UNDP Jobs - 78913- The Development of Standard Operation Procedures a

The Development of Standard Operation Procedures and Action Plan for Strengthening Emergency Operation Centres

Location :

Lilongwe, with limited travel to selected districts, MALAWI

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

18-Jun-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

35 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

35 days

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

The Government of Malawi, with the support of UNDP, has secured funding from the Green Climate Fund to scale up the use of modernized early warning systems (EWS) and climate information in the country. The project will work with communities in disaster prone and food-insecure districts to co-develop tailored weather- and climate-based agricultural advisories to be disseminated through ICT/mobile, print and radio channels. The project will also scale up best practices in community readiness to respond to disasters and mitigate key risks. Community-based EWS will be scaled up in flood-prone areas and capacities to use and respond to warnings will be strengthened at the national, district and community levels.

The project is being implemented in 21 districts by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), in collaboration with the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS), Department of Water Resources (DWR), Department of Agricultural Extension Services (DAES), Department of Fisheries (DoF), and the National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi (NASFAM).

The project has three expected outputs;

Expansion of observation networks that generate climate-related data to save lives and safeguard livelihoods from extreme climate events
Development and dissemination of products and platforms for climate-related information/services for vulnerable communities and livelihoods
Strengthening communities’ capacities for use of EWS/CI in preparedness for response to climate related disasters

One of the objectives of the project is to strengthen Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) in eight districts that include Karonga, Salima, Dedza, Nkhotakota, Nkhata Bay, Rumphi, Phalombe and Zomba.? EOCs are critical for disaster management including preparedness, monitoring, response and coordination.? Following the widespread flooding in 2015, attempts were made to strengthen emergency response capacities at district level by supporting establishment of EOCs.? However, the EOCs lacked a comprehensive support package to be able to effectively manage disasters at their level including office space and supplies, communication systems and equipment. The EOCs are inadequately staffed and staff are not trained to manage disasters. The EOCs also lack Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which is a key tool for effective management of the EOCs and disasters. In the above context, UNDP Malawi Country Office currently seeks to hire a consultant to support DoDMA in development of SOPs and an action plan for strengthening EOCs both at national and district level (eight project districts).

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will review the functioning of Emergency Operation Centres both at national and district level through consultations with relevant stakeholders including government officials, civil protection committees, NGOs and donor partners. Based on the findings, the consultant will propose a fully costed action plan for establishment/strengthening of Emergency Operation Centres in eight project districts and at national level.? The plan should clearly elaborate options for locating Emergency Operation Centres, equipment (furniture, communication, backups, etc.), staffing and capacity building requirements. The consultant will also develop a sop which will guide operations and management of the Emergency Operation Centres as well as public relations and information management.??

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

Inception phase;
Develop work plan for assessments and activities required to complete the Assessment;
Develop data gathering and analysis instruments;
Conduct an inception workshop to present the inception report, which will also include a detailed methodology and timelines.

Development of fully costed action plan for strengthening EOCs at National and District level

Desk review of available resources;
Field visits and interview with relevant stakeholders to assess current status of the EOCs (including challenges and opportunities), resource requirements including, but not limited to, furniture, computers, communication equipment and GIS equipment for a fully operational EOC;
Development of a fully costed action plan for strengthening of national and district EOCs including a capacity building plan for EOC staff.
Presentation of the draft action plan and finalization of the plan, incorporating feedback from different quarters.

Development of SOPs for operation and management of EOCs.

Desk review of available resources
Field visits and interview with relevant stakeholders leading to development of SOPs for EOCs - the field visit and consultations should be planned jointly with those that would lead to development of the action plan
Presentation of the draft SOPs and finalization of the SOPs incorporating feedbacks from different quarters.
Presentation of overall report for the assignment, detailing key processes, findings, methodology and recommendations

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Familiarity with the DRM sector and other closely related sectors (climate change, environment, natural resources) in Malawi, including the DRM institutional set-up.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum Master’s degree in either of the following areas:? Humanitarian Action, Disaster Risk Management, Environmental/ Natural Sciences, Climate Change Management and other closely related areas.

General Professional Experience:

Experience in conducting assignments of similar scope and size for international, multilateral, bilateral donor funded projects;
Previous experience in working with national governments in Africa or other developing countries;

Specific Experience:

At least 7 years of work experience in developing SOPs for managing emergency operation centres;
Experience in development/evaluation of EOCs, SOPs for EOCs, capacity/training plans in DRM;
Demonstrable publications in the area of disaster risk reduction, climate science, early warning systems, and/or climate change adaptation.

Language Requirement:

Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.

How to Apply:

Interested and qualified consultants or consulting firms are invited to apply. The consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

A technical proposal detailing applicants understanding of ToRs, proposed methodology, applicants’ key members CV.
A financial proposal breaking down cost for each operational line and professional fees.
Contacts (email and phone) of 3 former clients or referees.
A detailed list of similar assignments (copies of these maybe requested as necessary) that the consultant has conducted in the past.