Consultant - 'Ten essentials' (Making Cities Resilient campaign) - UNISDR, Nairobi

Closing Date: Sunday, 22 January 2012

Assignment start date: 1 February 2012

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 form 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. Around 30 cities in Africa signed and are engaged to the making city resilient campaign

Specific context

The urban population in Africa is growing fast and cities play a major role in producing wealth and ensuring development of countries.
Urban risk reduction programmes will contribute to protect and stabilise the development of the cities by avoiding natural disasters to destroy basic infrastructures, jobs and wipe out economic and social progress.

UNISDR developed the TEN ESSENTIALs which will serve for preliminary evaluation to assess overall situation of the targeted cities in term of risk management. The assessment of the cities situation vis a vis the TEN ESSENTIALS will provide a background for DRR programme development and starting point for local managers/mayors, national authorities and partners to elaborate DRR strategies to build resilient cities and reduce vulnerability.

It is also an opportunity to contribute to structure better the dialogue between local and national authorities on DRR and relationship between risk management and sustainable development. The assessment against the 10 essential should identify gaps and suggest a road map (out line) to help local national authorities to develop DRR interventions.

Duties and Responsibilities

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

• Develop a strategy for local and national application of the Local Government Self-Assessment tool which is aligned to the 10 essentials for making cities resilient and the 5 HFA priorities.
• Advocate and introduce the projects to national and local authorities and interested partners 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 Platform.
• 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 in the future.

Key Deliverables

• Framework that align local government assessment tool, 10 essential and HFA priorities.
• Liaise with at least of National Platforms and partners
• Conduct and/or monitor the assessment(s)
• Write draft final report
• Organize consensus workshop(s) to agree on gaps and way forwards.
• Finalize and write detailed final report including recommendations for the LG-SAT implementation in Africa.

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) in social sciences or related field. 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 or related fields. Experience in other African countries an asset.

Language

• Fluency (oral and written) in English or French