Result of Service

The consultant will support the implementation of the programme “Sendai Framework Implementation: Accelerating Disaster Risk reduction in Humanitarian Action”, implemented by UNDRR in close collaboration with UN Country Teams, national DRR authorities (i.e., CENOE and INGD) and UN entities. The programme objective is to develop and disseminating guidance, norms and standards, to create and disseminate knowledge products for the design of DRR interventions, including anticipatory action and early warning, as well as to support humanitarian organizations in integrating a risk-informed approach across their work through risk analysis, capacity building and awareness raising.

The consultant will support the implementation of the programme in Mozambique through the support to generation and application of risk, loss and Sendai Framework data and information, as well as in its application for humanitarian action and development planning as well as Early Warning. The consultant will also support the coordination with national and international stakeholders for the application of the data, and support capacity building and awareness raising.

Work Location

Maputo, Mozambique

Expected duration

3 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 system for the coordination of efforts to reduce disasters and to ensure synergies among the disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities of the United Nations (UN) and regional organizations and activities in both developed and less developed countries. 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.
DRR is of critical importance both for development and humanitarian action, and the Sendai Framework links these domains in activities related to disaster preparedness, early warning, recovery and ‘build back better’. Through the United Nations Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience, UNDRR plays a leadership role in integrating DRR across the UN system and supports bridging of development and humanitarian communities. Through the UN Plan of Action, the UN System commits to strengthen its joint ability ‘to effectively support national and local communities in early warning, preparedness, response and recovery’ (Result 2.2).
UNDRR promotes the generation, application and governance of risk, loss and Sendai Framework data for open access by Governments and UN-partners. The risk knowledge programme enhances access to quality risk data, including disaster loss data and hazard, exposure and vulnerability data applied for humanitarian planning and response.
UNDRR supports this endeavor with the help of three connected modules; DesInventar, a harmonized disaster loss database; the Sendai Framework Monitor (SFM), an analytics module tracking annual progress on the Sendai Framework implementation; and the Risk Information Exchange (RiX), a living repository of open-source, global, regional and national risk data.
RiX aggregates information on hazards, exposure and vulnerability, and structural information like administrative boundaries, topographic maps, satellite data, hydro-met data, macro-economic data, and human development indicators disaggregated sub-nationally if possible – across a broad range of risk areas, from biological, hydrometeorological, environmental to technological, societal and climate change. It makes accessible risk data from government ministries and departments, disaster management and civil protection agencies, sector planners, finance and investment officials, bilateral and multilateral organizations; NGOs and INGOs; researchers; and the private sector. The RiX does not aim to duplicate existing risk and climate data, instead it wants to shine the light on risk information and analysis generated in traditionally siloed climate change, humanitarian and development networks.

The consultant will support the implementation of the programme “Sendai Framework Implementation: Accelerating Disaster Risk reduction in Humanitarian Action”, implemented by UNDRR in close collaboration with UN Country Teams, national DRR authorities (i.e., CENOE and INGD) and UN entities. The programme objective is to develop and disseminating guidance, norms and standards, to create and disseminate knowledge products for the design of DRR interventions, including anticipatory action and early warning, as well as to support humanitarian organizations in integrating a risk-informed approach across their work through risk analysis, capacity building and awareness raising.

The consultant will support the implementation of the programme in Mozambique through the support to generation and application of risk, loss and Sendai Framework data and information, as well as in its application for humanitarian action and development planning as well as Early Warning. The consultant will also support the coordination with national and international stakeholders for the application of the data, and support capacity building and awareness raising.

Institutional Arrangements
This position is opened for Mozambiquan nationals only. Women candidates are encouraged to apply. The position is based in Maputo, Mozambique. He/She will report remotely to the Risk Knowledge Programme Management Officer at the Regional Office for Africa, under the overall supervision of the Deputy Chief of Office. Technical guidance and support will also be provided by the Risk Knowledge and Partnerships Branches of UNDRR, as appropriate.

Duties and Responsibilities:

A/ Support the development of the national disaster loss database:

The consultant will work in close collaboration with the national DRR authority to enhance the collection, management and governance and application of disaster loss data, with a focus on emergency/humanitarian applications. He/She will support the national authority in aligning ONA platform data to Sendai Framework -aligned targets and on reporting on the Sendai Framework Monitor and DesInventar. Strong engagement with national DRR stakeholders, particularly members of the national DRR platform will be required. In consultation with above listed stakeholders, the consultant will carry out the following activities:

– Data management: review of existing practices for collection of disaster loss data, including cleaning, structuring and storage of disaster loss data; provide recommendations for the harmonization of data across DesInventar and SFM at national level, including the hazard list and data collection tools;

– Collection and processing of loss data: supporting the government in the processing of loss data from the ONA platform and in the collection of additional disaster loss data to enhance the Government’s and partners’ access to risk information and reporting on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. As much as possible, all data should be disaggregated to the maximum degree possible such as sex, age, disability status, economic, geographic/administrative area;
> Support the national authority in the process of validating the newly collected loss data Strengthen national disaster loss data on MyDewetra: inclusion of missing disaster loss data, and drought information in MyDewetra to generate an up-to-date repository for historical disaster loss dataSupport National DRR authorities and other stakeholders involved in the multi-sectoral consultative process of developing a guideline for economic quantification of damage and losses for Mozambique.

– Governance of loss data: conducting a mapping of institutions and organisations who collect disaster loss data and the tools they employ in order to produce an overview of government bodies and organizations who collect data on disaster and climate related losses – the mapping should describe the data, the sources of this data, the methodologies used and consider also their application, including for humanitarian action;
>Provide recommendations on how to enhance institutional linkages with key entities and sectors, for example National Statistical Offices, to facilitate the sharing of disaster loss data among institutions
> Support the National DRR authorities in strengthening institutional arrangements for data sharing with selected sectors (e.g., internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with other organizations) for the collection and use of loss data;
> Support National DRR authority in establishing or reviewing existing feedback mechanisms on the collection, management and use of loss data across the sectors.

– Promote awareness and build capacity across relevant national institutions of disaster loss data (collected as per the Sendai Framework indicators) and the tools available for the disaster loss data management and analysis (DesInventar and SFM);
> Capacity building on SFM, Desinventar and the Disaster Losses and Damages tracking system being developed.

– Application / use of loss data: based on above analysis, support the National DRR authority in producing analysis reports, using existing and new disaster loss data from DesInventar and design and roll out a dissemination plan to make the analysis relevant to selected sectors.
>Facilitate agreement on the use of information for disaster management purposes – particularly in relation to emergency preparedness and response;

B/ Application of risk knowledge in line with DRR checklist:
– Under the guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and based on above work on disaster data, assess entry points and opportunities for the application of risk data in humanitarian planning processes and coordination mechanisms

– Support the integration of disaster and climate risk in the Humanitarian Programme Cycle and UN Sustainable Development Framework as appropriate, through the provision of guidance and technical support, in line with UNDRR risk analysis tools and the Checklist on Scaling up DRR in Humanitarian Action

– Facilitating, and contributing substantive inputs into training workshops on risk data, loss data, data management, data governance, data literacy.

– Supporting INGD in addressing the main challenges identified in the Gap Analysis conducted by the government and support better use of loss data for emergency preparedness and response.

– Working closely with INGD and Resident Coordinator Office as needed, assess capacity development gaps and opportunities to inform training and capacity building activities to enhance risk knowledge for humanitarian and development planning;

– Participate and provide support to inter-agency consultations, mechanisms and processes related to collaboration across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus as it related to disaster risk reduction in coordination with UN and national authorities.

C/ Coordination
Throughout the work, the consultant is expected to:
– Liaise with relevant partners, humanitarian stakeholders, and governmental counterparts for support on any topics related to disaster risk reduction, for instance risk-informed humanitarian action, anticipatory action and/or early warning

– Provide technical support and advice to UN colleagues and counterparts on DRR, especially related to disaster loss data

– Participate in relevant coordination mechanisms and processes

– Collaborate and coordinate with humanitarian stakeholders and Red Cross in the country to support the potential use of governmental data on disaster loss for Early Action protocols.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree in disaster risk, risk analysis and management, risk modelling (including hazard, vulnerability and exposure) or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with a minimum of 2 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Minimum 5 years of experience in disaster risk reduction, information management, data analysis as well as relevant humanitarian and/or development work is required;
Relevant experience in statistics, risk modelling, development, adaptation and resilience is required.
A good knowledge of the national, regional and international context on DRM/DRR is required;
Experience in data conversion, management of quantitative and qualitative data systems, integration and projection, mapping/GIS software is required.
Strong knowledge of risk analysis and management, risk modelling (including hazards, vulnerability and exposure) and proven experience in post-disaster loss and damage assessment is desirable.
Experience in the UN system related to disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, humanitarian-development-peace collaboration, response and recovery is desirable;
Familiarity with government knowledge management resources (sector, macro, sub-national) is desirable;
Experience with quantitative risk assessment and disaster risk metrics is desirable.

Languages

– Fluency in English and Portuguese is required;
– Knowledge of any other UN languages 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.