The International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) invite applications for the post of Executive Director of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme, which will be vacant on 01 June 2016. The deadline for applications is 18 March 2016, midnight Paris time (CET).

The IRDR programme is founded on the recognition that disaster prevention and mitigation are critical dimensions of the global poverty reduction agenda and efforts to adapt to climate change, and should be an integral part of all international and national development efforts.

The Executive Director heads the IRDR global programme and is supported by a small International Programme Office (IPO) being hosted by the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China, with core funding from the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). RADI is a major research institute with wide experience and expertise in remote sensing, data collection and modelling, located on the edge of Beijing. The Executive Director will be a full-time employee of RADI.

The IPO meets the management needs of the IRDR programme, supporting the work of the international Scientific Committee responsible for the overall scientific planning, as well as IRDR’s growing network of national committees, regional committees and international centres of excellence around the world.

The Executive Director of IRDR is expected to:

• Lead on the elaboration and implementation of a strategy and workplan in close collaboration with the co-sponsors and the Scientific Committee;
• Facilitate the development, implementation and co-ordination of IRDR science projects, policy projects and those carried out jointly with partner programmes;
• Lead on the development and implementation of a communications and outreach strategy;
• Actively engage with the IRDR community (international centres of excellence, national committees, etc.) and stakeholders in China, across the region, and globally (including the international policy community and funding agencies);
• Promote the establishment and/or strengthening of national IRDR committees and regional initiatives, with an emphasis on improving the science/policy interface;
• Lead on fundraising for the programme; and
• Ensure effective representation and links between IRDR and other relevant international research programmes and their sponsoring organizations, including Future Earth.

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