Early Warnings for All - Guatemala - Pillar 1: Risk knowledge

Consultant Finance & Economy

Overview

Support risk knowledge for early warning systems in Guatemala.

You have:

• Advanced university degree in relevant fields such as disaster risk reduction, early warning, meteorology, geomatics.
• At least 5 years of experience in disaster risk assessment, early warning systems, and risk analysis.
• Familiarity with hydrometeorological and geological hazards assessment and mapping.
• Experience in information management systems, including GIS.
• Experience convening and organizing multi-stakeholder partnerships, events, or consultations.
• Fluency in Spanish.
• Knowledge of English is desirable.

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

Result of Service

Risk knowledge in service of early warning systems in Guatemala is advances through improved data collection and management, risk assessment and risk mapping.

Work Location

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Expected duration

8 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Background Created in December 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is the designated focal point in the United Nations (UN) system for the coordination of efforts to reduce disasters and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations and regional organizations and activities in both developed and less developed countries. Led by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG/ASG), UNDRR has over 140 staff located in its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and in regional offices. UNDRR guides, monitors, analyses, and reports on progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. It supports regional and national implementation of the Framework and catalyzes action and increases global awareness to reduce disaster risk working with UN Member States and a broad range of partners and stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, parliamentarians and the science and technology community. In November 2022, the UN Secretary-General launched the Early Warnings for All (EW4ALL) initiative to advance efforts to protect everyone in the world by the end-to-end Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS). UNDRR, together with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), leads the global coordination of the EW4ALL in close collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). This initiative aims to ensure that all people everywhere are protected by early warning systems by 2027. As per the United Nations Secretary-General’s Executive Action Plan, EW4ALL is based upon the following four pillars: Pillar 1: Disaster Risk Knowledge and Risk Management (led by UNDRR), Pillar 2: Detection, Observations, Monitoring, Analysis, and Forecasting of Hazards (led by WMO), Pillar 3: Warning Dissemination and Communication (led by ITU), and Pillar 4: Preparedness to Respond (led by IFRC) Guatemala is one of thirty countries selected globally for the initial implementation of this initiative for which the Coordinating Agency for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) and the National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology (INSIVUMEH) have been designated as national focal points to the EW4All initiative. Guatemala has advanced in the mapping of stakeholders, identification and analysis of gaps as per the four pillars in addition to an interpillar on governance and is currently in the process of final review of its national EW4All implementation plan. The main hydrometeorological and climatic hazards in Guatemala are floods, landslides, droughts, tropical storms and hurricanes, whose frequency and intensity are being exacerbated by climate change. Of the geological hazards to which Guatemala is exposed, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and landslides. Disaster and climate risk data and information are available in country but with notable gaps, while data and information are largely dispersed. Early warning systems exist but need to be strengthened and articulated. Policy frameworks could also be strengthened to include early warning systems to enable anticipatory action. According to data from the Sendai Framework Monitor, since 2015 there have been more than 6,800 death and more than 1,000 persons missing from disasters, with more than 1,723,886 persons whose livelihoods were disrupted or destroyed attributed to disasters, 325 health facilities and 1,108 education facilities damaged or destroyed, with millions of dollars in economic loss from disasters. At the same time, despite notable advances in disaster risk reduction and hazard monitoring, Guatemala continues to face notable challenges in terms of population exposed that are covered and protected by Early Warning Systems. In this regard, the selected candidate will focus on supporting progress on pillar 1 as defined through the gap analysis and subsequent implementation plan for EW4All in Guatemala. In direct coordination with other national UNDRR consultants in Guatemala (lead consultant) and personnel of CONRED, and under the direct supervision of UNDRR’s Risk Knowledge Officer and Regional Coordinator of EW4All, the selected candidate will undertake the following: Activities • Compilation of existing inventories of public and private infrastructure, including all relevant available attributes such as location, economic appraisal and typologies. • Based on the compilation of existing human exposure databases (e.g. Global Human Settlement Layer -GHSL-) including details about the resolution level, the consideration of time variations, propose a methodology to estimate the exposed population based on the available information. • Develop an analysis of the socioeconomic impacts of different types of hazardous events based on available disaster databases (e.g. DesInventar and Emergency Events Database (EMDAT). This analysis should guide the discussion on the prioritization of hazards and should be mindful, if data are available, of particular segments of the population that necessitate particular focus (i.e. women and girls, persons with disabilities, youth, indigenous populations and others). • Mapping of Early Warning Systems (EWS) coverage and coverage of systems with EWS components at the national level. • Conduct an inventory of information at the level of technical reports, datasets and maps on hazard and risk, to estimate coverage and scales for different clusters of hazards, as per the UNDRR & ISC classification. • Support the analysis of interoperability of the platforms that store georeferenced information and that are available through the public domain in the country’s institutional and academic spheres. • Develop a plan for the implementation of a permanent advocacy campaign aimed at authorities at different territorial levels on risk awareness and the advantages of EWS.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree in areas relevant to disaster risk reduction, early warning, meteorology, geomatics, or related fields is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. At least 5 years of experience in the areas of disaster risk assessment, early warning systems, and risk analysis relevant to EWS, anticipatory action and disaster prevention is required. Experience with early warning/early action, including being familiar with hydrometeorological (flood, drought, etc.) and geological (earthquakes, landslides, etc.) hazards assessment and mapping, vulnerability assessment and weather forecasting, and monitoring, is required. Experience with information management systems, including GIS, and with hazard assessment and mapping, as well as experience in risk profile and Atlas preparation, is required. Experience in convening and organizing multi-stakeholder partnerships, events, or consultations is desirable. Experience with at least one major government institution or international organization working on early warning/early action, disaster risk reduction/risk knowledge is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in Spanish is required for this consultancy. Knowledge of English is desirable.

Additional Information

Due to the high volume of applications received, only successful candidates will be contacted.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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Potential interview questions

Added 1 year ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: careers.un.org