Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance Specialist

Pact is an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries building solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.

Public Business Development (PUBD) – Pact exists to help create a world where those who are poor and marginalized exercise their voice, build their own solutions, and take ownership of their future. The Public Business Development team contributes to realizing this purpose by overseeing Pact’s new business development activities. Every member of the Public Business Development team at Pact is committed to sharing in the success of the organization, its peers, and individual accomplishments. The Public Business Development team is managed through a matrixed structure that promotes winning proposals through collaboration. The team offers team members, both experienced and new professionals, opportunities for learning and professional development. Ideal candidates bring positive energy to this dynamic work environment.

Pact is seeking a Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance Specialist for the USAID-funded Caribbean Resilient Economies and Sectors (RESET) Activity in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean Region*.

 

This activity aims to reduce systemic constraints to climate and disaster finance and increase investments in resilience across priority sectors such as agriculture. The objectives of this activity to  increase the capacity of the public sector to develop, update and implement financial instruments for climate and disaster-related fiscal risk management and investment in key sectors for resilience; to improve the private sector investment in resilience; and  to establish and strengthen productive partnerships for resilience.

 

The Specialist will provide leadership and technical expertise on Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance programming as part of a technical assistance team. This position will be responsible for leading the design and application of disaster risk finance (DRF) activities, strategies, and cross-cutting support to address systemic constraints to climate and disaster finance. This position is contingent upon award.

 

*Target countries include Bahamas, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.

 

Provide strategic and forward-looking technical assistance to design disaster risk finance and financial risk management approaches.
	Work with stakeholders in target Eastern and Southern Caribbean countries to co-develop ccomprehensive disaster risk financing and risk transfer strategies to increase the financial response ccapacity of target countries, including the public and the private sector.
Strengthen the capacity of public and private sector actors to develop, update and implement financial instruments for climate and disaster-related financial risk management and investment in key sectors to improve resilience. Collaborate with the team to enhance the public sector’s capacity to make investments and adopt public policies that benefit underrepresented communities, women, youth, indigenous populations, and people with disabilities.
Provide technical guidance and support to explore emerging areas of disaster risk management, resilience, climate finance, and private sector investment, including the design of disaster risk financing instruments
Develop and review activity scopes of work, training modules, project deliverables, and communications to ensure quality control and effective integration of technical approaches.
Facilitate increased adoption of financial climate and disaster risk management strategies by local businesses.
Provide technical support to ensure climate investment plans and finance-ready projects are structured and launched.
Help design financial mechanisms to mobilize public and private capital towards the launch or uptake of new instruments at a regional and national level (e.g., premiums for regional DRF products, grants for research and development of national insurance products, including for specific sectors).
Lead and oversee the provision of technical assistance to develop climate resilience projects that are ready to be funded and that are aligned with country priorities, as described in National Adaptation Plans, Nationally Determined Contributions, and national climate-related strategies.
All other duties as assigned

Education:

• Master’s degree in disaster risk management, economics, finance, public policy/administration, or other related discipline
• A minimum of 7 years of working experience in sovereign disaster risk finance, catastrophe risk insurance, contingent financing, parametric insurance, shock responsive social protection or related areas required.

Additional Requirements:

• Familiarity with innovative insurance and financing mechanisms to support resilience, such as insurance-linked loans, resilience bonds, etc.
• Strong and demonstrated skills and experience in working with national and subnational government authorities and officials and large groups of experts in DRF, insurance initiatives, private sector, academia, civil society.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the context of the ESC region required. Direct experience supporting or leading DRF or related programming in the ESC a distinct advantage
  Strong familiarity with the policy, social, economic, environmental, disaster, and cultural context in the ESC region.
• Demonstrated track record of mobilizing finance from the public and/or private sectors, preferably for investments in areas related to climate change disaster/risk management, including through the use of grants, loans, and other mechanisms provided by specialized climate finance sources (e.g., Green Climate Fund).
• Excellent communications skills, fluency in English.

• Experience overseeing and coordinating with international field offices preferred.
• Experience, preferably on USAID-funded programs
• Experience in ESC region highly preferred