UNDP Jobs - 68627- International Specialist on Disaster Risk

International Specialist on Disaster Risk

Location :

Home-based with Missions to Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Cambodia and Thailand, THAILAND

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Dec-2016

Application Deadline :

07-Oct-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

December 2016 - July 2017

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

60 days over a period of 8 months

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

Natural hazards continue to cause significant loss of life and property in Southeast Asia. However, investments to strengthen disaster resilience remain a low priority. This is partly because of limited understanding of the socioeconomic ramifications of disasters, as the damage and losses caused by historical disasters are often not fully recorded; and limited understanding of the opportunities available to reduce disaster risk by integrating measures into development investments. Given the intricate linkages between disasters and development, the Outcome 5 of UNDP’s Strategic Plan (2014-17) emphasizes on reducing the risks from natural disasters and climate change. The UNDP Strategic Plan asks for supporting policies and long-term planning and investment frameworks that are risk sensitive to minimize adverse development impacts.

The Sixth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in 2014 called for improved public investments in disaster risk management (DRM) by strengthening the capacity of institutions to develop, analyze, and use risk information in development planning and implementation. UNDP in partnership with the World Bank and the USAID organized a technical session on ‘Improving Public Investments for Disaster and Climate Risk Management to Protect and Sustain Development Gains’ which emphasized a) all development plans at all levels to include risk-sensitive investments measured for accountability, b) development of capacities of key institutions to analyze and incorporate institutions in development planning processes, c) mitigation of financial impacts of disasters by incorporating the benefits of financial protection strategies into budget decisions, and d) prioritization of resilient public investments in the area of current and future risks.

Several countries in the Southeast Asian region have been undertaking disaster risk assessments, which vary in terms of scale, attributes, and purpose. However, few of these assessments have been used to inform public investment decisions. While the quality and availability of data remains an issue, the use of disaster risk information in decision making processes faces additional challenges: (i) limited understanding of the development processes that underlie and drive the generation of disaster risk, (ii) lack of a policy and regulatory mandate to consider disaster risk for investment planning, and (iii) limited DRM capacity within line agencies. Considerable capacity building is required to address these issues.

UNDP BRH is implementing an ADB (Asian Development Bank) Regional Capacity Development Technical Assistance project on ‘Enhanced Use of Disaster Risk Information for Decision Making in Southeast Asia’. Output 2 of this project aims to take stock of existing disaster risk information, and provide guidance on how such information can be used for the public investment planning processes in each of the three project countries, viz. Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. This Output 2 is expected to provide the scope and recommendations for integration of disaster risk information in public investment planning processes and will include sharing of experiences across the countries.

Objectives of the Assignment

The main objective of the assignment is to design and lead the review of existing public investment planning processes in each of three countries, viz. Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. Specifically, the assignment will:

Lead, design and develop a methodology for review of existing disaster risk information in each country in consultation with the lead international expert on Public Investment Planning and Disaster Risk Management;
Consult with relevant officials and agencies in each of the three countries to take stock of the past and ongoing initiatives on disaster risk assessment and analyze their scope, purpose, coverage and usage;
reviewing the public investment planning processes and disaster risks and existing institutional arrangements for public investment planning and assessment of disaster risks;
Guide the national public investment planning specialists in collection and analysis of information from agencies and write the specific section in the final report of the Output 2 in consultation with the lead international expert on Public Investment Planning and Disaster Risk Management.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

As a disaster risk specialist, the scope of the work for the assignment includes:

Design and develop a methodology for review of existing disaster risk information in each country in consultation with the lead international expert on Public Investment Planning and Disaster Risk Management;
Provide inputs to the Output 2 work plan developed by the international Public Investment Planning and Disaster Risk Management specialist;
Consult with key stakeholders in the countries and at regional and international levels to seek necessary information;
Review institutional and legal arrangements for national and sub-national disaster risk assessment processes and assess their coherence into national development strategies and planning processes;
Contribute to the design and scoping of national consultations in each of the three countries and guide the national public investment planning specialists in collection and analysis of information from relevant agencies;
Work closely with the international Public Investment Planning and Disaster Risk Management specialist in providing inputs on various aspects of existing disaster and climate risk assessments in the project countries and share the findings and recommendations to the overall Output 2 report;
Write technical analysis, findings and recommendations to the Final report as required by the lead expert on Public Investment Planning and Disaster Risk Management;
Participate and contribute to the regional sharing workshop.

Competencies

Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Excellent presentation and facilitation skills;
Positive, constructive attitude to work;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications:

The consultant should possess the following expertise and qualification;

Advanced degree in disaster risk assessment, engineering, technology or relevant field is preferable.
At least 8 years of relevant professional experience of
- Undertaking disaster risk assessment in developing countries, preferably including Southeast Asia;
- Knowledge of the disaster risk assessment policy landscape, institutional setup, and implementation practice in developing countries, preferably including Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar; and
- Issues and challenges associated with the integration of disaster risk information in public investment planning in developing countries, preferably including Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar; and
Demonstrated experience in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes related to disaster risk assessment and its linkages with the development processes;
Experience in Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar advantageous;
Excellent communication skills, both written an oral in English. Knowledge of local language is an advantage;
Ability to write clearly and compellingly in English.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs by or before the due dates, or as otherwise agreed with the Disaster Risk Reduction team.

The required review time is between two to four weeks after submission of the final product. The payment will be made in three milestones upon the completion of the following:

Submission of inception reports and work-plan (25%)
Submission of disaster situation report, analysis, findings and recommendations for the integration of disaster risk information in the public investment processes in the project countries (35%)
Submission of final report for Output 2 final report after completion of regional sharing workshop (40%)

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

Criteria 1: Academic background - Max 5 points
Criteria 2: Background and knowledge of disaster risk assessment in developing countries; disaster risk assessment policy landscape, institutional setup, and implementation practice in developing countries; and issues and challenges associated with the integration of disaster risk information in public investment planning in developing countries - Max 20 Points
Criteria 3: Proven track record of formulation and implementation of policies and programmes related to disaster risk assessment and its linkages with the development processes - Max 15 points
Criteria 4: Proposed Methodology and approach - Max 30 Points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.
Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
Technical proposal, including a) a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment; and b) a methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II.

All related document can be downloaded at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=33003

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.