Event Support for the El Niño Preparedness Webinar Series

Mission and objectives

UNDP is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in some 170 countries and territories, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges as they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners. Based in the middle of Europe, the UNDP Office in Geneva contributes to UNDP’s mission through serving as the UNDP Platform for Geneva and the Geneva-based organizations and as the primary point of contact with the governments of France and Switzerland.

Context

UNDP’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery for Building Resilience Team (DRT) seeks support to organize and document its webinar series on El Niño preparedness. The DRT leads UNDP’s global practice on disaster risk reduction, recovery and resilience-building, providing policy advice and programmatic support to UNDP Regional Hubs and Country Offices across the programme cycle. Its work is aligned with the UNDP Strategic Plan 2026-2029, where crisis resilience is one of four strategic objectives, and with UNDP’s Action Agenda: Moving Beyond Crisis, which places development from day one at the centre of UNDP’s work before, during and after crises. Through these frameworks, UNDP strengthens the capacity of governments, institutions and communities to manage and prepare for multi-dimensional risks and shocks. The DRT, under the Crisis Bureau, manages a portfolio of global and regional projects of approximately USD 60 million. With a potentially strong El Niño event forecast for 2026-2027, the DRT is convening the webinar series “Responding to a Super El Niño: Preparedness in Practice”, hosted on SparkBlue, UNDP’s online engagement platform. The series brings together practitioners from UNDP, governments and partners to share practical experience in preparing for and acting ahead of El Niño impacts, drawing on the UNDP Preparedness Toolkit and the Preparedness Learning Pathway. UNDP is looking for two online volunteers with an interest in disaster risk reduction and good organizational and writing skills to support the planning, delivery and documentation of the series. The series comprises six sessions, and each volunteer will be responsible for three of them, working in coordination with each other and the team. Selected volunteers will collaborate with the DRT, based in Geneva, gain hands-on experience in organizing global online events, and learn about UNDP’s work on preparedness, early warning and anticipation. They will also receive feedback on their work, a certificate of appreciation upon successful completion and credit of support where applicable. The online volunteers will work with a focal point in the DRT Early Warning and Preparedness team. The assignment will start with a joint onboarding session to introduce the team, the webinar series and SparkBlue, and to agree on the allocation of sessions and a workplan aligned with the series calendar. The volunteers will have regular check-ins (e.g. weekly during the series), receive feedback on drafts throughout the assignment, and have access to existing materials, templates and guidance.

Task Description

Task description Under the guidance of the DRT Early Warning and Preparedness team, each online volunteer will support three of the six sessions of the webinar series “Responding to a Super El Niño: Preparedness in Practice”: Before each session: Coordinate logistics, including scheduling, online meeting set-up (e.g. Zoom, Microsoft Teams) and registration forms. Draft invitations and promotional posts, and update the series page on SparkBlue. Liaise with speakers to collect bios and presentations, and prepare agendas, speaker briefs and slide decks using UNDP templates. During each session: Provide technical and moderation support, including managing the chat, polls, Q&A and recording. Take notes of key discussion points. After each session: Draft a short summary of key takeaways and publish it on SparkBlue with the recording and presentations. Track registration, attendance and participant feedback. Expected deliverables (per volunteer): Logistics, invitations, agendas and speaker briefs for three webinar sessions A summary of key takeaways for each of the three sessions, published on SparkBlue Up-to-date SparkBlue content for their sessions, including recordings, presentations and summaries Contributions to a shared attendance and feedback tracker for the series Contribution to a short final report summarizing the series, its participation and key lessons on El Niño preparedness, prepared jointly by the two volunteers

Competencies and values

Living conditions and remarks