For Individual Vietnamese Nationals: Emergency Consultant, Viet Nam

Emergency Consultant

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up.   

For every child, an opportunity ...

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:  

Under the overall guidance and in regular consultation with the supervisor, the Programme Specialist for Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Emergency:

1. Support effective, timely coordination and implementation of country office emergency preparedness, response and recovery activities in 2024 and 2025.

2. Responsible for the technical contribution to the development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of emergency interventions to advance the survival and well-being of children and mothers and affected communities in an emergency.

Context:

Globally, Viet Nam is among the most affected countries by climate change. Each year, increasingly intense and unpredictable weather events cause fatalities and extensive damage to infrastructure, such as schools and health centres, and impact the livelihoods of already disadvantaged communities in urban and rural areas.

From the beginning of 2024, several serious natural disasters have occurred across the country, greatly affecting people's lives and production. On 7 September super typhoon Yagi entered Viet Nam as the strongest typhoon in decades. It caused wide-ranging damage in the Northern region (at least 26 provinces; various cities). The strong Typhoon resulted in heavy rains and storm damages well beyond the coastal regions, especially in Northern mountainous areas, which are most vulnerable to flash floods and landslides. It is forecasted that natural disasters are likely to be complicated, unpredictable and extreme in the coming time.

Children are especially affected by these natural disasters. Access to food, water, education and healthcare is threatened and the pressure on communities - resulting from loss of income and assets - increases children’s exposure to violence, exploitation and abuse. Women also tend to be disproportionately impacted, further increasing negative effects on children, as they may be less able to provide sufficient nutrition or care.

With a growing evidence pool based on monitoring of climate and weather patterns pointing to a substantial risk of climate-related emergencies negatively impacting the region and Viet Nam in both the short- and long-terms, and with the ratification of several international agreements putting the heat on Viet Nam to take a robust approach to tackling climate change impacts, UNICEF has developed a vision that recognizes the importance of supporting humanitarian responses to disasters with longer-term and sustainable development work.

At the heart of UNICEF response are the Core Commitments for Children in Humanitarian Action (CCCs). The CCCs form the core UNICEF policy and framework for humanitarian action and are mandatory for all UNICEF personnel. Grounded in global humanitarian norms and standards, the CCCs set organizational, programmatic and operational commitments and benchmarks against which UNICEF holds itself accountable for the coverage, quality and equity of its humanitarian action and advocacy.

Scope of Work:

Emergency Preparedness:

1.  Provides support to the Programme Specialist, in risk analysis to identify emergency-prone conditions/situations and contribute to early warning and timely emergency preparedness. 

2. Assists Emergency Specialists in formulating plans of action in preparation and response to emergencies. Gathers information on best practices in emergencies for the preparation of contingency plans. Assists in tracking and reviewing compliance of all sectors with emergency plans of action. Support Emergency Management Team (EMT) in preparation and response to emergencies

3.  Identifies formal and informal sources of information. Provide support to collect, interpret, and analyze all available data on the evolving emergency and its implications for the emergency operation. Assist in facilitating timely communication and information flow to support emergency planning and implementation.

4.  Assists in organizing and conducting staff training for the office’s capacity building in emergency preparedness and response. 

Emergency Response:

5.  In the event of an emergency, promptly assist in implementing the initial operational tasks relating to emergency assistance. Support for collecting reliable information to verify the nature and extent of the emergency with staff, government officials, other UN agencies, local organizations and media.

6.  Assists the Programme Specialist with the assessment of local emergency and security situations including visits to the location to conduct a rough initial assessment of the magnitude of the crisis and its implications for children, women and the community. Assists with the assessment of the validity of the emergency preparedness plan and ability of the office vis-à-vis the current crisis as well as immediate and additional needs. Provides input in and contributes toward determining priorities and an appropriate intervention by UNICEF. Back up for Programme Specialists to coordinate with other partners to make a rapid assessment covering priority areas as defined by the Core Commitment for Children in Emergencies and establish contact with community groups, government, UN agencies, media and other partners to keep the country office of emergencies.  

7. Provide technical input in implementing the emergency preparedness and response plan as necessary. Support to follow up with the timely delivery of assistance and procurement of supplies and monitor the appropriate and effective use of UNICEF resources. Identifies problems and constraints in project delivery.

Detailed Work Assignments and Deliverables as attached  TOR Emergency Consultant Oct 24.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have… 

- Master's degree in one of the following fields: social sciences, public administration, international law, public health, nutrition, international relations, business administration or other related disciplines. Preferably a combination of management, administration, and relevant technical fields.

- At least seven years of professional work experience in emergency program/ project development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation administration.

- Specialized training/experience in emergency response, especially with floods is highly desirable.

- Strong mixed quantitative and qualitative skill set in terms of risk assessment and data analysis.

- Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to facilitate and communicate effectively to technical and non-technical audiences and contribute to an interdisciplinary team.

- Demonstrated ability to take initiative, work independently, and make sound, informed decisions.

- Proven ability in building and mentoring capacity of government counterparts, with experience working closely with ‘potential beneficiaries’, and experience working with the UN and/or a NGO is an asset.

- Fluency in English (verbal and written) is a must. Proven experience of high-quality report writing and documentation.

- Availability for rapid deployment on short notice.

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).   

To view our competency framework, please visit here.   

Assessment criteria:

For evaluation and selection method, the Cumulative Analysis Method (weight combined score method) shall be used for this recruitment:

a) Technical Qualification weight 75%:

- Educational background: 15 points

- Relevant work experience: 40 points

- Required language(s): 10 points

- Relevant skills: 10 points

b) Financial Proposal weight 25%:

The maximum number of points shall be allotted to the lowest Financial Proposal that is opened/evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum 50 points score in the technical evaluation. Other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores, subject to the satisfactory result of the verification interview if needed.

Submission of applications:

a. Letter of interest/CV

b. Three references of relevant previous assignment(s)

e. Financial proposal: All-inclusive lump-sum cost including consultancy fee, travel and any other relevant costs for this assignment.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic.

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.   

Remarks:  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. 

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.