Call for Experts: DRRS Dominica (July 2025)

Context
The Commonwealth of Dominica has been severely impacted by floods in recent years, driven by extreme weather conditions. Notably, tropical storms such as Erika in 2015 and Hurricane Maria in 2017 caused catastrophic damage, leaving the Caribbean Island grappling with the aftermath. These events have exposed the vulnerabilities of the island's infrastructure, communities, and ecosystems to both tropical cyclones and intense rainfall. The rugged terrain, steep slopes, and high rainfall, combined with climate change, have made flood risks more prevalent, particularly in the coastal areas where over 90% of the population resides. With the changing climate exacerbating these risks, it has become evident that Dominica must enhance its flood risk management strategies to build resilience and safeguard its communities and infrastructure.

Aim of the intervention
Recognizing the urgent need to strengthen flood risk management and climate adaptation measures, the Government of Dominica sent out an official request for technical support on flood risk management. Based on the conducted scoping study and in line with the priorities expressed by the Government of Dominica, this DRRS intervention will focus on:

• Assessment of cause-effect related to recent flooding events. The specific causes of recent floods—such as those in Coulibistrie (2017) and Calibishie (2025)—remain insufficiently understood. A rapid assessment is essential to gain a clearer understanding of the underlying drivers and the behaviour of the hydrologic system. This assessment will focus specifically on the Coulibistrie catchment area.
• Flood mitigation and adaptation strategies. Based on the outcome of the rapid assessment, a review of existing flood mitigation and adaptation strategies, and suggestions for improvement. This step will focus specifically on sustainability and integrated hydrological health. Green solutions (NBS) will be considered along with more traditional engineered interventions where needed.
• Finance opportunities for follow-up. Flood risk management (FRM) in Dominica is vulnerable, partly due to resource and funding discontinuity. This step addresses short-term financing for the proposed mitigation and adaptation strategies and, in a wider context, provides an overview of flood resilience projects and their financers. It maps current initiatives, identifies funding sources, gaps and highlights opportunities for collaboration and scaling-up. Strategies will be outlined to secure additional funding and partnerships for a comprehensive flood resilience approach, with a focus on self-sustenance and co-financing opportunities involving International Financial Institutions (IFIs).

Required expertise
A preferred candidate for the team leader role has been identified and recruited during the scoping phase. To complete the DRRS team for Dominica, we are now seeking the following expertise:

• Hydrologist, flood risk management & climate adaptation expert - This expert will conduct a rapid assessment of the Coulibistrie catchment to understand its hydrologic behaviour and identify the root causes of the floods. A review will be conducted of existing mitigation and adaptation measures on short and long term, and suggestions for improvement will be provided.
• Water governance / finance expert - This expert will outline funding options for the proposed mitigation and adaptation strategies, including co-financing by International Financial Institutions (IFIs). Focus will be on improving continuity and self-sustainability for FRM. In addition, based on a diagnostic assessment of the institutional setup, capacity, national and regional collaboration platforms, and ongoing projects, advise will be provided on integrating a future flood resilience strategy with existing governance structures at national and regional levels.

All experts should preferably have work experience in the Caribbean and a strong understanding of the SIDS context, particularly in terms of governance and institutional settings.

Planning
This assignment is scheduled to be carried out between June and October, 2025. The visit to Dominica is tentatively scheduled for July 2025. The total expected number of working days is approximately 12-15 days.

Interested?
Interested? Kindly share a short motivation and an updated CV to drrs@rvo.nl by Tuesday, July 1 COB at the latest.

We strongly encourage a diverse set of candidates to apply, as we are committed to fostering gender diversity and inclusion in DRRS. Moreover, we stimulate national experts to become part of our database and to apply for vacancies. Please visit our website and become part of our network.

At RVO we are fully committed to creating a safe and respectful work environment. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment (PSEAH). All deployees/experts must adhere to the Code of Conduct, which outlines ethical standards and behaviors expected within our organization. Successful candidates will be required to uphold these principles and participate in mandatory PSEAH and CoC training as part of their onboarding process.