Climate Change Specialist – Anticipatory Action

About the role

The Climate Change Specialist (Anticipatory Action) will design, operationalize and strengthen climate risk management and multi‑hazard early warning systems across Sudan. Working under the FAO Representative and the Climate Change Program Team Leader, the specialist will coordinate with national authorities, UN agencies and NGOs to embed anticipatory actions into agricultural and natural resource programmes.

Key responsibilities

• Define localized climate and weather thresholds (triggers) for Sudan’s diverse climatic zones and adapt standard Anticipatory Action triggers to the country’s conflict‑affected context.
• Partner with the Sudan Meteorological Authority and National Council for Civil Defense to analyse hydrometeorological data and produce multi‑hazard early warning bulletins.
• Design and implement standard operating procedures for pre‑disaster assistance, including shock‑responsive agriculture support, emergency livestock interventions and water management protocols.
• Lead technical working groups that bring together local authorities, NGOs, community committees and international actors to ensure inclusive, conflict‑sensitive frameworks.
• Deliver capacity‑building workshops for state and national disaster management staff on climate resilience and early action.
• Monitor and evaluate pilot anticipatory actions, document lessons learned and scale up effective approaches.

Required profile

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in climatology, meteorology, environmental sciences, disaster risk management, agriculture, natural resources management, geography or a related field.
• Minimum seven years of experience in Sudan’s agriculture, climate‑change adaptation, disaster risk reduction or humanitarian/agricultural development sectors.
• Demonstrated hands‑on experience designing and operationalizing early warning and anticipatory action frameworks.
• Experience working with national/sub‑national governments, UN agencies or international NGOs in fragile, climate‑vulnerable contexts.
• National of Sudan or resident with a valid work permit and working knowledge of English.

Required skills

• Python and R for climate‑data visualization and analysis.
• GIS tools for risk mapping and spatial analysis.
• Design and implementation of impact‑based forecasting systems and early warning protocols.
• Hydrometeorological data processing and multi‑hazard early warning bulletin production.