Position description
Winrock is recruiting a full-time Climate Finance Lead for the anticipated five-year U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Eastern and Southern Caribbean titled, Resilient Economies and Sectors Activity (RESET). Caribbean nationals strongly encouraged to apply. This position is contingent upon award and is based in Barbados or the region.
Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources. By linking local individuals and communities with new ideas and technology, Winrock is increasing long-term productivity, equity, and responsible resource management to benefit the poor and disadvantaged of the world.
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Climate Finance Lead will lead the development of interventions to increase the capacity of the public and private sector of supported countries to develop, update and implement financial instruments for climate and disaster-related fiscal risk management and investment in key sectors for resilience. These will include interventions to update/develop disaster risk finance tools to cover the entire spectrum of risk, structure and launch climate investment plans and finance-ready projects that are ready to receive financial resources from the private sector and international climate funds, and increase adoption of financial climate and disaster risk management strategies by businesses.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Provide strategic technical assistance to design disaster risk finance and financial risk management approaches including supporting the development of public wholistic DRF strategies, structuring of specific risk-management products, and readiness for/access to mechanisms like contingent-credit facilities;
- Lead the provision of technical assistance to develop finance-ready climate resilience projects aligned with country priorities and national climate-related strategies;
- Oversee embedded financial advisors within public sector entities in target Caribbean countries to support the development of initiatives to help manage fiscal risks related to climate change;
- Help design and/or expand financial mechanisms to mobilize public and private capital towards the launch or uptake of new instruments at a regional and national level;
- 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;
- Facilitate increased adoption of financial climate and disaster risk management strategies by local businesses;
- 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;
- Ensure financial interventions integrate approaches to enhance the public sector’s capacity to make investments that benefit underrepresented communities, women, youth, indigenous populations, and people with disabilities;
- Contribute to cross-cutting activities, such as private sector engagement; building productive partnerships for resilience; gender and social inclusion; monitoring, evaluation, and learning; and collaborating, learning, and adapting;
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Education:
- Advanced degree in economics, finance, disaster risk management, international development, business, public policy/administration, or a related field.
Experience:
- Minimum 8 years of professional experience in climate risk finance;
- Experience working in the development and implementation of disaster risk financing strategies for the public sector, structuring of specific risk-management products and/or readiness for/access to risk management mechanisms;
- Previous experience working with institutional stakeholders such as Ministries of Finance or financial institutions to enhance fiscal management;
- Experience working in projects or fields related to RESET objectives including climate change, sustainable natural resource management, sustainable finance, and agriculture;
- Experience working with government ministries and ability to foster and maintain good working relationships with senior officials;
- Experience implementing donor funded programs is preferred;
- Demonstrated competence in negotiation and communication.
Skills:
- Demonstrated track record of mobilizing finance from the public and/or private sectors, preferably for investments in areas related to climate change and/or disaster risk management, including through the use of grants, loans, and other mechanisms provided by specialized climate finance sources (e.g., Green Climate Fund);
- Familiarity with innovative insurance and financing mechanisms to support resilience, such as insurance-linked loans, resilience bonds, etc.;
- Demonstrated experience building local institutional or private sector capacity in financial risk management strategies;
- Strong familiarity with the policy, social, economic, environmental, disaster, and cultural context in the ESC region;
- Ability to work both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment;
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English required.
Application instructions
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