UNDP Jobs - 62907- National Consultant

National Consultant - Field Officer

Location :

Beirut, LEBANON

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

25-Jan-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Lebanon is subjected to a range of natural hazards. Earthquake and an associated tsunami pose the risk of a single mega natural disaster. In addition numerous small-scale disasters including floods, forest fires, land-slides and drought occur frequently.

The vulnerability of the Lebanese population to both large and small scale disaster threats is compounded by the meager presence of the government’s ministries in peripheral regions, un-planned urban expansion, lack of enforcement of building codes and regulations for land use, and a range of environmental factors such as rapid deforestation, poor sanitation, infiltration of sea water into ground aquifers and environmental pollution. The political instability in the region implies that Lebanon is also vulnerable to sudden influxes of mainly Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) such as what happened during the 2006 June war, as well as the influx of refugees from neighboring countries.

At present Lebanon is home to about 1.6 million Syrian refugees, many of whom are residing in areas prone to natural hazards. The coincidence of a natural hazard such as an earthquake with civil strife or another form of political conflict may have catastrophic consequences.

In May 2009, UNDP and the Lebanese Government represented by the Prime Minister signed a project document on “Strengthening Disaster Risk Management Capacities in Lebanon”. The project aimed to help the Lebanese Government develop its disaster management and corresponding risk reduction strategy.

In order to achieve its outcome “mainstreaming disaster preparedness and management in national development framework strategies in Lebanon”, the project needed to evolve through two main phases between 2009 and 2015 to provide a stable platform for future developments.

Phase III of the project which stretches between 2016 – 2018 builds on the accomplishments made and aims to further “help the Government of Lebanon in establishing effective national institutions; including disaster risk information and disaster risk management systems, to increase societal resilience against disasters, especially in refugee-hosting high risk within major municipalities, Union of municipalities, and CAZAs”.

The Outputs of Phase III are:

National governance for disaster risk reduction improved through establishment of institutional mechanisms, instruments and technical capacities;
Capability of stakeholders increased to undertake risk-sensitive development planning based upon advance risk information systems;
Resilience of Refugee-hosting, high-risk municipalities enhanced against risks of disasters and civic conflicts;
Support the development of national recovery strategy and national capacities to implement post-crisis recovery programmes.
In this context, the services of a Field Officer are required for the implementation of Phase III.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the National Focal Point and the direct supervision of the “Strengthening Disaster Risk Management Capacities in Lebanon” Project Manager, the field officer will perform the following tasks:

Implement 20 Disaster Risk Reduction awareness-raising actions, trainings, drills and sessions that increase community resilience to disasters for hosting communities and Syrian Refugee in vulnerable local authorities, caza and governorates. The project will provide training for the contractor on DRR actions and awareness to be able to implement the DRR awareness actions;
Support the project in the development of local level plans for preparedness and response and the setting of crisis emergency cells;
Actively participate in all local level meetings and workshops and present brief reporting on challenges and progress;
Facilitate meetings and work with stakeholders including agencies working at the local level by networking, coordinating and reporting on activities. As per annual work plan;
Initiate, organize, and follow up on project activities in the assigned region, as per the agreed work plan;
Support in the organization of workshops and conferences;
Work with local authorities to conduct drills and build capacities to provide effective relief and response;
Support the project in organizing technical training on Disaster Risk Reduction for the integration of DRR into local level planning and work as per project actions especially the implementation of the response plans for the selected local authorities;
Support where needed the local authorities in developing their databases as per the response plan;
Perform other duties as required by the Project Manager;
Report all activities to the project manager.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Maintain strong relations with key local institutions engaged in disaster management, using inter-personal sills to network effectively;
Proven management and organizational skills;
Ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines and handle multiple tasks simultaneously;
Ability to produce accurate and well-documented reports conforming to the required standards;
Excellent writing and analytical skills;
Good command of office software and internet.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree (Bachelor or equivalent) in business, social work, IT or orther relevant field;
Degrees and trainings in Disasters Risk management are considered a plus.

Experience:

A minimum of 2 years of relevant experience with a University Degree, preferably in the area of Social Sciences, IT or relevant field;
Experience in disaster response and management is a plus;
Prior experience working with government institutions;
Knowledge of disaster management/preparedness is an asset.

Languages:

Proven-personal written and oral communication skills in English and Arabic.

Kindly refer to the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice and all related Annexes by visiting the below link:

http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete.