Disaster Risk Reduction Mentor

Background: The Anglican Church of Melanesia in Vanuatu and its partner Anglican agencies

The Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) encompasses the Solomon Islands, the Republic of Vanuatu and the French Territory of New Caledonia. Along with the religious functions the church provides, it also supports and implements many community development programs, and is involved in emergency response during frequent natural disaster events. In Vanuatu, ACOM is divided into two dioceses, one in Luganville on the island of Espiritu Santo, and the other at Sola in the Banks group of Islands. Luganville is the main administrative centre.

Anglican Overseas Aid (AOA) is an overseas relief and development agency of the Anglican Church of Australia. AOA’s purpose is to work with Anglican and like-minded agencies to create and strengthen partnerships in developing countries to overcome poverty, injustice and disaster. AOA supports programs throughout Pacific, Asia, Africa and Middle East. In Vanuatu, AOA partners with ACOM to implement a DFAT funded ‘Women and Youth Empowerment’ project.

Anglican Board of Mission (ABM) is the mission agency of the Anglican Church of Australia. Through its Anglicans in Development unit, it also partners with Anglican churches in developing countries to deliver programs that address poverty alleviation and build strong, healthy, empowered communities that can enjoy whole and meaningful lives. ABM has partnered with ACOM since 2008 as part of the ecumenical Vanuatu Church Partnership Program to implement Water and Sanitation, Literacy and (more recently) Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Management programs.

In 2014 AOA, ABM and another Anglican partner, Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD) began working more intentionally together to build capacity of ACOM to deliver effective community development programs and provide emergency response.

Background

In the aftermath of the category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam, which hit Vanuatu on Friday 13 March 2015, AOA and ABM have been working with ACOM in Vanuatu to implement an emergency and recovery response. This has been with a mix of funding from the donor base of the two agencies, as well as implementing part of a broader Vanuatu response through the Actions by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance.

Phase one of the ‘Response’, which is scheduled for completion in March 2016, prioritizes work at eight distribution sites across Pentecost, Maewo and Ambae Islands. This work includes the re-establishment of food security through the provision of seeds and supply of planting materials and tools. Further Recovery and Post-Recovery phases are currently under development, and will be scheduled for completion in March 2017. Longer term rehabilitation work is planned to continue through 2017, focusing on emergency evacuation and storage centres.

Phase one is funded through the ACT Alliance, a coalition of more than 140 churches and faith-based organisations operating in 140 countries. The Recovery and Post-Recovery phases are funded by AOA, ABM and ERD.

Short term engagement – Disaster Risk Management

AOA and ABM require someone with disaster risk management expertise to work with ACOM in Vanuatu to implement the Response, Recovery, and Post-Recovery activities for the Cyclone Pam emergency, as well as build capacities of the partner to manage and respond to future natural disasters. The duration of the assignment is three months based in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. After three months, the assignment will be reviewed and a further three months deployment may be negotiated.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Emergency Response, Recovery and Post-Recovery implementation:

• Provide guidance, technical inputs, and mentoring to ACOM Vanuatu (ACOMV) staff and volunteers to progress implementation of Cyclone Pam emergency Response activities funded through ACT Alliance
• Provide guidance, technical inputs, and mentoring to ACOMV staff and volunteers to progress the planning and implementation of Phase 2 Recovery and Post-Recovery activities funded by other donor agencies (i.e. AOA, ABM, and ERD) 
• Review plans for the use of AOA and ABM donor funds, as well as other donor funds, including for Phase 2;
• Provide mentoring to partner staff in the compilation of ACOM reports, outlining progress of activities;
• Contribute to the capacity building of partner staff in the monitoring and evaluation of project implementation, including accompanying visits to project sites
• Support partner staff in being able to coordinate with partner stakeholders operating in the area of DRR/DRM including representatives of central, provincial and local government, other responding churches under the coordination of the Vanuatu Christian Council (based in Port Vila), as well as humanitarian and development agencies, UN, and NGOs.

2. Assess and build DRM capacities of ACOMV:

• Empower, train and build capacity of ACOMV Disaster Committee members and ACOMV staff in the area of DRR and emergency preparedness, including rapid needs assessment, proposal writing, and communication with stakeholders.
• Mentor local staff to identify DRR needs in target communities and how to gain local inputs on how to improve the local capacity to respond and prepare for disasters.
• Address how preparedness and future response can be more decentralised away from the main church office at Luganville.

Key Selection Criteria

1. Demonstrated experience and strong track record in, and knowledge of, DRM.
2. Demonstrated experience in training or capacity building activities.
3. Proven ability to work effectively in complex and cross-cultural environments.
4. Pacific experience is an advantage, as is knowledge of Bislama.
5. Tertiary qualifications in social research, or development management.
6. Some experience of working with small community-based or faith-based organisations, is preferable.

Further Details

The consultancy will be based at ACOMV’s office at Luganville, Vanuatu.
Remuneration will be commensurate with experience and qualifications of the successful applicant.

Contacts

For further information about this consultancy, please contact either:

Kye Taylor, Manager, Innovations and Programs, Anglican Overseas Aid

ktaylor@anglicanoverseasaid.org.au

Jessica Sexton, Pacific Programs Officer, Anglican Board of Mission

programs.officer@abm.asn.au