Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) Specialist, CST II

WHY JOIN WFP?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.

WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.

• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Across Asia and the Pacific, WFP is expanding its Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) portfolio to strengthen governments’ capacity to manage disaster risks, enhance the resilience of vulnerable populations, and enable timely, scalable responses to shocks. DRF initiatives are increasingly linked to anticipatory action, adaptive social protection, and shock-responsive delivery systems.

The Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) are among the most disaster-prone in the world, facing recurrent cyclones, floods, droughts and climate-related shocks that continue to undermine food security and development gains. These challenges highlight the need for risk-informed and financially sustainable approaches to disaster preparedness and response.

In response, WFP Pacific is expanding its engagement in macro-level disaster risk financing, including sovereign and regional risk financing mechanisms, in partnership with the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) and other stakeholders. This work aims to strengthen the integration of DRF with early warning systems, food security monitoring, and adaptive social protection to establish end-to-end systems linking risk information, financing, and delivery mechanisms.

Within this context, the Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) Specialist will provide technical and operational support to advance integrated DRF approaches across the Pacific, strengthen government and partner capacities, and enhance linkages between financing and delivery systems to enable timely, scalable, and government-led responses to climate and disaster risks.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive nor exhaustive)

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme, the Disaster Risk Financing Specialist undertakes the following duties and responsibilities:

• Disaster Risk Financing and Systems Integration
• Support the design and operationalization of DRF systems, including mechanisms for the effective use of insurance payouts and contingency financing, aligned with national response and public financial management systems.
• Strengthen end-to-end systems linking early warning, triggers, financing, and delivery, ensuring assistance is timely, predictable, and scalable across shock scenarios.
• Ensure alignment with national systems and WFP priorities, including strategic sequencing and optimization of multiple funding streams to enhance efficiency and coherence.
• Foster and deepen collaboration with PCRIC and other key actors, such as other UN agencies, to advance the DRF agenda in the Pacific.
• Regional Engagement and Technical Advisory Support
• Contribute to regional DRF frameworks (e.g. CAT risk policy) by collecting and providing technical inputs and strengthening linkages between financing instruments, early warning systems, and delivery mechanisms. Develop local and regional operational plans, linking DRF with anticipatory action frameworks, but also preparedness plans for response mechanisms and adaptive social protection systems.
• With the support of the Global DRF team, provide technical advice on trigger parameters, payout structures, and risk layering approaches, and support coordination with regional partners to strengthen analytics, risk modelling, and preparedness planning.
• Develop the DRF architecture in the Pacific, based on methodology developed by WFP.
• Monitoring, Accountability, and Learning
• Support Community Feedback Mechanisms (CFM), including operationalization of inclusive and accessible feedback systems, and promote accountability and continuous learning.
• Support in post-distribution monitoring (PDM), After-Action Reviews (AARs) and any simulation exercises to assess effectiveness, coverage and operational readiness.
• Ensure good evidence is generated and DRF corporate indicators are properly reported in WFP systems.
• Capacity Strengthening and Government Engagement
• Strengthen the capacity of government institutions and WFP teams on DRF/ through targeted technical assistance, training and knowledge transfer.
• Support coordination platforms, technical working groups and stakeholder engagement to promote risk-informed decision-making, ownership and sustainability of systems.

Education

• Advanced university degree in economics, public policy, social protection, disaster risk management, development studies, finance, or a related field; or
• A first university degree with additional years of relevant professional experience may be considered.

Experience

• At least 5–10 years of progressively responsible experience in disaster risk management, disaster risk financing, social protection or related areas.
• Demonstrated experience in designing and/or operationalizing programmes related to anticipatory action, shock-responsive social protection, cash-based interventions, or DRF.
• Proven experience working with government systems and partners on policy development, system strengthening, or programme implementation.
• Experience in multi-country or regional contexts is desirable, particularly in humanitarian or development settings.
• Exposure to food security analysis, vulnerability assessments, or early warning systems is an advantage.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong understanding of disaster risk finance, anticipatory action and adaptive social protection systems.
• Ability to support the design and operationalization of end-to-end systems linking early warning, triggers financing and delivery.
• Strong coordination and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to work effectively with government counterparts and regional partners.
• Familiarity with Pacific contexts is an asset.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

NO FEE DISCLAIMER

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.
• We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at global.hrerecruitment@wfp.org. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.
• At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.