Resilience Technical Advisor, Quito

Position title: Resilience Technical Advisor, Quito

Department: Regions and Mayoral Engagement

Reporting to: Deputy Regional Director, Latin America

Location: Quito - Please note that if your right to work in one of the listed locations is not confirmed at the time of applying, C40 will be unable to proceed with your application. 

Salary: (Grade 3) (IC) USD 51,153 gross per annum - Due to its commitment to maintain equity and fairness, C40 operates on a spot salary model. This means that our employees are paid the same salary according to their grade and location. 

Term: August 3rd 2026 - July 31st 2027

Background 

C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities, who are working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis, and create a future where everyone, everywhere can thrive. Mayors of C40 cities are committed to using a science-based and people-focused approach to help the world limit global heating to 1.5°C and build healthy, equitable and resilient communities. Through a Global Green New Deal, mayors are working alongside a broad coalition of representatives from labour, business, the youth climate movement and civil society to go further and faster than ever before.

Our international staff work with the C40 network under the leadership of city governments to deliver this mission. Using a data-driven approach, our team identifies and promotes the exchange of proven programmes and policies developed by cities; provides world-class research, technical expertise and access to key partners to deliver new programmes and policies with cities; and communicates cities’ individual achievements and collective leadership.

Diversity statement

C40 is committed to supporting and promoting equity and diversity and creating an inclusive working environment for everyone. We believe that when people with different life experiences are involved in decision-making, we deliver better. 

We believe having a diverse workforce ensures we connect better with all the different communities and people affected by the climate crisis. This enables us to make better decisions which lead to better outcomes in the work we do through increased creativity, productivity, greater global impact alongside a broader perspective and approach to our work.

We welcome applicants that are diverse in terms of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity and perspective. Our goal is for C40 to be an environment where everyone, from any background, can flourish and can be themselves whilst contributing to our mission. If you identify as a person with a disability, we work to provide reasonable appropriate measures and any additional support needed to provide an equitable working experience. If you are living with a disability, chronic illness or neurodiversity please inform us, to provide you with the proper assistance in the application process.

C40 promotes a work culture where staff can input to improve equity, diversity and inclusion through staff-led groups and formal forums. We know that creating our ideal working environment is a learning process and we are committed to the ongoing effort.

Department description

Regions and Mayoral Engagement Team

Core to C40’s value and effectiveness is an ability to be responsive to the needs of all C40 cities and focus services and support on the areas of greatest opportunity for city action and climate impact – both at the individual city level and across our regional and global networks. Our regional management structure better enables C40 to leverage relationships between peer cities and partners regionally and globally and to be more responsive to local needs and conditions.

The Regions and Mayoral Engagement Team is one of the most diverse teams in C40, with staff members located in every region of the globe, representing C40 and coordinating with local cities on the ground. Key objectives of the C40 Regions and Mayoral Engagement team are regionally aligned delivery (ensuring city satisfaction and that C40 remains responsive and relevant to the needs of cities); political engagement (ensuring that C40 builds strong relations with mayors, city officials and regional entities); and effective operations (ensuring data-driven regional strategies and effective processes that support organisation-wide delivery).

The Project

C40 Climate Resilience and Water Safe Cities Program

In response to climate change, cities around the world are already implementing ambitious actions to reduce emissions (mitigation) alongside efforts to increase their climate resilience (adaptation) to protect citizens and infrastructure against current and future extreme weather events. Further advancing climate resilience will be crucial to minimise potential damage to current and future urban investments. C40’s Climate Resilience Programme endeavours to support cities to plan, deliver, mainstream, innovate, finance and lead on climate adaptation actions resulting in climate resilience.

Part of C40’s Climate Resilience offer, Water Safe Cities is a comprehensive program led by C40 to support cities in tackling the escalating challenges of flooding and drought by delivering water-safe solutions, mainstreaming multi-sector collaboration, and leading a global movement of city action on water resilience. To date, 20 cities have joined the Water Safe Cities Accelerator, pledging to protect their most vulnerable communities and take transformative action to achieve access to clean water, safeguard from floods and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in city water and wastewater systems.

The Mainstreaming Resilience Initiative is an ambitious, new, demand-driven technical assistance project designed to accelerate climate resilience on the ground. The initiative will provide tailored support to a cohort of pilot cities, helping them to strengthen cross-departmental coordination on resilience, embed climate resilience into their municipal budgets, and develop finance-ready project pipelines. This support will enable the implementation of priority projects, such as those identified to deliver on commitments under the Water Safe Cities Accelerator, and strengthen the foundations for long-term, climate-resilient and inclusive urban development.

Scope

The Resilience Technical Advisor will act as the focal point for delivering the Mainstreaming Resilience Initiative in Quito. 

The role will report to the Deputy Regional Director for Latin America, and work closely with a cross collaborative team made up of the  Resilience, City Finance and Climate Budgeting Teams. The Resilience Technical Advisor will support engagement of city officials, conduct or oversee technical deliverables, and lead the successful stakeholder engagement activities. 

The Resilience Technical Advisor will provide comprehensive technical assistance to the city of Quito, and may consist of: a review of the city’s existing plan(s), including the city Climate Action Plan; conducting climate risk assessments; undertaking stakeholder engagement; working with the city budget, project pipeline development and access to finance; supporting monitoring and evaluation; and facilitating  multi-level governance.

The ideal candidate is passionate about practical approaches to climate resilience and city governance, brings proven experience in urban project development, climate finance, and/or green and climate budgeting. The ideal candidate possesses strong stakeholder engagement, analytical, communication, collaboration and facilitation skills, and has worked with or within city governments. 

This is a dynamic opportunity to deepen expertise in climate resilience, finance, and climate budgeting while gaining hands-on experience working with international teams in a fast-paced, mission-driven global organisation.

Responsibilities and Deliverables:

• Work closely with the Latin American Regions Team, Resilience, Finance and Climate Budgeting Teams to deliver implementation of technical assistance support under the Mainstreaming Resilience Initiative.
• Support/Advise Quito to develop, implement and institutionalise their participation in the Mainstreaming Resilience Initiative, aligning with Quito’s Climate Action Plan. This would include supporting the city to develop a cross-departmental taskforce on climate resilience, focused on the implementation of the Mainstreaming Resilience Initiative.
• Develop a governance assessment, including an overview of Quito’s governance structures, as well as gaps and opportunities to strengthen governance structures for adaptation, including multi-level engagement with the national level, public utilities and external stakeholders.
• Engage Quito’s city departments to organise internal and external stakeholder consultation for mainstreaming resilience in the budget process, including (but not limited to) mainstreaming resilience in budget proposals and project pipeline development, reviewing budget proposals, and assessing the impact of resilience indicators.
• Based on the budgeting process and stakeholder engagement, support the city to build a pipeline of adaptation projects to attract investments. This would include the integration of resilience in planned projects (climate-proofing and climate-integrated projects) and mapping planned projects focused on risk reduction in city budgeting and capital investment planning.
• Lead, in collaboration with project focal points, the development of 1-2 project concept notes to support engagement with investment opportunities.
• Ensure high-quality project management (track deliverables through the work plan, etc.).
• Manage the relationship with external consultants and ensure deliverables are high-quality, aligned with project guidelines, and delivered on time.
• Work with the Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director and across a matrix team consisting of the Resilience, Finance and Climate Budgeting Teams to ensure coordination and linkages across C40, contributing towards a unified and coordinated city support strategy for the region.
• Perform additional duties as assigned, including other regional resilience and finance initiatives as needed.

Required Experience:

• Significant work experience related to climate adaptation, sustainability, environmental studies, urban planning, engineering, finance, economics, or a relevant field.
• A proven track record in working with municipalities and a strong understanding of city governance across different levels of stakeholders, from decision makers to technical staff, is essential.
• Experience working in city government with budgeting processes and/or climate action planning and implementation.
• Proven experience in reviewing public investment budgets and multi-year planning (preferably in the context of GADs in Ecuador).
• Design of KPIs or performance indicators.
• Experience in applying multi-criteria analysis methodologies for infrastructure project prioritisation
• Demonstrated technical expertise in urban project development or financial planning, particularly within the climate adaptation finance/climate finance field.
• Experience collaborating with a range of stakeholders, such as NGOs, development finance institutions, project preparation facilities, or private sector partners.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills with a delivery-oriented mindset.
• Ability to work independently and proactively, with the ability to define and prioritize tasks and tackle day-to-day challenges with a positive mindset. 
• Ability to work effectively across cultures, time zones, and organisational boundaries.
• Advanced-level written and verbal communication skills in English are required. 
• Ability to liaise with city teams and municipal authorities. 
• Experience designing and facilitating both in-person workshops and virtual meetings/webinars.

Desirable:

• Experience with climate budgeting, green budgeting or similar climate governance processes. 
• Strong background in climate change adaptation, urban resilience, water management, or disaster risk reduction within government, non-profit, or research sectors.
• Knowledge of the environmental and social safeguards of multilateral development banks.
• Knowledge of Ecuador’s Organic Law on Public Finance and the COOTAD

Other Requirements:

Applicants must already have the right to work in Ecuador (Quito). Minimum to moderate travel may be required as part of the role. 

We seek to recruit individuals who not only have the appropriate skills and experience for the role, but are committed to carrying out their roles in line with our organisational values.

Please note that this is a consultancy opportunity, therefore the successful individual will be liable to pay their own taxes, in accordance with relevant legislation in Ecuador. 

The compensation offer is an all inclusive and no other benefits will be available under this type of contract.

Application Process:

The Closing date for applications is Friday, 19th June at 5.00pm BST. C40 reserves the right to close this consultancy  opening before the closing date for applications so please do submit applications (CV and Cover letter) early.

To learn more about the work of C40 and our cities, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities.

For any queries about this consultancy, please contact careers@C40.org