Consultancy - Risk assessment

United Nations Core Values

Integrity • Professionalism • Respect for diversity

Background

The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) is a multidisciplinary and multi stakeholder platform to enable societies to increase their resilience to natural, technological and environmental disasters and to reduce associated environmental, human, economic and social losses. A range of United Nations organizations and international partners participate in cooperation with Governments and civil society organizations.

The implementation of the ISDR is supported by a secretariat lead by the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction. The secretariat main functions are policy coordination, advocacy and information management, at the international and regional levels, to ensure synergy between disaster reduction strategies and those in the socioeconomic and humanitarian fields.

In January 2005, the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR, 18-22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan) took place and represents a landmark in worldwide understanding and commitment to implement a disaster risk reduction agenda. This commitment was captured in the Hyogo Declaration and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters adopted at the WCDR.

The Hyogo Framework is the essential guide for implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction in the coming years and it constitutes an unprecedented conceptual shift that takes account of the complexity of action in disaster risk reduction and the large variety of actors whose inputs are required in the pursuit of this objective. It provides the basic concepts and prescribes and expected outcome; details three strategic goals for disaster risk reduction and a set of five priority areas for action; and assigns tasks to stakeholders at difference operational levels to reach the expected outcome.

Priority One of the Hyogo Framework for Action emphasizes the need to “ensure that disaster risk reduction (DRR) is a national and local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation”. It further recommends establishing “DRR institutional mechanisms (national
platforms) with designated responsibilities”.

At the Regional level, Africa was the first continent that showed political commitment to disaster risk reduction by formulating in 2004 the “Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction”, “Programme of Action 2005-2010…” for its implementation and “Guidelines for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Assessment in Development”, under the aegis of the African Union Commission, the NEPAD Secretariat, African Development Bank, and with support of the UNISDR and UN partners. These documents were officially adopted at the First African Ministerial Conference on DRR in Addis Ababa in 2005.

The Second Africa Ministerial Conference took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 14 to 16 April 2010 to discuss and agree upon a revised and extended “Africa Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Africa Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (2006-2015)” to align with the HFA.

The Africa Programme of Action for DRR considers emerging challenges and the most frequent natural hazards in Africa such as climate change factors and its possible consequences, gender equity, drought and flood risk reduction. It is conceived to promote concrete activities, expected results and indicators to monitor progress.

UNISDR is advocating together with its partners for the implementation of global campaigns dedicated to topics outlined in the Hyogo Framework of Action. The 2010-2015 World Disaster Reduction Campaign "Making Cities Resilient" addresses issues of local governance and urban risk while drawing upon previous ISDR Campaigns on safer schools and hospitals, implemented during 2006-2007 and 2008-2009 respectively, as well as on the sustainable urbanizations principles developed in the UN-Habitat World Urban Campaign 2009-2013.

The focus on safer schools and hospitals is being enforced by the One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals Campaign which encourages an individual, a family, a community, an organization, a government, a business or any other entity to make a pledge for a school or hospital and make them safer during disasters.

Specific context

The East African Rift is seismically and volcanically active and this has resulted to ground deformation within the Rift System. Many serious earthquakes have been recorded during past few years in which two up to 9 on Richter scale (Malawi and Tanganyika Lake). It is serious threat to several countries in East Africa mainly Uganda, Kenya, DRC, Burundi…).

Rifting related risks threaten social and economic infrastructures. ISDR launched campaigns focusing on improving resilience of hospitals and schools as well as involving local governance and mayors in making cities resilient to natural disasters mainly by promoting the use of building codes and related regulations which ensure community participation. UNISDR is therefore looking for a consultant to assist targeted districts and mayors in Uganda, Kenya, DRC and Burundi to conduct multi risk assessment of schools and hospital with focus on earthquake risks.

The risk assessment should identify the level of risks of each identified infrastructures, assess gaps and develop a road map and plan to address gaps to improve resilience, in close collaboration with interested partners and under the leadership of local and or national authorities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Head of the UNISDR Regional Office for Africa, the Consultant will:

• Organize a workshop involving interested parties and partners to promote and explain the objective of the project.
• Develop assessments tools and train local staff for implementation
• Advocate and explain the projects to national local authorities for ownership and further follow up.
• Ensuring communication and information exchange among relevant stakeholders and liaise with the UN Country Team as appropriate
• Liaise with appropriate members of National Platforms
• Organize a workshop to get a consensus of the final result of the risk assessment.
• Write a final report explaining the objective of the workshop, the processes, the methodology used, the results in a detailed ways to allow scale up to other cities and district concerned by seismic risks.

Key Deliverables

• Risk assessment tools and methodology.
• Train and monitor local staff on how to fill the forms ad conduct interviews.
• Data analysis and interpretation
• Organize consensus workshop.
• Finalize and write detailed final report with recommendations.

Competencies

• Professionalism: Ability to identify key strategic issues, opportunities and risks; Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems.
• Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication;
• Planning and organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies;identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required

Qualifications

Education

• Advanced university degree (Masters Degree or equivalent) inbuilding/construction or related fields. A first level university degree
with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of work experience working with disaster risk reduction, education, architecture or related fields. Experience in
other African countries an asset.

Language

• Fluency (oral and written) in English or French.