World Bank/GFDRR Disaster & Climate Risk Data Fellowship 2026 for climate and disaster risk professionals (Deadline: 26 September, 2025)

Applications are now open for the 2nd edition of the World Bank Disaster & Climate Risk Data Fellowship. The Risk Data Fellows program is a 6-month work placement position for climate and disaster risk professionals (data scientists, geospatial analysts, and similar) from selected climate-vulnerable countries, offering the opportunity to work directly with World Bank Operations to access, create, and communicate climate risk knowledge to their communities.

The Fellowship program aims to bridge the knowledge gap on disaster and climate risk by empowering vulnerable countries with the necessary tools, methodologies, and support to generate and communicate their disaster and climate risk data.

Program Details

The fellowship program will offer an initial 6-month (75-day) placement for early career professionals to work at the nexus of data science and disaster risk management on selected World Bank projects in climate-vulnerable countries. The Project Task Team to which the Fellow is assigned may fund a second six-month contract, based on the Fellow’s performance.

For this second cohort, fellows will be selected from the following FCV countries of Africa, Europe, and the Middle East:

• Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, São Tomé and Príncipe, Republic of Zimbabwe.

The Risk Data Fellows is a program supported by the Swiss Re Foundation and executed by the Digital Earth team at GFDRR.

Number of days

• The initial contract will be for 75 days, from November 2025  to April 2026.

Selection Criteria

Critical qualifications required for this assignment include the following:

• Master’s, Ph.D., (or current graduate student at M.A. or Ph.D level) in the fields of climate change, disaster risk management, geospatial technologies, computer science, civil engineering, risk modelers, or other relevant fields.
• Experience working with digital technologies for disaster risk management, including digital platforms, data, models, and standards.
• Demonstrated data science or geospatial analytics knowledge and skills.
• Proven ability to carry out independent policy-relevant research, translate theory into practical applications, and adapt professional knowledge and technical skills to analyze, diagnose, and propose solutions to policy issues and challenges related to climate change and disaster risk management.
• Capacity for effective multi-tasking with a demonstrated ability to be an independent starter with minimal supervision and a high capacity to persevere for results.
• Strong communication and advocacy skills, including the ability to write concisely and clearly and synthesize complex documentation and ideas for a range of audiences, including through social media.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to work effectively in a team and an intercultural environment.
• Proficiency in English and the ability to work in an environment of diverse cultures.
• Ability to work independently with minimum supervision and to meet tight deadlines.

For any question related to the program, please write to Andrea Garcia agarciatapia@worldbank.org, copy to Nuala Cowan ncowan@worldbank.org, with the subject “Risk Data Fellow”.

For More Information:

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