JOB DESCRIPTION

Fiji Program Support Platform (FPSP)

• Long term position open to International and National candidates
• Contract until 31 December 2027 with possible extension
• Based in Suva, Fiji 
• Please apply online by submitting an up to date CV and a cover letter addressing how you meet the selection criteria of the role.  

Program Overview:    

FPSP (the ‘Platform’) is a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) investment which assists DFAT to deliver Fiji’s national development priorities, in line with Australia’s International Development Policy, the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Partnership and the Development Partnership Plan for Fiji.

The Platform supports DFAT to deliver key bilateral programs, such as health, education, scholarships, social infrastructure, governance, climate and emergency preparedness and response. Platform activities will identify and address climate risks, and promote climate action and gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) across and beyond the sector programs.

The Platform has three functional Outcomes:

1. The Platform has delivered its sector program outcomes, including through supporting strategic coherence, planning, partnerships management, data and learning across the portfolio of investments.
2. The Platform has prioritised gender equality, disability-inclusive development, and climate and disaster resilience, in its systems and practices. This includes in how it undertakes sector programming and its engagement with selected Government of Fiji (GoF) agencies.
3. The Platform administers timely and efficient programming that is: value for money; maximises use of local supply chains; and supports good governance, and public diplomacy, effective decision making and risk management.

For the position described, the Platform will deliver the Fiji Climate Adaptation Program (FCAP) and the Disaster Resilience Program (DRP).

Each program is governed by a program-level governance committee made up of senior DFAT and GoF representatives. The governance committees determine the work plans and strategic direction of the programs. It is the responsibility of the Platform to implement the decisions and directions of the governance committee, as well as to ensure seamless collaboration and alignment between the governance of the programs.

Fiji Climate Adaptation Program (FCAP, AUD 24m, 2025 – 2029) Overview:

FCAP is Australia’s first bilateral climate program in Fiji. The program responds to Fiji’s escalating climate threats, particularly floods and cyclones, that threaten lives, livelihoods and infrastructure. FCAP will partner with GoF (led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways (MoAW)) and civil society organisations (CSOs) to implement climate resilience activities.

The objective of FCAP is to reduce flood risk and strengthen resilience to flooding through improved water governance, land management, livelihoods and early warning systems.

FCAP will deliver the following outcomes:

1. Strengthened governance & early warning systems to reduce flood risk and mitigate impacts
   • Support for national/sub-national governance, legal frameworks and planning systems to improve water resource management
   • Flood early warning systems and community flood risk plans
   • Delivered via technical assistance, capacity building, knowledge exchange and flood warning infrastructure.
2. Community-level climate resilience activities to reduce flood risk and mitigate impacts
   • Grants for practical adaptation in priority catchments.
   • Activities include nature-based solutions, climate-smart agriculture and ecosystem conservation.

Disaster Resilience Program (DRP, AUD4.8 million, 2025-2029) Overview:

DRP is Australia’s primary bilateral disaster risk reduction program in Fiji. The program partners with Fiji’s National Disaster Risk Management Office (NDRMO) and Fijian-led CSOs to strengthen disaster resilience and improve the quality, inclusivity and timeliness of humanitarian responses at the national and community level in Fiji.

DRP has two EOPOs:

1. Strengthened institutional capabilities of the NDRMO to prepare for and respond to disasters and undertake resilient recovery.
2. CSOs more effectively manage their resources to deliver high-quality, inclusive, climate resilient preparedness and response programs.

Position Summary: 

The Team Leader, Resilience (TL) is responsible for leading and managing the delivery of FCAP and DRP to achieve high quality and sustainable results, ensuring alignment with the strategic priorities of DFAT and GoF. These programs have been brought together under one implementation team (“the Resilience Team”) at the Platform to maximise synergies.

This role leads on overall implementation including overseeing program management, operations and activity implementation to deliver support to the GoF, undertaking required procurements of goods and services, engagement with key stakeholders and effective grant management. This is a senior management role and will be responsible for strategic thinking and planning, and active engagement with and support to DFAT.

The TL will provide strategic leadership and drive key partner agency engagement and coordination. The TL will have strong relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills and will ensure collaboration and coherence across the programs. The TL will develop strong working relationships with DFAT counterparts, government officials from respective Ministries, grantees, contractors, Platform teams and other stakeholders.

The TL will be a highly motivated and experienced individual. They will have a comprehensive understanding of international development program implementation, preferably involving climate adaptation and resilience, humanitarian, and disaster risk reduction. They will have extensive leadership and people management experience, including substantial leadership experience on development projects.

The TL will be a member of the Platform’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT), a champion for Platform cross-cutting themes and accountable for ensuring program implementation compliance with Platform/Abt Global policies and procedures across the program and alignment with relevant DFAT policies.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Engagement & Leadership 

• Lead FCAP and DRP, including setting the strategic direction in line with the priorities of DFAT and GoF.
• Implement FCAP and DRP activities in line with DFAT and GoF’s direction, including decisions by the governance committees.
• Lead, manage and mentor the Resilience Team in coordination with Platform leadership to deliver high quality development results.
• Maintain a clear and contemporary understanding of and engagement with the climate and humanitarian context in Fiji (policy, political and donor/investment landscape) and draw upon this to provide relevant advice to DFAT, GoF Ministries and Platform leadership.
• Ensure FCAP and DRP are delivered in alignment with the Platform’s commitment to GEDSI, climate resilience and achieving value for money, and in accordance with DFAT policies and standards.
• Proactively mitigate and/or manage emergent issues and risks as they arise in close consultation with DFAT, including producing quarterly risk reports against the risk register.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain strong relationships with DFAT, GoF, community leaders and other stakeholders to ensure program alignment that supports locally led development.
• Direct programmatic policy dialogue, relationships management and stakeholder engagement with DFAT, national counterparts, development partners, the private sector and civil society.

Management, Planning, Implementation & Reporting

• Oversee program management and operations functions and ensure effective allocation and utilisation of resources, including for financial management, human resources, procurement and logistics within the Resilience Team.
• Lead the development and implementation of Annual Work Plans (AWPs) based on effective and close engagement with GoF and DFAT to ensure alignment with strategic priorities, appropriate ownership and mutual accountability.
• Ensure program performance meets the agreed Performance Framework, as agreed with DFAT on an annual basis.
• Lead the preparation of high-quality progress reports for the programs as part of Platform reporting, and other ad-hoc reporting as required by the programs’ designs and Service Orders.
• In accordance with the monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) planning documents, ensure regular, ongoing review and reflection of the programs’ progress towards their goals and intermediate outcomes, and ensure MEL findings are incorporated into delivery approaches on an ongoing basis.
• Act as the hiring manager for the recruitment of staff, technical advisers and other human resources according to AWP resourcing plans.
• With the Platform Management Unit (PMU), contribute to the planning and delivery of public diplomacy activities that promote the achievements of the programs and the development cooperation values of the Australian government as a key partner in Fiji’s climate and humanitarian sector.

General

Lead the Resilience Team in a way that:

• Promotes sustainable practices and innovative solutions in climate and disaster risk reduction, focusing on long-term resilience and environmental sustainability.
• Supports counterpart Ministries and their staff to develop project management and resilience planning and development skills and systems.
• Delivers strategic planning, policy analysis and data assessment, ensuring knowledge management and capacity building, and advocating for adaptation priorities at national and regional levels.

The Resilience Team, Team Leader will also undertake other duties, as requested by the Platform Leader.
Key Deliverables: 

Position Deliverables / Outputs

• Contribute to the strategic direction and oversight of FCAP and DRP, including through governance meetings and regular updates to DFAT.
• Delivery of FCAP and DRP.
• Six-monthly and annual progress reports, drawing on evidence from the Platform’s MEL system.
• Quarterly Budget Reviews

Senior Leadership Team Deliverables

• High level of responsiveness to DFAT issues and requests measured by receiving Partner Performance Ratings of 5 or above.
• Quality reporting, milestones, deliverables and KPIs are submitted on time and meet internal (Abt) and external (DFAT) requirements.
• Programs are delivered on time and within budget and value for money principles drive all program resourcing decisions.
• Build and maintain open, productive and outcome-oriented relationships with key internal and external stakeholders including DFAT.
• Innovative approaches to the delivery of aid are actively pursued and incorporated into the delivery and design of the programs.

Key Working Relationships:

Reporting to

• Platform Leader

Other key working relationships are:

• DFAT Counsellor (Infrastructure and Climate Resilience) and the Climate and Humanitarian teams at the Australian High Commission (DFAT).
• The Permanent Secretary (PS) and senior officials in relevant GoF ministries, noting DFAT will maintain strategic policy relationship with the PS and the Ministries.
• The Platform Management Team (PMT) and senior technical advisers in the PMU, and other sector programs managed by the Platform.
• Other bi-lateral and multi-lateral organisations and stakeholders in the climate and humanitarian sectors in Fiji and regionally.

Selection Criteria:

Qualifications/ technical experience 

• Master’s level qualification or equivalent professional experience related to Project Management, International Development, Climate/ Humanitarian or a related field.

Experience (essential)

• Strong and credible skills and experience within project management, climate/humanitarian, program delivery and engagement.
• Demonstrated experience and success in senior management of programs in developing countries, preferably in the Pacific region, and/or in a donor funded environment.
• Proven experience in senior program management, including planning and implementation for results, including financial management, reporting and work planning.
• Strong financial acumen and experience managing large project budgets.
• Proven experience in the leadership of teams (team building, motivation, capacity building and performance management) of national and international staff of diverse backgrounds and varying competencies.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills with experience managing relationships across government, civil society and donors.
• Strong experience in program performance MEL consistent with DFAT’s M&E standards.
• Demonstrated experience in mainstreaming cross-cutting themes including GEDSI.

Personal Attributes

• Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate a diverse team.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and share a vision and deliver strategic approach.
• Able to manage relationships, conflicts and tensions between key stakeholders under a context that is potential vulnerable to political agendas.
• Understanding and sensitivity to Fiji’s indigenous and diverse cultures and the ability to act appropriately within that context.
• Ability to work according to agreed principles and model the Platform’s principles including transparency, accountability, fairness and collaboration.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including demonstrated ability to engage at a senior level, build and maintain networks, provide advice and communicate effectively (both written and verbal) on sensitive issues with a culturally and professionally diverse range of stakeholders.
• A demonstrated commitment to child protection and the PSEAH and a robust fraud control and anti-corruption environment.
• Able to cope with ambiguity and a fast-changing operating environment.

How to apply: