Result of Service

This consultancy will strengthen the national-level disaster risk reduction governance, and contribute to the work on the Early Warning for All (EW4ALL) initiative in Lao PDR.

Work Location

Lao PDR

Expected duration

July-October 2023

Duties and Responsibilities

Created in December 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is the designated focal point in the United Nations 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 100 staff located in its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and in regional offices. Specifically, UNDRR guides, monitors, analyses, and reports on progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, 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.

One of the UNDRR’s strategic areas of work is to support the Member States’ efforts to strengthen disaster risk governance, particularly, to develop, implement and finance national and local strategies and plan to promote concrete actions for climate and disaster risk reduction across multiple development sectors.

The Sustainable Development Goals and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 identify strengthened early warning systems as a critical component of building the resilience to disasters and crises and, by extension, contributing to sustainable development. Early warning systems (EWS) have proven to be effective in mitigating disaster impacts, yet only half of the world is still not covered by EWS. Given this, the UN Secretary General announced the Early Warning for All (EW4ALL) initiative at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in November 2022. The initiative sets an ambitious plan to make everyone on Earth to be covered by EWS by 2027. Thirty countries have been identified as a cohort of an initial roll-out countries for EW4ALL.

To be effective, EWS need to be risk-informed, target communities most at risk, disseminate messages and warnings efficiently, ensure preparedness and support early action. Early warning systems must rely on a sound scientific and technical basis and focus on the most vulnerable people and sectors. This implies the adoption of a system-based approach incorporating all relevant risk factors, whether arising from the climate-hazards or social vulnerabilities, and from short-term or long-term processes.

The EWS cycle is comprised of four pillars:
Pillar 1: Disaster risk knowledge – systematically collect risk data and undertake risk assessments on hazards and vulnerabilities to improve risk understanding
Pillar 2: Observations and Forecasting – develop hazard monitoring and early warning services
Pillar 3: Dissemination and communication – communicate risk information so it reaches all those who need it, and is understandable and usable
Pillar 4: Preparedness and response – build national and community response capabilities

Countries are encouraged to move this initiative forward under the leadership of the government and by mobilizing multiple stakeholders to analyze the gaps and set forth a country roadmap towards 2027.

Key functions:

1. Work closely with the National Focal Point, UNRCO, UNDRR, and Resilience Output Group to understand the specific tasks to be carried out based on a workplan throughout the assignment.
2. Support the National Focal Point to lead the EW4ALL initiative in Lao PDR.
3. Coordinate with and engage the concerned stakeholders throughout the process of formulating national EW4ALL road map 2023-2027.

Specific Tasks:

1. Facilitate a multi-stakeholder national consultation workshop for EW4ALL to generate collective understanding of the stakeholders on this subject through interactive gap analysis sessions and discussions towards establishing a multi-stakeholder coordination mechanism and a national roadmap for EW4ALL.
2. Analyze stakeholder mapping survey to inform the multi-stakeholder consultation workshop, gap analysis and EW4ALL road map 2023-2027.
3. Translate the outcome of the national consultation workshop on EW4ALL in the form of a documented gap analysis, and to frame a national roadmap for EW4ALL 2023-2027, ensuring minimum core capabilities across the four pillars of early warning systems.

On a daily basis, the consultant will work closely with the National Focal Point, the UNRCO, and the UNDRR focal point based in Lao PDR. The consultant needs to be based in Lao PDR, and will report to Programme Management Officer of the UNDRR Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP). To carry out the above-mentioned tasks, a series of technical-level discussions and meetings may be required with key stakeholders. The consultant will coordinate with the National Focal Point and the RCO/UNDRR focal point based in Lao PDR to convene such meetings.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree in natural resources management, environmental science, meteorology/atmospheric science, hydrology, or related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with a minimum of 2 years additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A minimum of 5years of experience in planning and managing projects/programs in early warning system, climate change, and disaster risk reduction/management with the government entities and/or non-governmental organizations is required.
• Experience working with Lao PDR’s early warning system, disaster risk reduction, climate change, or natural resource management policies/programs, mechanisms, and procedures is required.
• Experience working in national policy, strategy, action plan, guideline formulation with national stakeholders is required.
• Experience in the UN system related to early warning, disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, response and recovery or relevant field is desirable.

Languages

Fluency in Laotian and English is required.

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.