Project Assistant

About US Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 24 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a non-profit organization that works across over 50 countries, our 8,300 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good. Action Against Hunger USA is part of the Action Against Hunger International network. As an independent NGO, Action Against Hunger USA currently manages operations in 8 countries: Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Haiti. Action Against Hunger-USA has over $100 million in programs, and approximately 1,100 permanent staff based in New York City, Washington D.C, Nairobi, and country offices. Additional growth is anticipated. Organization context and rationale for this position Action Against Hunger (ACF), in consortium with IGAD and ICPAC, is implementing the DG ECHO-funded Regional Disaster Preparedness Program across Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti, operationalizing the SCALAA methodology and the IGAD Anticipatory Action Roadmap through four interdependent Result Areas. Within the Djibouti component, Result Area 3 addresses the city's acute and growing exposure to extreme heat events with temperatures regularly exceeding forty-five degrees Celsius and climate projections indicating increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves through 2030-2050, and to flash flooding driven by the Ambouli Wadi drainage system, which affects the majority of Djibouti Ville's densely populated neighborhoods. These two hazards represent the highest-frequency, highest-severity risk drivers for the program's fifty-two thousand, two hundred and eight direct beneficiaries. The Project Assistant (IGAD) position exists because the technical depth, data analysis and stakeholder engagement demands of the heatwave and flood preparedness planning mandate require dedicated full-time support that neither the Project Manager and Coordinator nor the Project Officer can provide alone. By placing this role within IGAD's institutional framework in Djibouti, the program simultaneously strengthens IGAD's operational presence in Djibouti and builds institutional heatwave and flood preparedness planning capacity within the IGAD system, contributing to the sustainability and regional replication of Djibouti's urban climate preparedness approach across the Greater Horn of Africa. SUMMARY OF POSITION This position wil be hired through our local partner in Djibouti The Project Assistant (IGAD) provides dedicated technical and operational support focused specifically on urban heatwave and flood preparedness planning across all target neighborhoods in Djibouti Ville. Based within IGAD's Djibouti operational presence, this role bridges ICPAC climate science, municipal government planning and community-level preparedness activities, conducting technical analyses, supporting stakeholder consultations, preparing planning documents and tracking preparedness indicators, under the direct operational guidance of the Project Manager and Coordinator and in close coordination with the Regional Climate and AA Modeling Specialist and IGAD AA TWG. Purpose To provide dedicated, specialized technical and operational support for urban heatwave and flood preparedness planning in Djibouti Ville, translating ICPAC climate data, community vulnerability evidence and government planning mandates into actionable preparedness products that protect all direct beneficiaries from Djibouti's most severe recurring hazards. Engagement To engage with CIGRC, ONARS, municipal health authorities, the Regional Climate and AA Modeling Specialist, ICPAC, IOM, community health workers, Urban DRR Committees and IGAD technical staff, functioning as the technical bridge between climate science and municipal preparedness planning for heatwave and flood risk. Delivery To deliver high-quality technical analyses, preparedness planning documents, training materials, stakeholder consultation outputs and monitoring data supporting the Municipal Heatwave Preparedness Plan, Flood Preparedness Plan, WASH preparedness activities and urban health surveillance systems across all six target municipalities. ESSENTIAL JOB ROLES Heatwave Preparedness Planning and Technical Support Provide dedicated technical and analytical support for the development of the Municipal Heatwave Preparedness Plan, conducting heat exposure mapping analyses using ICPAC thermal data, ERA5 reanalysis and local temperature station records in coordination with the Regional Climate and AA Modeling Specialist, analysing historical heatwave event data, health impact records and vulnerable population distribution data from ONARS and IOM, and synthesizing these into evidence-based heat risk profiles for each of the ten target neighborhoods that directly inform threshold calibration and priority intervention targeting. Support CIGRC, ONARS and municipal health authorities in the design of heatwave alert communication protocols and institutional response procedures, drafting protocol templates, preparing technical briefing notes on heat health risks, facilitating consultation workshops with health workers and community representatives across all six districts, documenting feedback and revisions systematically, and ensuring finalized protocols are tested through seasonal preparedness drills before each peak heat period from June through September. Support the development and operationalization of the cooling centre network across target neighborhoods, identifying potential cooling centre sites in coordination with municipal authorities and community DRR committees, developing cooling centre operational protocols covering activation triggers, staffing arrangements, supplies and beneficiary targeting, training cooling centre focal points, and coordinating with IOM and ONARS on targeting procedures for persons on the move and refugees and asylum seekers during heat emergencies. Design and support delivery of heat health training for frontline health workers, community health volunteers, Urban DRR Committee members and school teachers, covering recognition of heat exhaustion and heatstroke, hydration messaging, first-line management, surveillance reporting and referral pathways, and contribute training materials to IGAD AA TWG and SCALAA as replicable tools for urban heat preparedness in comparable East African contexts. Track and document heatwave preparedness indicators for the DG ECHO Results Framework, monitoring progress on cooling centre establishment, health worker training completion, alert system testing and vulnerable population coverage, and prepare regular monitoring updates for the Project Manager and Coordinator and Regional MEAL Specialist, ensuring all evidence meets the data quality standards required for DG ECHO reporting. 2. Flood Preparedness Planning and Technical Support Provide dedicated technical support for the development of the Municipal Flood Preparedness Plan, compiling and analysing Ambouli Wadi catchment hydrology data, ICPAC rainfall forecasts, historical flood event records and community-level drainage vulnerability assessments, mapping high-priority drainage bottlenecks in coordination with the Project Manager and Coordinator, and producing flood risk summary products that inform the targeting and prioritization of drainage maintenance, evacuation route improvements and pre-positioned flood response resources across all ten target neighborhoods. Support the development of flood-specific early warning communication procedures and community preparedness protocols, drafting community flood alert templates in French, Somali and Afar aligned with CIGRC's alert classification system, facilitating consultation sessions with Urban DRR C