Consultant on Disaster Losses and Damages Tracking and Risk Information Systems in the Pacific

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), UNDRR has over 150 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. In the Pacific region, UNDRR supports countries to strengthen disaster losses and damages data systems, including through the Sendai Framework Monitor (SFM) and the Disaster Losses and Damages Tracking System (DELTA Resilience). These systems aim to improve the availability and use of disaster related information and risk knowledge for evidence-based decision-making, resilience planning, climate adaptation, and risk-informed investment. UNDRR is currently supporting several initiatives aimed at strengthening disaster information systems in the Pacific, including the rollout of DELTA Resilience in selected Pacific Island countries and analytical work related to disaster losses and damages trends. These efforts contribute to broader regional policy discussions, including the development of a Pacific Loss and Damage State Report, which will help inform regional dialogues, regional and global climate negotiations. To support these initiatives, UNDRR seeks to engage a consultant to provide strategic technical advisory support on disaster losses and damages tracking systems and risk and disaster information governance in the Pacific. Under the overall supervision of the Programme Management Officer of UNDRR Pacific Subregional Office, the consultant will be homebased and undertake the following tasks: 1. Strategic Advisory support for DELTA Resilience Rollout

• Provide strategic guidance on the rollout and operationalization of the DELTA Resilience (Disaster and Hazardous events losses and damages tracking and analysis) system
• Provide technical advisory support to initiatives in Kiribati and Fiji, including guidance on system implementation strategies including losses and damages assessment (slow-onset, non-economic losses, etc.) and losses valuation approaches, institutional arrangements, and capacity development support to relevant national stakeholders to strengthen national ownership and effective implementation.
• Provide advisory support, technical review and feedback on outputs produced by national consultants supporting DELTA implementation.
• Advise on alignment of DELTA with national disaster information management systems and data governance frameworks. 2. Technical Advisory on Disaster Risk Information Systems
• Provide technical advice on strengthening disaster losses and damages data systems, including institutional, methodological, and operational dimensions.
• Support improvements in data collection, analysis, management, and reporting of disaster losses, including linkages with Sendai Framework Monitoring.
• Provide guidance on the use of disaster losses and damages data for risk-informed planning, infrastructure resilience, and disaster risk reduction and climate financing.
• Support capacity development of national stakeholders through the contextualization training materials, training-of-trainers approaches, practical technical support, and facilitation of peer learning and knowledge exchange. 3. Contribution to the Pacific Disaster Loss and Damage and Resilience Outlook Report
• Provide technical inputs to the analytical framework and conceptual approach of the Pacific Disaster Loss and Damage and Resilience Outlook Report.
• Contribute to analytical sections and interpretation of disaster loss trends.
• Support the development of policy-relevant messages for Pacific leaders, including contributions to regional policy discussions and pre-COP dialogues. 4. Technical Review and Quality Assurance
• Review technical documents related to disaster loss and damage tracking initiatives in the Pacific.
• Provide feedback on methodological approaches for disaster loss data analysis.
• Support quality assurance of technical outputs produced under UNDRR projects. 5. Advisory Support to Additional Pacific Countries
• Provide technical and strategic advisory support to other Pacific Island countries engaging in disaster losses and damages tracking initiatives, if needs arise during the consultancy period (e.g., Solomon Islands or others).
• Provide ad hoc technical inputs, reviews, or advisory support as required by UNDRR.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree in Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change, Environmental Management, Development Studies, Public Policy, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree with at least 2 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. Minimum 10 years of experience in disaster risk reduction, disaster information management, climate  risk management, or related fields is required. Experience working with disaster loss and damage databases or risk information systems is required. Experience working with international organizations or government institutions is required. Experience in providing strategic advisory inputs and analytical contributions to policy reports.is required. Experience working in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) or the Pacific region is desirable.

Languages

Fluency in English is required.

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.