Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Specialist (Lao nationality and based in Laos only)

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

Background

The Government of Lao (GOL) led the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) in 2018 following the flood disasters in the south. This provided the impetus for a stronger government determination for policy responses to ensure that the recovery process in the affected regions introduces resilience measures to mitigate impacts from recurring disasters and climate risks. This contributed to the finalization approval of a new Disaster Management (DM) Law in 2019 which, along with the DRR Roadmap developed with UNDP support, called for a paradigm shift towards disaster risk reduction and assigned accountability for the Prevention, Control and Recovery across government agencies and at multiple administrative levels. The new DM law provides many opportunities and identifies significant challenges with regards to institutional, legislative and the policy context related to disaster risk management. Better clarity on roles and accountability of national agencies and stakeholders requires confirmation. Horizontal and vertical coordination requires considerable strengthening and systems and procedures for implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction/Management (DRR/DRM) activities remain limited and vague. UNDP is currently implementing 2 DRR projects with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare’s (MoLSW) National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) to address these immediate needs and gaps while catalysing other policy and programmatic action across administrative levels and sectors to reduce, mitigate, prepare for and respond to disasters in a holistic manner, support new mandated roles of national and provincial agencies and stakeholders as per the new DM Law and the DRR Roadmap and move towards achievement of the SDGs. The outcome of UNDP’s initiatives and projects are to strengthen disaster/climate risk management systems through institutional focus, built capacities, fostered horizontal and vertical administrative coordination and enhanced data analysis for evidence-based risk-informed national and urban development planning. Three major outputs are: • Implementation of the new DM law supported for sustainable development and urban risk management. • Capacity at the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), relevant national agencies, and UNDP CO strengthened to advance climate and disaster risk-informed urban resilience portfolio for upscaling. • Lao Disaster Information Platform (LaoDi) updated and institutionalized at NDMO to strengthen gender-responsive disaster preparedness, recovery, and urban resilience. The existing project activities will directly address gender and Leave No One Behind (LNOB) considerations through enhanced focus on vulnerable groups, including women, and empowering them to play a pro-active role in managing and recovering from disasters such as floods, droughts and pandemics. Projects will advance the objective of LNOB by underscoring the need to reflect specific requirements and priorities of at-risk and vulnerable communities at both the national as well as provincial and/or municipal administrative level. The catalytic nature of existing interventions is aligned with a long-term risk-informed development approach adopted by the Government and the upscaling of UNDPs position in the sector; which includes informing the preparation of the next (9th) National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) from both sustainability and resilience perspectives. In line with these efforts, UNDP is seeking an experienced Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Specialist with a strong background in CBDRR, institutional capacity development, project design and implementation. The DRR Specialist will work with relevant government and development partner officials to ensure excellent project management skills are applied to all aspects of funded initiatives that includes, but not limited to, applying best practices in program design; monitoring of project implementation; ensuring financial compliance with good budget management; ensuring effective monitoring and evaluation; and timely reporting and relevant analysis. This position is based at the Lao PDR NDMO office within MoLSW. Some travel is expected.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Specialist, under the supervision of the UNDP Project Manager, and in consultation with the MoLSW Officials, is required to provide the following services: Project Implementation • Effectively implement project initiatives with NDMO and UNDP by complementing existing capacities and providing oversite and support where needed; • Facilitate decision making on activity execution, particularly related to planning, budget and implementation issues; • Provide inputs to strategic planning, achievement of targets and required modification of objectives; • Facilitate technical trainings and deliver technical presentations during events and other engagements; • Conduct field visits to project sites for the provision of hands-on support and quality assurance; • Ensure professional administrative and logistics support is given to the projects; • Represent UNDP at meetings, technical sessions, project events, ceremonies and functions; Technical Support • Provide technical inputs that support achieving UNDP and NDMO objectives; • Facilitate the development of systems of surveillance, monitoring and early warning on possible disaster occurrences; • Assist the NDMO with planning and development of emergency appeals processes; • Support with the establishment of engagement protocols between Line Ministries, Local Governance, Developing Partners, and community leaders in relation to DM law and roles and responsibilities; • Support NDMO to research, consolidate, and analyze disaster and risk data in Lao PDR; • Facilitate NDMO to develop local and community contingency plans, based on past disasters and potential new disasters; • Provide technical support to design, organize and facilitate simulations, workshops, and other activities; • Support the NDMO to institutionalize Disaster Management guidelines and policies; Project Development • Conceptualize and develop DRR programmatic and partnership strategies; • Orchestrate the initiation of strategies in collaboration with NDMO, UNDP, donors and partners; • Provide extensive input and technical support to project proposals and program design; • Navigate human and financial resource mobilization efforts; • Support research, assessments, and studies as needed in relation to project and institutional development; • Ensure that the DRR strategies and interventions are based on frameworks and approaches that are consistent with or have considered national and international standards and guidelines; • Keep abreast of disaster management and preparedness issues, knowledge and tools, as well as climate change initiatives, and incorporate such initiatives where relevant to programs;

Staff Support and Capacity Building • Coach and support project staff and promote a learning environment; • Orientate UNDP and NDMO staff on project strategies, expectations, and own roles and responsibilities; • Assess staff competencies and guide individuals and teams to effectively complete objectives and tasks; • Support NDMO capacity enhancement efforts; mentor and develop the skills and/or provision of training of officials; • Be mindful of staff wellness and induce a culture of transparency, problem solving, and teamwork; • Identify development opportunities that would enhance staff capacity; • Support access to reference materials, online and other training opportunities for staff and partners; Coordination and Networking • Network and foster functional relationships with NDMO, UNDP, Government agencies, UN agencies, donors, NGOs, and other key stake holders; • Represent UNDP as required and promote a strong collaborative, transparent, and sharing environment amongst stakeholders in the DRR field; • Align and synchronize efforts with the UNDP Operations and NDMO administration to ensure of effective and timely support services; • In coordination with NDMO, ensure that project activities are well coordinated with relevant Government Agencies and other necessary entities; • Facilitate or participate in workshops, webinars, and meetings as necessary. PMER and Learning • Work in partnership with NDMO and UNDP for the timely submission of periodic, accurate, and professional (narrative and financial) progress reports to management and other stakeholders as required; • Ensure adequate tools are in place to track all progress, achievements, challenges, and lesson learned; • Promote learning and knowledge sharing amongst all related stakeholders; • Contribute to knowledge sharing, producing documentation for case studies and lessons learned; • Facilitate after action reviews and evaluation of activities; • Support with the preparation of program documentation, assessments and studies as required.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies: • Commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values including working in a culturally diverse environment; • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; • Demonstrates ability to function in a team environment and shares knowledge and experience.

Functional Competencies: • Excellent verbal and writing skills (Lao/English). • Ability to present coherent and convincing positions both in writing and orally. • Strong ability to take initiative to move complex processes forward to achieve articulated results, work at varying levels and on different initiatives simultaneously (personal organization and ability for multi-tasking). • Demonstrable networking capability, interpersonal skills and strong ability to promote teamwork. • High degree of integrity, discretion, and personal conduct; • Flexible to changing working conditions and willing and able to travel for work purposes; • Able to prioritize and meet deadlines; • Excellent analytical thinking skills; • Professional facilitation and presentation skills; • Ability to coach, mentor and influence people

Required Skills and Experience

• A Master’s degree preferably from a reputable accredited university in Social Science, Disaster Management, Environmental Protection and/or relevant field is required; • At least 10 years of experience working as a professional in the Disaster Management Field particularly national resiliency and community based DRR; • Experience studying, training and working in several country contexts; • 5 years plus experience with program design and project management; • Ability to design and manage all stages of disaster risk mitigation, preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation projects; • Demonstrated success in proposal writing and securing funding and analytical report writing a plus; • Experience identifying and establishing institutional capacity building initiatives; • Experience collaborating with government agencies, international organizations, and community leaders; • Excellent skills in financial management, problem solving, conflict resolution, advocacy, and stakeholder coordination; • Proven field work experience in disaster response operations a plus; • Knowledge on gender, protection, inclusion, climate change and ecosystem management and restoration themes.

RECOMMENDED PRESENTATION OF OFFER:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Candidates that fail to submit the required information will not be considered.

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability;
2. Personal CV or P11 Form, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) and at least three (3) professional references;
3. Brief Description of why you consider yourself as the most suitable candidate for this assignment;
4. Financial Proposal OFFEROR’S LETTER that indicates the all-inclusive Deliverables/Outputs based total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided. The terms “all-inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, travel costs, living allowances, communications, consumables, etc.) that could possibly be incurred are already factored into the final amounts submitted in the proposal

Instructions for on-line submissions

Step 1: Please prepare all required documents electronically;

Step 2: Combine all documents in ONE SINGLE FILE (preferably in PDF however Word format can be also accepted) and upload to the UNDP Jobs links

Step 3: After that you will receive an auto reply from the UNDP jobs if your offer is received successfully.

Relevant Documents for Individual Contract

IC contract template & IC General Terms and Conditions _ Annex II

For more information, please visit our website under the link below

https://www.la.undp.org/content/lao_pdr/en/home/jobs.html