Pacific Region Policy Adviser

The Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) which is hosted by UNOPS was established in July 2016 as a State-led initiative to follow-up on the work of the Nansen Initiative and to support States and other stakeholders in implementing the recommendations of the Nansen Initiative Agenda for the Protection of Cross-Border Displaced Persons in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change (Protection Agenda), endorsed by 109 States in October 2015.

The Nansen Initiative started its work in the Pacific in 2013, and many of the recommendations from the Nansen Initiative Pacific Regional Consultation held in May 2013 in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, were included in the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda, including promotion of regional dialogues and approaches on displacement, migration and planned relocation in disaster and climate change contexts, and development of appropriate normative and policy frameworks to address the protection needs of displaced or relocated populations at the regional and national level.

From 2019-2023, the PDD and its Secretariat, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) implemented the Pacific Response to Disaster Displacement project (PRDD). The project aimed to support regional and national efforts to reduce the risk and impact of disaster displacement on persons at risk of being displaced in developing small islands States in the Pacific.

Since 2019, the PDD worked with partners under the overall leadership of IOM as a technical partner in the Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security (PCCMHS) Programme, phases I and II, to support Pacific Island Forum Member States to develop a Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility (PRFCM) and corresponding Implementation Plan, the latter being officially endorsed by the Forum Officials Committee (FOC) in August 2025.

Going forward and acting as an implementing partner in the Pacific Climate Mobility Partnerships Programme 2026-2029 which marks the third phase of the PCCMHS, the PDD Secretariat will engage in and support in all five core areas of action under the PRFCM (Staying in place; Planned relocations; Migration; Displacement; and Stranded migrants) and the five Priority Actions for 2025–2030 of the Implementation Plan:

1. Support Forum member countries with comprehensive risk and vulnerability assessments.

2. Establish a Climate Mobility Action Hub (CMAH).

3. Facilitate peer-to-peer exchange on planned relocation.

4. Establish appropriate regional governance and coordination mechanism to support rights based, inclusive and culturally appropriate actions.

5. Financing for national climate mobility action.

A responsibility for the PDD and its Secretariat as implementing partner of the Pacific Climate Mobility Partnerships Programme will be to support activities under Priority Action 3 (Facilitate peer-to-peer exchange on planned relocation) and activities leading to output 1.4 in the Programme: Pacific Island countries actively engage in a Climate Mobility Dialogue, and collaborate on peer-to-peer exchange, particularly for planned relocation**.**

A specific responsibility of the the PDD Pacific Region Policy Adviser will be to support the PDD Secretariat in delivering on activities that it is leading as part of the Pacific Climate Mobility Partnerships Programme 2026-2029 and serve as the PDD focal point on disaster displacement for governments and other stakeholders in the Pacific region, including the Government of Fiji. The PDD Pacific Region Policy Adviser will be based in Suva, Fiji and will report to the Head of the PDD Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland. Close coordination, meetings and reporting are expected to be maintained between the PDD Secretariat (including the Pacific Region Policy Adviser) and IOM through the IOM Program Lead for the Pacific Climate Mobility Partnerships Programme.

Functions / Key Results Expected

• As delegated by the Head of the Secretariat of PDD, represent the PDD Secretariat in the Pacific region and ensure wide dissemination of the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda, visibility to the work of the PDD and implementation of the PDD Strategy 2024-2030.
• Provide technical support and advice to the Government of Fiji (a Steering Group member of the PDD) on disaster displacement related issues.
• Provide strategic technical guidance and facilitate the delivery of the Implementation Plan of the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility (PRFCM), in particular Priority Action 3 (Facilitate peer-to-peer exchange on planned relocation).
• In close coordination with IOM’s Program Lead, guide and lead PDD responsibilities in the Pacific Climate Mobility Partnerships Programme and relevant activities leading to Output 1.4 in the Programme: Pacific Island countries actively engage in a Climate Mobility Dialogue, and collaborate on peer-to-peer exchange, particularly for planned relocation**:**

Activity 1.4.1: Establish and implement a peer-to-peer exchange Programme on planned relocation in the Pacific:

Activity 1.4.2: To support the utilization of the Pacific Guidance on Internal Planned Relocation (Pac-GIPR) by governments and communities, develop a capacity building Programme on planned relocation, centered on implementation.

Activity 1.4.3: Facilitate annual/biannual Regional Climate Mobility Dialogue to capture best practices and experiences on climate mobility, including peer-to-peer exchange, updating the Pacific Guidance on Internal Planned Relocation (Pac-GIPR) and the Climate Mobility Action Hub (CMAH). Include action-oriented tools regarding staying in place, planned relocation, migration, displacement and stranded migrants for resilience.

• Contribute and support the coordination work of the Pacific Resilience Partnership Technical Working Group (TWG) on Human Mobility (migration, displacement and relocation) and the Priority Action Committees (PAC) and in particular PAC-3 on “Peer to Peer Exchange on Planned Relocation’.
• Provide technical input in the development of global advocacy initiatives, in particular under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Global Compact for Migration (GCM).
• Serve as a thematic expert, responding to high-priority requests and cross-cutting initiatives including but not limited to Climate Change, Disaster Displacement, Migration, DRR, and Human Rights.

Key Results Expected:

• The PDD and its Secretariat is represented in the Pacific Region.
• Technical assistance provided to the Government of Fiji upon request.
• Technical assistance provided and delivered in support of the Implementation Plan of the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility (PRFCM).
• Output 1.4 in the Programme is achieved.
• Global advocacy on disaster displacement supported.