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 by working with the 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. The Government of Brazil, through the National Secretariat for Protection and Civil Defense (SEDEC), is strengthening institutional capacities for disaster risk reduction, with a focus on implementing and advancing the National Protection and Civil Defense Plan 2024–2034. These efforts include strengthening governance arrangements, improving and updating existing legal and financial frameworks, enhancing disaster risk assessment capacities, and establishing governance mechanisms for resilient infrastructure and post-disaster recovery. In this context, the UNDRR is supporting SEDEC through technical assistance and capacity development aimed at strengthening national disaster risk reduction systems and advancing the implementation of the National Protection and Civil Defense Plan. This support focuses on institutional strengthening at the national level, including strategic and implementation planning, policy and legal alignment with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, its Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (MTRSF), and its Gender Action Plan, as well as the enhancement of disaster risk assessment capacities and the integration of resilience criteria into infrastructure governance and recovery- related processes. Duties and Responsibilities Strengthening National Disaster Risk Analysis Capacities. This consultancy position on Strengthening National Disaster Risk Assessment Capacities will be based in Brazil and will under the supervision of the Risk Knowledge Officer of the United Nations Officer for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Regional Office of the Americas and the Caribbean (UNDRR ROAC). The consultant will carry out the following duties and responsibilities: 1. Capacity development for disaster risk analysis (a) Coordination of agendas and elaboration of two (2) concept notes, including the preparation and organization of preparatory calls, as well as meeting notes and reports. This shall include, at a minimum, preparatory coordination calls and the preparation of draft agendas and concept notes for both the Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on probabilistic risk assessment and resilient infrastructure decision-making and the municipal-level workshop, for validation and approval by UNDRR and SEDEC. (b) Support the design and delivery of two (2) capacity development activities for selected national, state and municipal technical staff, focusing on the use of disaster risk analysis tools and methodologies, including the adaptation and contextualization to Brazil of existing training materials developed by the Global Education and Training Institute (GETI-UNDRR), with a focus on probabilistic risk metrics to support risk-informed decision-making. (c) Provide technical guidance on the application of results from probabilistic risk assessments to infrastructure planning, with particular attention to critical infrastructure, based on the use of Average Annual Loss (AAL) among other probabilistic risk metrics to support risk-informed decision-making. (d) Support the development of talking points and key messages for meetings and presentations. (e) Support the translation of training materials into Portuguese, as needed. (f) Develop concise communication materials (e.g. briefs, one-pagers or presentation slides) to support dissemination of key messages and outcomes of the capacity development activities, in coordination with SEDEC. 2. Cross-cutting considerations (a) Ensure that all activities and technical outputs adopt an inclusive, gender-responsive and risk-informed approach, taking into account differentiated vulnerabilities where applicable. (b) Provide technical inputs, clarifications and revisions to UNDRR and SEDEC, as required, to support internal review, validation and decision-making processes related to the outputs.
Qualifications/special skills
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in disaster risk reduction, engineering, urban or infrastructure planning, environmental sciences, climate change, development studies, public policy or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with 2 years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible professional experience in disaster risk reduction, disaster risk analysis, infrastructure resilience, climate change adaptation, sustainable development or related areas is required. Experience in Brazil on disaster risk reduction, engineering, urban or infrastructure planning, environmental sciences, climate change, development studies, public policy is required. Experience providing technical advice or capacity development support to government institutions at national or subnational level is desired. Experience within the United Nations system or any other similar international organization is desirable.
Additional Information
Due to the high volume of applications received, only successful candidates will be contacted. *FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY*. UNDRR values diversity among its staff. We welcome applications from qualified women, men, and people with disabilities.
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.
