Emergency Management Specialist (Consultant)

Background:
The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), established in 1986, is a non-profit, autonomous, regional organization, international in status and non-political in management, staffing, and operations. ADPC has been created for scientific, educational, developmental, and humanitarian purposes that work to build the resilience of people and institutions to disasters and climate change impacts in Asia and the Pacific region.

ADPC has more than 34 years of working experience in Asia along with the national and local Governments of its founding charter member countries as well as countries of the Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) on Disaster Management. ADPC works to strengthen disaster risk reduction at all levels, from regional to national, sub-national, and even to community levels. ADPC aims at supporting governments, strengthen institutions, and build capacity for mainstreaming DRR into development processes. It includes developing institutional systems, assessing disaster risks, undertaking programs for disaster risk reduction and adapting to climate change, etc. Further details on ADPC and its programs can be found at www.adpc.net.

ADPC is currently implementing the “Strengthening Institutionalization of the Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response” (PEER -5) in South Asia with technical and financial assistance from the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. The program has been an essential instrument for enhancing disaster preparedness in the region by forming and strengthening skilled emergency responder groups from communities, disaster response agencies, and hospitals for the past 20 years in Asia. In this current phase of the program, Afghanistan will be inducted as a project country that will work with institutions like the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) and other partner agencies, including training and academic institutions. Building upon PEER's success in training emergency responders and developing instructors for more than two decades in Asia, there is a need to further strengthen the institutionalization of the PEER approach as an integral part of existing and future policies, strategies, budgets, and programs of national and sub-national governments and other non-government agencies including the private sector. The current phase of the PEER Program (PEER-5) aims to strengthen the institutional and technical capacity of national and regional partners to accelerate the institutionalization and sustainability of the PEER program in the program countries.

The primary objective of this consultancy assignment is to support the Government of Afghanistan and other key stakeholders in establishing a sustainable training program on the emergency response that will be integrated into institutional systems and processes at national, sub-national and community levels. The following courses are currently being implemented in the other five countries in South Asia:

1. Community Action for Disaster Response (CADRE)
2. Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (CSSR)
3. Medical First Responder (MFR)
4. Hospital Preparedness for Emergencies (HOPE)
5. Swift Water Rescue Course

Statement of Intent:
ADPC is looking to recruit a qualified consultant for the position of Emergency Management Specialist to be based in Kabul, Afghanistan. The selected consultant will join a dynamic team of ADPC professionals working under the PEER program in the region, while working closely with the ADPC Headquarters experts in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Emergency Management Specialist will be responsible for leading the country implementation of PEER -5. The consultant will be responsible for developing technical products and guide in completing critical activities of the program. The activities include scoping studies, development of national institutionalization strategy, curriculum reviews in coordination with ANDMA as the nodal agency, and facilitating institutional capacity development programs for the government, other partner organizations. This consultant position is open for Afghan Nationals only based in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Qualifications and Experience:

- Masters in Disaster Management, Crisis Management, Environmental Sciences, Engineering, and Natural Resource Management, or any other related fields is essential. A Ph.D. in a related field would be an added advantage;
- At least ten years of proven experience in emergency management, or disaster risk management or related fields;
- A minimum of five years of experience in project management, implementation, coordination, planning, and capacity building;
- Familiarity and at least five years of experience of working with the National and Sub-National Governments in the field of disaster preparedness and emergency response operations;
- Knowledge and proven experience in disaster preparedness, emergency response, community-based disaster risk management, end-to-end early warning system development, emergency operation center management, scenario-based contingency planning, incident management system development, application of specific technical information and data into training and capacity building programs;
- Proven ability to develop manuals, guidelines, case studies, training modules, and deliver training using adult teaching methodologies;
- Sound knowledge of the disaster management system and structures in Afghanistan, including policies, strategies, guidelines, standing orders, and other emergency preparedness related programs in the country;
- Previous experience in working with Humanitarian NGOs or international organizations in similar programs would be added advantage;
- Knowledge of the working ethics of national and sub-national government agencies and international organizations would be an added advantage.

Personal Qualities:
- Self-motivated, pro-active and takes initiatives;
- Demonstrated ability to plan, and organize work & time independently;
- Verbal and written communication skills in English are essential. Knowledge and ability to speak in Pasto and Dari would be an added advantage;
- Excellent interpersonal skills, team-oriented work style, and experience in working in a multi-cultural environment;
- Strong networking capacity and understanding of development work at national and regional levels;
- Strong desires to learn, undertake new challenges, must be a creative problem-solver, and must have self-confidence,
- Willingness to work hard, good sense of humor but with seriousness about the quality and excellence of work.

Purpose of the assignment:
The primary purpose of the assignment is to lead the technical implementation of the PEER Program in Afghanistan.

Duties and Responsibilities:

- Plan, coordinate and implement program activities with partners from the Government, Local NGO partners, the private sector, and other stakeholder agencies in the country;
- Lead the conduct of national scoping studies on the institutionalization of disaster preparedness systems in Afghanistan, including validation and endorsement from national partners;
- Work with national partner institutes in developing an institutionalization strategy for integrating program interventions into existing institutional frameworks and systems;
- Provide technical inputs and guidance to the Technical Curriculum Review Groups (TCRG) in the review, update and institutional adaptation of training curricula on CADRE, MFR, CSSR, and HOPE;
- Lead in the development of guidelines, manuals, training curriculum, evaluation tools, and case studies according to the local context and establish a facility for knowledge management & promotion of learning among the government and other stakeholders;
- Provide technical inputs and guidance in developing concepts, design, instructional methodology and delivery of online learning activities like webinars, virtual classrooms, web-based E-Learning and other forms of online training;
- Develop and promote partnerships with government institutions, local humanitarian organizations, professional associations, academic and training institutions, and the private sector among others;
- Coordinate regularly with program manager/s and other ADPC staff in headquarters in implementing the project activities;
- Conduct program monitoring and evaluation activities, contribute to achieving all expected results and develop M&E reports and tools;
- Develop regular progress reports and capture evidence-based good practices and case studies to highlight the project impacts on the ground;
- Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Director, Preparedness for Response and Recovery Department.

Key deliverables of Program for Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER):
- Scoping Study Report
- National adaptation of Training Curricula of CADRE, MFR, CSSR, SWR, and HOPE
- National Guideline on emergency response
- Integrate PEER in existing training curricula of training and academic institutions
- Accreditation of national standards for training curricula
- National Policy Dialogue
- Semi-annual progress reports (Apr-Sep 2020; Oct 2020-Mar 2021)
- Case study and process documents

Reporting Relationship:
In performing the duties and responsibilities indicated above, the consultant will be supervised by the assigned Program Manager for PEER, under the overall guidance of the Director, Preparedness for Response and Recovery (PRR) Department of ADPC. The consultant will closely work with other Project/Program Managers, and Project Coordinators of PRR Department.

Contract Duration: 1 September 2020 – 31 August 2021

Timeline: The Emergency Management Specialist (Consultant) is expected to commence the work on 1 September 2020 till 31 August 2021. Please visit www.adpc.net for additional information for consultancy timeline.