ET Consultant - Emergency Preparedness and Response

World Bank Group • Washington, DC

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The World Bank Group (WBG) Infrastructure Vertical provides public and private solutions to operational teams and clients across the WBG to produce scalable impact. Its mandate is to deliver knowledge for impact to support the WBG to achieve its goals in support of our mission and specifically: providing guidance on creating more and better jobs by: (i) supporting foundational infrastructure and human capital, (ii) policy environment, and (iii) enabling and mobilizing private sector capital. The Disaster Management, Solutions & Impact Unit (KIUSD) supports low and middle-income countries to understand, manage, and reduce their risks from natural hazards and climate change. Within KIUSD, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) umbrella trust fund is a global partnership that helps low- and middle-income countries better understand and reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change. GFDRR supports analytics and technical assistance to governments in the most vulnerable countries and communities where it will have the greatest positive impact. In recent years, there has been increasing demand from governments to address emergency preparedness and response (EP&R) as a core development issue. The challenges posed by climate change including more intense storms, heat waves, droughts, extreme flooding, and rising sea levels, are significantly altering the types and magnitudes of hazards faced by communities, often exacerbating existing situations of fragility, conflict, or violence (FCV). As disasters become more frequent and severe, gaps in EP&R capacity can undermine government credibility, impede public safety, and delay stabilization and recovery efforts. In recognition of this growing challenge, the Global Program for EP&R was established in 2016 under GFDRR and is currently managed by KIUSD. The program strengthens government capacities to prepare for and respond to emergencies by supporting legal and institutional frameworks, personnel training, infrastructure, and information technology. It provides technical support to World Bank task teams and governments to institutionalize EP&R investments, supports the operationalization of Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO) and other contingent financing instruments, and helps country teams enhance national EP&R capabilities. To meet growing demand, the program is also developing AI-assisted tools to conduct EP&R assessments more efficiently and strengthen institutional readiness across diverse contexts. The Disaster Management, Solutions & Impact Unit (KIUSD) is seeking a senior Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R) Extended Term Consultant (ETC) to provide strategic and technical leadership to the Global EP&R Program. The ETC will lead complex analytical, operational, and capacity‑building activities; support World Bank task teams and client governments; and contribute to the evolution of global EP&R practice, tools, and partnerships. Please note this position is financed by a Trust Fund and renewal is contingent upon availability of funding, in addition to other factors, including but not limited to business needs, staff performance and skills fit.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or higher in disaster risk management, emergency management, public policy, or a related field.
• Minimum 8 years of professional experience in emergency preparedness and response, preferably with significant field-based experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in multiple EP&R domains, e.g. Emergency preparedness systems and planning, Incident Command Systems (ICS) and emergency coordination, Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) design and operations, Multi-hazard risk preparedness and contingency planning, Simulation design and facilitation, Emergency telecommunications and response logistics.
• Ability to structure and analyze qualitative and quantitative data related to EP&R; develop diagnostics/assessments; and translate findings into actionable operational recommendations.
• Experience supporting project design and implementation, including drafting inputs to project documents, results frameworks/indicators, and implementation arrangements; and managing deliverables across timelines.
• Ability to advise and communicate with senior counterparts; facilitate workshops/consultations; and build consensus across stakeholders in diverse country contexts.
• Ability to assess, design, and support the integration of information systems, data flows, and operational workflows across agencies and partners to enable timely, reliable decision-making and coordinated emergency preparedness and response.
• Familiarity with disaster risk management frameworks and resilience-building approaches.
• Strong problem-solving skills and proven ability to apply these in operational tasks, presenting findings and recommendations, and contributing to resolution of sector and/or country issues.
• Experience collaborating with government agencies, international organizations, and community leaders.
• Demonstrated experience working with governments in developing countries.
• Experience supporting or implementing donor-funded operations (World Bank or similar institutions strongly preferred).
• Excellent sense of initiative, drive for results, and client orientation, coupled with strong planning and organizational skills.
• Fluency (written and spoken) in English is required.
• Proven communications skills, both in oral presentations and in written documents, including sections of papers, briefs, and independent reports.
• Strong interpersonal, diplomatic and team building skills, and proven track record of building and maintaining collaborative relationships.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with World Bank operations, instruments, and DRM/resilience priorities is an asset.
• Fluency in an additional language, such as French, Spanish, or Portuguese, is strongly desirable but not required.

Responsibilities

• Leading the development of high-quality EP&R knowledge products, diagnostics, guidance notes, and analytical outputs that directly inform World Bank operations and investments.
• Providing senior-level technical advice to client governments and World Bank task teams on the design, implementation, and monitoring of EP&R investments and crisis preparedness activities.
• Fostering and managing strategic technical partnerships across Global Practices, corporate units, and external institutions, while contributing to KIUSD program management and visibility.
• Leading and/or technically overseeing EP&R assessments and knowledge products, ensuring methodological rigor and operational relevance.
• Providing hands-on and advisory support to global task teams and clients, including supervision of technical studies, inputs to project documents, indicator development, and participation in missions.
• Designing and delivering technical assistance programs to strengthen national and subnational EP&R and crisis preparedness systems, including simulations, tabletop exercises, and other participatory learning activities with client governments.
• Supporting the preparation and implementation of crisis preparedness technical activities to be carried out by client counterparts or other experts and ensuring integration of EP&R into broader multi-hazard risk reduction strategies and disaster and crisis management frameworks.
• Where necessary, discuss and define with the task teams the technical requirements for requested support, and identify terms of reference, international experts or institutions that can support the activity.
• Cultivating and advancing partnerships with firms, consultants, external institutions, and internal World Bank teams for the co-development of new products, support to operational task teams, and advancement of the field of EP&R.
• Contributing to thought leadership and internal/external communications (blogs, briefs, presentations).
• Contributing to programmatic outputs, including results monitoring, reporting, budgeting, and branding.
• Facilitate coordination with related programs within the Infrastructure Vice-Presidential Unit and the World Bank in general.
• Contributing to the work of GFDRR teams, facilitating team building, learning, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
• Performing other duties as assigned by EP&R Program Leads, the KIUSD Practice Manager, or Unit Management.

Benefits

• As per WBG policy, an Extended Term (ET) appointment is subject to a lifetime maximum of three (3) years. Former and current ET staff who have completed or are in the process of completing their third-year ET appointment are not eligible for future ET appointments.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior