Background

The overall goal of the BCPR Liaison Office is to support the active and strategic engagement of BCPR, on behalf of UNDP, with Geneva-based UN and other external humanitarian, human rights and development partners whose work is vital for the successful implementation of UNDP’s crisis prevention and recovery mandate. The BCPR Liaison Office serves as the primary interface of UNDP / BCPR with the international community in Geneva on all issues related to crisis prevention and recovery. It supports the fulfilment of UNDP’s responsibilities with respect to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), its various task forces and working groups including, in particular, the IASC Cluster Working Group on Early Recovery (CWGER).

Under the day-to-day supervision of the Director, the Disaster Partnerships Advisor will contribute, as a member of BCPR’s management team along with all team heads, to strategic consultations and decision-making in the areas of policy, operational planning, management, and other relevant areas. He/she will also provide executive support and substantive policy advice to BCPR senior management, in particular the Director of BCPR Liaison Office, covering all aspects of BCPR’s work especially in the area of disaster risk reduction and recovery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Country-multilateral and Public/Private Partnerships

• Lead on outreach to countries, multilateral, partner agencies and private sector regarding the work of UNDP in DRR and climate, making and seizing opportunities for securing financing;
• Coordinate donor outreach and messages across and beyond DRRT;
• Promote innovative partnerships with traditional and non-traditional development partners;
• Maintain a watching brief on key financing issues connected to UNDP’s work, including preparedness, recovery, specific trust-fund development etc.;
• Country intelligence including UNDP cooperation agreements, focal points, relevant plans and policies, calls for proposals;
• Donor forum representation, meetings and visits;
• Responsible for tailored proposal and concept note preparation for donors and others.

 System Partnerships:

Act as a senior representative for inter-agency work for UNDP with UN and other actors throughout the humanitarian and development international community based in Europe

• Represent UNDP at a senior level in and beyond Geneva in a range of DRR, climate and related forums;
• Promote and develop strategic partnerships with other UN agencies and the NGO community across a range of crisis-related issues;
• Co-chairmanship of IASC Task Team on Preparedness and Recovery with WFP;
• Co-leadership of objective 3 of the IASC Task Team on Humanitarian Finance with FAO;
• Co-chairmanship of the CADRI Programme Assurance Group and secondary supervision of the CADRI coordinator with UNICEF;
• Representation of UNDP in the Global Framework for Climate Services Project Oversight Board;
• Co-chairmanship of the DRM CAP Advisory Group with NRC;
• Representation of UNDP into the Global Alliance for Drought Resilience and Growth and AGIR;
• Facilitate meetings related to the Political Champions Group for Disaster Resilience.

Strategic Positioning and Policy Advice:

Lead on positioning UNDP as an intellectual leader on the implementation of DRR and climate, at country, regional and global levels

• Make and seize opportunities to talk about the work of UNDP in the reduction of disaster and climate risk;
• Maintain a watching brief on key issues such as ‘loss and damage’ and ‘financing emergency preparedness’ ensuring they help inform UNDP’s critical thinking and intellectual products;
• Develop, commission and edit a range of materials that will represent both an intellectual representation (and discussion) of UNDP’s work in DRR, as well as supporting outreach materials;
• Include in this commission the necessary tools and guidance for doing DRR, for UNDP offices, for the wider UNCT and for national government counterparts;
• Make the opportunity to raise the profile of UNDP’s work in DRR, through a range of formal and informal methods;
• Participate in a range of public forums on the work of UNDP in and beyond DRR.

 Senior Level Guidance of UNDP's work in DRR:

Contribute to helping ensure the work of UNDP’s work advances across a range of issues related to disasters and climate

This includes: 

• Integrating cross-UNDP work with disaster and climate, including early recovery, conflict, livelihoods etc;
• Mobilize UNDP and partner institutional resources for comprehensive programme development consistent with CADRI and Common Framework for Preparedness programme development methodology;
• Country Implementation: Collaboration with BCPR regional advisors, CSMT and UNDP Country Focal points, on the developing work of the organization;
• Play a significant role in helping to restructure UNDP’s work incorporating both disaster and climate portfolios.

 World Conference and Successor to the HFA and MDG Frameworks:

• Conceptualize, develop and implement UNDP’s position going into the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction;
• Strategic Development: Lead on developing a cross-UNDP strategy for ensuring the organization has a high cutting-edge’ profile at the World Conference;
• Product Development: Ensure a set of implementation/outreach materials are prepared in advance of the event.
• Senior UNDP: Support efforts to ensure senior-level UNDP participation at the World Conference that will reconfirm the organizations’ intellectual and implementation credentials;
• Event Organization: Bring together the wider UNDP family to ensure the Sendai itself is adequately prepared and implemented successfully.

Impact of Results

The key results have an impact on the effectiveness of the policies and strategies of BCPR with respect to strengthening the partnerships of UNDP with Geneva-based/European UN agencies, donors, and humanitarian/development institutions that are involved in the area of disaster risk reduction and recovery. The work of the Disaster Partnerships Advisor also enhances the alignment of the activities of the BCPR Liaison Office with overall UNDP/BCPR and partnership strategy. Effective representation of UNDP at inter-agency meetings and consultations and advocacy for UNDP’s position ensures the organization’s leadership in the area of disaster risk reduction and recovery.

Competencies

Developing & Empowering People/Coaching and Mentoring:

• Building staff competence, Creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
• Takes appropriate risk in developing new or adapting existing methods and approaches to more effectively perform tasks or to solve problems in new and unique ways.

Working in Teams:

• Building and promoting effective teams;
  
• Encourages and creates mechanisms to share expertise and team approaches between HQ Units, Country Offices and regional centers, as well as with other partners and stakeholders;

Communicating Information and Ideas:

• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
• Makes effective use of existing communication tools and creates new ones to ensure effective internal and external communication;

Self-Management & Emotional Intelligence:

• Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;
• Provides a sense of direction and purpose, and maintains operational effectiveness of the organization, even during times of organizational crisis or change.

Conflict Management/Negotiating & Resolving Disagreements:

• Leveraging conflict in the interests of UNDP & setting standards;
• Acts as a role model for positive handling of potentially situations of conflict to others inside and outside the organization.

Knowledge Sharing & Continuous Learning:

• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
• Creates, supports, and promotes an enabling environment for organizational knowledge sharing and learning including the use of technology.

 Appropriate and Transparent Decision-making:

• Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking;
• Ensures that criteria and reasons for important decisions are communicated and explained to all those affected, especially in the case of tough or sensitive decisions.
  

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• A minimum of a Master’s degree or equivalent in one of the following disciplines, public policy, political science, international relations, natural resource / development management, engineering or town planning or other relevant field

Experience: 

• At least 10 years of professional work experience in the field of international development and coordination of humanitarian assistance and considerable experience in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction;
• Included in the above: specific substantive and technical experience in inter-agency coordination, policy development, strategy formulation, programme planning and monitoring & evaluation in disaster and post-disaster settings;
• Experience working in an international organization;
• Knowledge of UNDP/UN regulations, rules, policies, procedures and practices.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English, both oral and written, is required; working knowledge of other UN official language (preferably French or Spanish) is an asset.  

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Personal CV or P. 11;
• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
• Financeal proposal that indicates the daily rate;
• Evaluation.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Lowest price and technically compliant offer

When using this method, the award of a contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as both:

• Responsidve/compliant/acceptable; and
• Offering the loweset price/cost.

“Responsive/compliant/acceptable” can be defined as fully meeting the TOR provided.

Travel:

• The consultant is expected to travel in Europe, to New York Headquarter  as well as the Sahel region on demand basis.