Background

Those who previously applied need not apply again.

UNDP supports the strengthening of disaster risk management capacities in the Africa region through the Regional Crisis Prevention and Recovery Programme of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa. This regional initiative is designed to build more effective regional institutions for crisis prevention and greater responsiveness to and sustainable recovery from crisis.  It promotes investments in systems that have the potential to strengthen African institutions and countries ability to anticipate and mitigate risks.

In the area of disaster risk reduction, this program seeks to improve coordination between Regional Economic Communities, civil society and the private sector, national governments and other stakeholders to address disaster risks. One critical area which has been identified is knowledge management. There is a need for region-specific information and knowledge with regards to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), in English and in French.
This initiative is supported by the Regional Task Force for Disaster Risk Reduction for West and Central Africa which gathers civil society organisations, multilateral agencies, governmental agencies and IFRC.
Such platform will provide opportunities for information sharing, collaboration and coordination of DRR initiatives at all levels (global, regional, national), including provision of key resources and tools, opportunities for sharing lessons learned, field experiences and the promotion of direct interaction with DRR experts through a question and answer (Q&A) application. The platform will provide support for community collaboration, knowledge sharing and networking for governments, Regional Economic Commissions, NGOs, multilateral agencies, universities, civil society and the private sector.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the technical developer on the design, the structure and the functionalities of the platform;
• Collect relevant information and knowledge by sector/country/themes/hazards for population of the platform;
• Map existing resources and promote a network of partnerships for knowledge sharing including governments;
• Regional Economic Commissions, NGOs,  multilateral agencies, universities, civil society and the private sector;
• Identify and disseminate lessons learned and best practices on DRR in the region and sub-regions;
• Build comprehensive database of appropriate experts/contacts and consultants to respond to network demands;
• Maintain and adapt the platform based on the usability test’s analysis;
• Build linkages of the platform with the websites of the Regional Economic Commissions.

• Moderate the content sharing on DRR on a day to day basis;
• Ensure quality content on the platform;
• Internal and external advocacy and communications;
• Actively update platform with information/studies/reports/best practices from various stakeholders involved in DRR;
• Respond to network queries;
• Monitor the platform’s use, and measure its impact;
• Provide support for community collaboration, knowledge sharing and networking;
• Build relations with external professionals and institutions;
• Actively seek to expand the practitioner's base for the Knowledge Management platform by evolving strategies and implementation;
• Contribute to the building of a knowledge sharing culture to 'institutionalize' KM practices to facilitate the creation, sharing and utilization of knowledge among the DRR partners.

A web-based platform with centralized strategic knowledge and information concerning DRR in West and Central Africa populated with:

• 300 documents with a focus on sharing of experiences (lessons learned and best practices);
• 100 of experts contacts, covering all DRR stakeholders in the region;
• 100 project profiles with main results and lessons learnt captured;
• A thousand viewers per month with a returnee rate around 30% on the last two months of the consultancy;
• 15 registered contributors (users sharing documents on the platform).

Enhance level of knowledge and information sharing, capturing and learning in the region:

• Indicated by  the number of questions and answers shared on the platform, the number of persons who shared documents, the number of person that signed;
• Provide access to updated strategic information: Indicated by the analyse of a users’ satisfaction survey.

Competencies

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Ability to work independently and with limited supervision;
• Ability to network effectively with others and create and maintain a solid network within and outside the organization;
• Problem solving skills;
• Strong social and diplomatic skills.

Required Skills and Experience

• Masters’ Degree in Information science; Disaster management or a related subject.

• At least two years of experience in humanitarian/ development agencies, preferably in the area of  DRR or knowledge management;
• Excellent database development and website/portals development;
• Proven experience in writing and disseminating knowledge products;
• Knowledge of the West and Central Africa region would be a distinct advantage.

• Proficiency in spoken and written French and English.