Historique

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 addition to the rising risks of natural hazards, Lebanon faces man made threats in the form of wars, internal strife, and terror attacks. Among these threats are the ones relates to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials (CBRN).

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.

In 2009, the Prime Minister issued a decision 69/2009 for the establishment of a national task force / committee composed of representatives from ministries, national agencies and institutions involved in risk mitigation in charge of developing the CBRN National Disaster Management Strategy/CBRN Response Plan.

An important result of the "Strengthening National Infrastructure related to Lebanese trade and Border Control" project includes the incorporation of CBRN response plan into the National Response Plan.
In 2011, the draft National CBRN Disaster Management Strategy was presented. In 2012, the PCM issued decision 121/2012 for the establishment of a national committee for the implementation of Lebanon's commitments to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction. In 2012 The National Response Plan was accomplished, however till this date the CBRN Response Strategy/Plan has not been finalized and requires updating and ultimately needs to be integrated within the National Response plan.

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 at the local level”.

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.

To this end and within the scope of all hazard approaches including CBRN, Phase III of the project will require the services of an International consultant to support the finalization and integration of the CBRN Response Plan within the National response framework.

Devoirs et responsabilités

Under the supervision of the “Strengthening Disaster Risk Management Capacities in Lebanon” Project Manager and in collaboration with the CBRN focal point in Lebanon, the CBRN National Committee and the National Coordination Committee Crisis (NCC), the International Consultant / Expert will provide technical support and assistance to the CBRN Committee, based on best practices and experience, for the development and completion of the following tasks:

• Identify gaps and develop recommendations to improve the existing CBRN Response Plan that was developed as part of the NBRD national Strategy;
• Provide feedback and inputs on the final draft of CBRN Response Plan;
• Assist in the development of an Action Plan on CBRN for implementation within the National Response Framework;
• Based on global experiences, support in drafting of protocols and MOU’s on CBRN both internally as part of regulating the coordination of response among concerned sectors and agencies and with international entities since Lebanon has adopted several conventions related to CBRN;
• Support the CBRN Committee in the development and implementation of a field-based simulation to improve CBRN preparedness.

It is worth noting that the CBRN National Strategy already includes the following :

• CBRN Strategy
• Related legislations
• Terminology
• CBRN concepts and strategies
• Introduction : National related policies and response concepts
• Organizational and legislative policies
• Roles and responsibilities of concerned agencies and stakeholders in CBRN
• CBRN strategy and its relation to other emergency and disaster plans
• Phases of CBRN response
• Support units
• CBRN management plans
• Annexes including: SOP's, different resources, roles and responsibilities, scenarios, CBRN governance, Health and psychosocial support etc. 

Compétences

Corporate Competencies:

• Excellent technical knowledge and conceptual understanding about the establishment and management of national/provincial/state CBRN systems;
• Excellent knowledge of disaster management in particular and multi-disciplinary development approaches in general;
• Excellent capacities in developing complex projects with national and sector stakeholders;
• Excellent training and facilitation skills;
• Ability to work with government officials and other technical agencies and coordinate among them;
• Knowledge of disaster risk reduction;
• Proven experience with the design and implementation of national CBRN plans;
• Knowledge of Lebanon and the region is an asset;
• Proven experience best practices in the area of CBRN especially in the EU.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent skills in technical writing;
• Highly developed analytical skills;
• Has an excellent knowledge of Microsoft office and web-based programmes.

Qualifications et expériences requises

I. Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in the area of CBRN hazards or relevant field.

II. Years of experience:

• 10 years of experience in providing similar and/or related consultancy services to UN organizations, national government and other institutions;
• Proven experience in CBRN response at the national level in line with international standards;
• Proven experience in implementing CBRN response plans is an asset;
• Experience in developing and implementing exercise scenarios;
• Prior knowledge of Lebanese disaster preparedness and risk management context including relevant policy and institutional framework is an asset;
• Experience in developing response plans for government departments through stakeholder consultations;
• Experience as Team leader;
• Demonstrated experience in technical writing and research especially CBRN strategies and response plans.

III. Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English;
• French and Arabic are an asset;
• Good command of French is desirable.

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