptation initiatives.

The AAAP is contributing to closing Africa’s adaptation gap and supporting African countries to make a transformational shift in their development pathways by putting climate adaptation and resilience at the centre of their critical growth-oriented and inclusive policies, programs, and institutions. It is scaling up successful initiatives fundamental to African nations’ economic development, and prosperity for women and men. The four pillars of the AAAP are: Climate Smart Digital Technologies for Agriculture and Food Security, the Africa Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator, Empowering Youth through Jobs and Entrepreneurship, and Innovative Financial Initiatives for Africa.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Profile

GCA seeks a Senior Program Manager, for the GCA Africa Regional Office, to provide program management support to the implementation of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP). The Senior Program Manager will also provide program management support to the different pillar leads of the AAAP including identifying bottlenecks and proposing solutions to these. S/he will also provide leadership and guidance on crosscutting issues and initiatives on the AAAP

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Areas of responsibility

Reporting to the Africa Regional Director, the areas of responsibility of the senior program manager for the Africa regional office will include:

Policy and Technical Support

• Provide technical advisory support to the Africa Regional Director on the thematic focus areas of the AAAP. This will range from key sectoral updates, to strategic developmental updates.
• Ensuring the AAAP implementation is aligned with global adaptation policies, including following key outcomes and proceedings from the UNFCCC COP processes that need to be taken into account in collaboration with the Partnership Officers and in support of the advocacy work on the AAAP.

Program Management

• Contribute to the smooth running of the AAAP by working closely with AAAP Pillar leads to identify further business development opportunities in the adaptation landscape and unlocking challenges in existing project pipeline.
• Define Terms of References for in-country scoping missions to identify AAAP support.
• Develop key frameworks, policies and program management tools to guide the work of the Africa Regional Director in overseeing the entire program.
• Ensuring quality of submitted pillar updates and documentation as well as reports submitted by consultants, to support the Africa Regional Director.
• Leading in developing systems and processes for collecting and using donor intelligence for strategic oversight of the AAAP.
• Coordinating and offering guidance on crosscutting initiatives on the AAAP, as demanded.

Strategic Advisory and Support

• Advising on key developments in adaptation and resilience that could enhance the work of the AAAP and identifying strategies for navigating them.
• Develop strategic advice and recommendations to GCA management to enhance the AAAP program operations including supporting the development of key program monitoring and evaluation guidelines and procedures.

Events and Meetings Representation

• Support and represent the Africa Regional Director at meetings, events and workshops as well as support in conceptualizing these through developing ToRs.

Perform any additional tasks requested as assigned