Consultant-A curriculum for SADC Emergency Response Team

Organizational Context

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) faces recurring challenges from natural and human-induced hazards, with droughts, floods, storms among other disasters claiming lives, as well as, severely impacting lives and livelihoods. The region has experienced unprecedented events, including a historic El Niño-induced drought in 2016 and Tropical Cyclones; Idai and Kenneth in 2019, further exacerbating the situation and causing widespread destruction, impoverishing multiple SADC Member States. More recently, in February and March 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy, the third-deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Hemisphere following 2019's Cyclone Idai and the 1973 Flores cyclone affected an estimated 2.7 million people, resulting in 876 deaths and displacing 916,000 people. In this regard, the region urgently, needs to build resilience to protect lives and development gains for sustainable development.

The Disaster Risk Management Strengthening in the Southern Africa Development Community (DRMSS) project, funded by the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Intra-African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP) Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Programme (NDRRP), aims to enhance disaster (risk) management and preparedness capacity in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are among the implementing partners for the DRMSS project.

Communicating timely early warning plays a vital role in enhancing disaster(risk) management and preparedness. In this regard, a crucial part of this project is to develop and operationalise the SADC Emergency Response Team with a web-based management system. This combination will be fundamental in the dissemination of early warning communication, and alerts of potential disasters, facilitate cooperation and coordination of all stakeholders deployed in disaster zones to provide the much-needed humanitarian support, and enable information sharing among the actors involved in the response for decision making purposes. It is against this background that SADC, IFRC and OCHA wishes to engage services of a consultant to review existing UNDAC induction course to incorporate adaptations and considerations preferred by SADC Member States and the SADC Secretariat for the SADC Emergency Response Team Induction.

Job Purpose

Alignment to the IFRC’s and Partners objectives as well as strategies

The project and specifically this consultancy is aligned to IFRC’s Strategy 2030, the SADC Disaster Preparedness and Response Strategy as well as Fund for 2016-2030, the SADC Disaster Risk Management Strategy and Action Plan for 2023-2030 and the Regional Indicative Strategic Development plan (RISDP) (2020-2030) of the SADC Secretariat. Equally important is its alignment to OCHA’s Strategic Plan 2023-2026 transformational priorities to address the current humanitarian challenges within a rapidly changing landscape in particular the priority focusing on achieving a coherent humanitarian response that is people centred, context specific, contributes to community resilience and promotes concrete protection outcomes. These strategies provide guidance for safeguarding development gains through enhancing disaster preparedness and response capabilities considering 21st-century challenges. These include but are not limited to climate and environmental crisis, evolving crisis and disasters. These strategies embrace “multi-stakeholdership’ amongst governments, private and public institutions to ensure no one is left behind in achieving sustainable development. Essentially, the strategies strive to significantly reduce disaster loss and damage by strengthening capacities to better anticipate, respond to, and quickly recover from crisis. 

Objectives

The primary objectives of this consultancy are to:

1. Review the existing United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) methodology methodologies and approaches and adapt these for the SADC Disaster Preparedness and Response mechanism including the SADC Emergency Response Team proposed concept and structure.
2. Review and consider IFRC and OCHA’s relevant tools and materials related to existing ERT Training Curriculum etc
3. Undertake consultations with SADC Member States, SADC Secretariat, and members of the Regional Interagency Standing Committee (RIASCO) for Southern Africa to define preferred SADC Emergency Response Team (ERT) curriculum.
4. Develop a draft SADC ERT Induction curriculum based on consultations undertaken and core UNDAC methodology reference materials.
5. To conduct a virtual validation workshop on the draft SADC ERT Induction curriculum with Member States, SADC Secretariat, and key regional stakeholders.
6. To develop final SADC ERT Induction package in readiness for the SADC ERT Induction workshop to be held in June 2024.
7. Participate as one of the facilitators at the SADC ERT Induction training workshop.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Desired outcomes

The consultant is expected to provide a curriculum for the SADC Emergency Response Team (ERT) Induction Course comprising of pre-course e-learning resources, proposed SADC ERT Mission Cycle within the context of a broader international humanitarian response, proposed SADC ERT methodology through practical exercises, discussions, use of case studies and peer-to-peer learning through experience-sharing.

Consultancy outputs

The Consultant is expected to deliver the following:

1. An inception report that presents a methodology and work plan of the assignment during the inception meeting.
2. A summary report on the review of existing UNDAC methodology induction package in view of the SADC Disaster Preparedness and Response mechanism including the SADC Emergency Response Team proposed concept and stricture.
3. Summary issues based on consultations with SADC Member States, SADC Secretariat, IFRC ERT, OCHA ERT and members of the Regional Interagency Standing Committee (RIASCO) for Southern Africa to define preferred SADC ERT curriculum.
4. A draft SADC ERT Induction curriculum based on consultations undertaken and core UNDAC methodology reference materials.
5. A final SADC ERT Induction package with modules and facilitator guidance notes in MS Word and MS PowerPoint in readiness for the SADC ERT Induction workshop to be held in June 2024.
6. Co-facilitate the SADC ERT Induction workshop alongside other facilitators.

Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

Schedule for payment of fees

Deliverable #1:

Description: An inception report that presents a methodology and work plan of the assignment during the inception meeting.

- Payment: 10% of total fees

- Deadline: 22^nd May 2024

Deliverable #2:

Description: A summary report on the review of existing UNDAC induction package in view of the SADC Disaster Preparedness and Response mechanism including the SADC Emergency Response Team proposed concept.

- Payment: 20% of total fees

- Deadline: 29^th May 2024

Deliverable #3:

Description: A summary paper on key issues based on consultations with SADC Member States, SADC Secretariat, and members of the Regional Interagency Standing Committee (RIASCO) for Southern Africa that will define preferred SADC ERT curriculum.

- Payment: 20% of total fees

- Deadline: 6^th June 2024

Deliverable #4:

Description: A draft SADC ERT induction curriculum package with modules and facilitator guidance notes in MS Word and MS PowerPoint based on consultations undertaken and core UNDAC methodology reference materials.

- Payment: 40% of total fees

- Deadline: 20^th June 2024

Deliverable #5:

Description: A final SADC ERT Induction package with modules and facilitator guidance notes in MS Word and MS PowerPoint after incorporating stakeholder feedback in readiness for the SADC ERT Induction workshop to be held in June 2024.

- Payment: 10% of total fees

- Deadline: 15th July 2024

**Payment Terms and Conditions**

• All payments are subject to approval of deliverables by the IFRC in consultation with DRM project partners.
• Invoices must be submitted within 5 working days of reaching each milestone.
• Late submissions may result in delayed payment.
• Invoices should be addressed to International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies C/o Cruz Vermelha de Moçambique | Av. 24 de Julho Nr. 641| Maputo, Moçambique
• Payment will be made via Bank Transfer

This proposed schedule is flexible and subject to adjustments based on mutual agreement between the Consultant, OCHA and IFRC. Any changes to the schedule will/should be communicated and documented in writing.

Time Allocation, for budget purposes

The consultancy is expected to commence in May and conclude by August 2024.

Access the terms of reference Here .

Education

• A relevant postgraduate degree in fields in disaster management or humanitarian preparedness and response programming or related fields.

Experience

• At least 5 years of experience in emergency response team mechanisms such as UNDAC.
• Experience in designing and delivering of training courses related to humanitarian and disaster Management.
• Working experience within multicultural teams and international organizations or companies.
• Familiarity with SADC member states geographical, legal, institutional, social, and environmental context.
• Experience in conducting and facilitating workshops.

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

• Have experience with being deployed for emergency response surge.
• Familiarity and relevant experience in undertaking stakeholder consultations.
• Have excellent knowledge of the international humanitarian and disaster response mechanism and recent trends.
• Demonstrate the ability for report writing.

   

• Fluent spoken and written English.
• Good command of other official languages within the SADC region.

Competencies, Values and Comments

• Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability
• Core competencies: Communication;
• Collaboration and teamwork;
• Judgement and decision making;
• National society and customer relations;
• Creativity and innovation;
• Building trust.

Submission Requirements:

Interested Consultant(s)/Team/Firm are invited to submit:

• A detailed proposal outlining the approach to achieving the objectives. - Attach it in Cover letter attachment space.
• Financial proposal, including a breakdown of costs. - Attach it in Other attachment.
• Curriculum Vitae (CVs)s of the Consultant(s)/Team/Firm - Attach it in CV attachment space for all members who will be part of the process
• Examples of previous relevant work. - Attach it in Other attachment.

Submission Deadline: All proposals must be submitted by 29th April 2024 to IFRC career (Official site). The consultancy is expected to commence in May and conclude by August 2024.

Evaluation:

The proposals will be evaluated based on technical competence, relevant experience, and financial considerations.

Management of consultancy

The IFRC with manage the contract and OCHA will provide technical management of the selected Consultant with the support of the SADC Secretariat, IFRC and the DRMSS Technical Working Group (TWG) through:

1. Clear Communication:

- Establish open and transparent communication channels from the outset, clearly outlining project expectations, goals, and deliverables. Maintain regular check-ins to discuss progress, address concerns, and ensure alignment with consultancy objectives.

1. Planning and Setting Milestones:

- Develop a detailed consultancy plan with clear milestones and deadlines. Regularly review progress against these milestones to track the Consultant(s)/Team/Firm's work and identify any potential issues early on.

1. Stakeholder Engagement:

- Facilitate effective engagement with key stakeholders, including government agencies, local communities, and regional organizations.

1. Resource Support:

- Provide the necessary resources, including access to data, technical tools, subject matter experts, logistics for travel to enable the Consultant(s)/Team/Firm to perform their tasks effectively. Address any resource constraints promptly to avoid delays.

Quality Assurance and Review:

- Implement a robust quality assurance process by regularly reviewing the Consultant(s)/Team/Firm 's work, methodologies, and deliverables. Provide constructive feedback to support continuous improvement.

Further Information:

For any additional information or clarification, please contact Sandra Delali Kemeh at Sandra.kemeh@ifrc.org with fina.nhancalize@ifrc.org and clement.kalonga@un.org in copy.

Conclusion:

The selected Consultant is expected to provide high-quality deliverables that will significantly contribute to the successful establishment of SHOC within the framework of the DRMSS project.

Notes:

• The consultancy is expected to take 40 Working days to be completed.
• The consultant will be contracted by the IFRC and the standard contractual terms will apply.