Call for Experts: DRRS Kurdistan Region of Iraq Junior Flood and Drought Risk Management Expert

Background

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is faced with a combination of flashfloods in winter time and severe droughts during summer, with a considerably high water consumption. The landscape of water governance is fragmented and involved entities works in silos. There is an overall need for a water strategy, which goes beyond the scope of an DRRS intervention. The Office of the Prime Minister expressed interest in an impact review of the current climate adaptation measures being implemented as well as the required governance structure.

Within KRI, many actors are already exploring how to strategically provide governance support. Within the scoping phase, DRRS should therefore explore how DRRS can support in evaluating the current climate adaptation measures and if the Office of the Prime Minister is focusing on the relevant measures that are being taken. In light of the landscape of more long term interventions, DRRS will take into consideration more concrete no regret measures as well as the possible need for behavioral change interventions. 

Objective

The objective of this assignment is
1)    to assess whether the request by the Prime Minister’s Office for an outsider, expert evaluation of current climate adaptation measures is most viable to address the most urgent challenges with regards to floods and drought in KRI; 
2)    to determine if and how the Disaster Risk Reduction & Surge Support (DRRS) Programme could best contribute, taking into account the local context, stakeholders, ongoing or planned initiatives and the broader objectives and criteria of the DRRS programme. 

Activities

This scoping assignment should provide RVO with a clear understanding of the technical and institutional context in KRI and a recommendation to RVO regarding the requested deployment of a DRRS team to support KRI and should, therefore, include the following:

•    Collect and review existing documentation provided by the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Consulate General of the Netherlands and other relevant stakeholders to establish the current context, available data and monitoring systems, existing models, previous studies, and ongoing or planned initiatives related to flooding, drought, water governance and usage, climate adaptation measures.
•    Assess the current technical context for flood & droughty measures, quality and accessibility of data and the extent to which existing systems support timely and operational decision-making.  
•    Support the team leader in engaging with key stakeholders through interviews and exchanges with relevant representatives of the office of the Prime Minister,  as well as other relevant stakeholders such as Ministry of Agriculture & Water Resources, Ministry of Municipality and other stakeholders, to better understand current practices, priorities, challenges, initiatives, funding and institutional responsibilities. 
•    Identify (additional) key gaps and needs in the existing climate adaptations being taken, including its links with water usage and behavioral change. 
•    Identify potential areas for further DRRS engagement, including the relevance of advising on current climate adaptation measures, and provide recommendations on possible next steps and the required expertise of a potential DRRS team based on the findings of the scoping.

All activities will be undertaken under the direction and guidance of the DRRS team leader. 

Deliverables

1.    A concise report (indication: 2-5 pages) for RVO with clear findings, conclusions, and recommendations following the above analyses. This should include input for a possible Terms of Reference in case a DRRS team intervention is advisable (e.g. scope of work, required expertise needed).

2.    If applicable, 1-2 online technical meetings with the requesting authority and potentially other stakeholders to discuss the scoping findings in greater detail

3.    Debriefing call to present the findings with RVO and the Netherlands Consulate General in Erbil, KRI. Following the call, RVO will decide whether to deploy a DRRS team and inform CG of the designated team leader in a timely manner to facilitate further coordination. 

Required expertise

Based on the overall specifics above, the following expertise is required:

General requirements:
-    Able to rapidly assess situations and data and provide conceptual and practical solutions;
-    Experience in and knowledge of the local/regional context;
-    Ability to be a relevant sparring partner for the local officials and to provide feedback on the existing plans and ideas, as well as provide input for suitable alternatives; 
-    Excellent presentation and reporting skills in English, and preferably Spanish;
-    Excellent communication skills in English, and preferably Spanish;
-    Familiarity and practical experience with climate adaptation;
-    Familiarity and practical experience with complex (governance) systems;
-    Familiarity and practical experience with International Financial Institutions (IFIs), including knowledge of their procedures, funding mechanisms, and project requirements, is an asset.

Junior flood/drought management expert  requirements:
-    Junior flood risk and drought management expert with a maximum of 5 years of experience
-    Exposure to  design, planning, implementation and capacity building of projects relevant to flood and drought in connection with climate change;
-    Ability to produce maps and infographics based on data analysis 
-    Knowledge of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq or the broader region; 
-    Fluent in English and Kurdish and/or Arabic (C1 level or higher);
-    Flexible working attitude open to short deadlines and shifting schedules;

Timing

The assignment is scheduled to begin as soon as possible. The scoping/desk study is expected to be carried out in October 2026.

The maximum number of remote working days for this assignment is: 5. Kindly note that a full remote working day consists of 8 working hours. The work will be done remotely.

Candidates' CVs will be evaluated based on qualifications as well as on the order in which they have been submitted. Only profiles with a maximum of 5 years experience will be considered.

If you are interested in this position, please respond as soon as possible, but at the latest before Thursday 1st of October 2026 before noon (CEST) via drrs@rvo.nl. Please send your CV and a short motivation and please also mention your availability in your email.

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.