Result of ServiceThe consultancy will enhance national and local capacities in Burundi for integrating risk knowledge into decision-making for early warning and early action, in line with the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative. Furthermore, the consultancy will support the operationalisation of the situation room. Lastly, the consultancy will support the reporting of measurable progress in Sendai Framework Monitoring (SFM). Work LocationBujumbura, Burundi Expected duration1 year Duties and ResponsibilitiesBackground: 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 catalyses action and increases global awareness to reduce disaster risk working with U.N. Member States and a broad range of partners and stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, parliamentarians and the science and technology community. Furthermore, UNDRR campaigns to create global awareness of disaster risk reduction benefits and empower people to reduce their vulnerability to hazards; advocates for greater investments in disaster risk reduction to protect people's lives and assets, and for increased and informed participation of men and women of all stakeholder groups in reducing disaster risk; and informs and connects people by providing practical services and tools such as Prevention Web, publications on good practices, and by leading the preparation of the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction and the organization of the Global and Regional Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is committed to enhancing coordination, collaboration, and capacity building in Burundi. From different funding streams (including Government of Japan, CREWS, etc), UNDRR engagement in the country seeks to improve the application of risk knowledge in early warning, early action, and resilience building, particularly at the national to local levels. The focus is on prioritizing at-risk groups and vulnerable communities. The objective of this consultancy is to provide technical guidance and support to UNDRR and its partners in Burundi to enhance national capacities for integrating risk knowledge into decision-making for early warning and early action. This includes improving the application of risk knowledge in early warning systems, resilience-building efforts, and aligning with international frameworks. This consultancy will align and support the implementation of initiatives such as: 1. Early Warnings for All (EW4All): This global initiative, launched by the UN Secretary-General, aims to ensure that every person on the planet is protected by early warning systems within the next five years. EW4All prioritizes the translation of early warning into early action to reduce disaster impacts, particularly for the most vulnerable. In Burundi, this consultancy will support national efforts to implement the recently validated EW4All roadmap with a strong focus on enhancing the integration of risk knowledge into early warning systems. 2. The AMHEWAS and the operationalisation of the situation room for Burundi The Africa Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Early Action (AMHEWAS) Programme strengthens continental, regional and national capacities to collect, exchange and analyse data relevant to multi-disaster and impact-based early warning systems and cross-border disaster risk management in Africa. The establishment and operationalisation of situation rooms across the continent is an integral part of strengthening Multi-Hazard early warning and early action in Africa. Once operational, the Situation room in Burundi is expected linked to the AMHEWAS and to generate products and services for a wide range of sectors, the civil protection, hydromet and the general public, within a broader EW value chain. 3. Gender-responsive and disability-inclusive early warning: Effective implementation of EWS in Burundi requires dedicated efforts to explore barriers, challenges and opportunities to strengthening gender responsive and disability-inclusive for early and anticipatory action. The Gender-responsive and disability-inclusiveness will focus on strengthening existing policies, practices and knowledge aimed at capturing evidence on risk perception, warning practices and response mechanisms that could be leveraged to make EWS inclusive and people-centred, calling on decision makers and practitioners to reconsider how individual vulnerability are perceived and whether EWS will ensure successful outcomes for marginalized individuals and groups. 4. Sendai Framework Monitoring (SFM): The Sendai Framework Monitoring enables the member states to track progress in achieving the Sendai Framework targets at national, regional, and global levels. This consultancy will help align Burundi’s disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities with the Sendai Framework by improving how risk knowledge is applied in early warning systems and decision-making, ensuring that measurable progresses within the seven targets are captured and reported accordingly. Duties and Responsibilities: The National consultant will be based in Bujumbura, Burundi, working full time under UNDRR- ROA Programme Management Officer, and with close collaboration with the UN Country Team and the Director General of the Civil Protection in Burundi. The consultant will be responsible for the following: 1. Early Warnings for All (EW4All) a) Provide expert guidance on stakeholder engagement on the implementation of the roadmap in Burundi, with a focus on promoting risk information management. b) Liaise with the EWS experts to improve the coordination mechanism for data exchange at national and sub-national levels. c) Coordinate with and support partners for the integration of the Burundi Situation room into the AMHEWAS and its extension in the IGAD/ICPAC and ECCAS Situation Room. d) Advance early action within both national and sub-national levels, ensure that EWS reach the last miles e) Support EW4All risk governance-related activities and any further actions towards furthering the implementation of Pillar 1 and the implementation and monitoring of the EW4All initiative in the country. f) Raise awareness and promote advocacy for the EW4All initiative, including sharing information products, convening meetings, making presentations, media outreach and communications, etc. g) Oversee reporting on the implementation of the EW4All initiatives in the country. h) Assists in the organization of meetings and workshops. i) Provides technical input and facilitates training and capacity-building workshops for local stakeholders. j) Guide the integration of risk information into Burundi’s early warning systems in line with the EW4All initiative. 2. The AMHEWAS and the operationalisation of the situation room for Burundi a) Liaise with the Director General of the Civil Protection, the National Platform for DRR, and all relevant stakeholders on all activities related to the design and realization of the situation room. b) Support efforts towards Ccoordination of technical partners and organizations to ensure gradual addition of information products related to new hazards and to improve current modelling. c) Coordinate agreement of roles and responsibilities reflecting these through the development of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the situation room. d) Support all efforts towards the coordination of the operations of the situation room. e) Support the preparation of information products based on information collected through the coordination mechanism established. f) Recommend strategies for integrating exposure and vulnerability data into the products generated by the situation room. 3. Gender-responsive and disability-inclusive early warning a) Conduct a comprehensive stocktake of gender-disaggregated DRR data, methodologies, tools, policies, and legislative frameworks in Burundi. b) Develop a mapping report outlining gaps, challenges, case studies and opportunities for gender mainstreaming in DRR. c) Engage with key stakeholders, including government agencies, UN and civil society organizations, to validate findings. d) Collate best practices and findings for the purpose of uploading onto the Women's Resilience to Disasters Policy Tracker for knowledge sharing. e) Organize a workshop on integrating risk information into legislation and budget planning. f) Produce a workshop report with key recommendations and next steps. g) Work with partners to review and update National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and DRR strategies for gender integration, provide technical guidance on comprehensive risk management for resilience, and develop gender mainstreaming recommendations. h) Integrate the results of the EW4ALL Inclusion Checklist to develop an implementation plan and recommendations for enhancing gender mainstreaming and disability inclusion in EWS frameworks i) Assess the existing data and monitoring mechanisms of the EW4ALL initiative for gender and disability inclusion gaps. 4. Sendai Framework Monitoring (SFM): a) Support the improvement of the disaster data management system in the country, specifically in ensuring proper disaggregation in data collection and facilitating the coordination between national institutions involved in collecting disaster data. b) Provide technical support for uploading disaster data into the Sendai Framework Monitoring platform to track progress in disaster risk reduction before or at the annual milestones (March, October). c) Assist the national institutions in their efforts to use disaster data to inform disaster risk reduction policies and actions. d) Engage and coordinate with key stakeholders, including national authorities, local governments, and partners, to ensure alignment of activities with existing DRR initiatives and national priorities and the reporting of progress through the SFM platform. Qualifications/special skillsAdvanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Disaster Risk Management, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Geography, Hydrology or other relevant fields is required. A first-level university degree in any of these fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Five (5) years of relevant experience at the national or international level in implementing Disaster Risk Reduction Programmes or other related projects/programmes is required. Experience in Early Warning Systems (EWS) management, Geographical Information systems is desirable. Experience in data analysis including data cleansing, visualisation and reporting is required. Experience in statistical applications (Stata, R, SPSS, Stata, Sphinx, SAS,) is desirable. Experience in conducting gender analysis is desirable. Proven experience working closely with Government institutions or coordinating government led projects in Burundi is desirable LanguagesEnglish & French are the working languages in the United Nations. For this post, Fluency in French is required. Additional InformationDue to the high volume of applications received, only successful candidates will be contacted No FeeTHE 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.