Development of National Guidelines to Support Implementation of Community Based Early Warning Projects

Background

The Government of Malawi, with the support from UNDP, has secured funding from the Green Climate Fund to scale up the use of modernized early warning systems (EWS) and climate information in the country. The project will work with communities in disaster prone and food-insecure districts to co-develop tailored weather- and climate-based agricultural advisories to be disseminated through ICT/mobile, print and radio channels. The project will also scale up best practices in community readiness to respond to disasters and mitigate key risks. Community-based EWS will be scaled up in flood-prone areas and capacities to use and respond to warnings will be strengthened at the national, district and community levels.

The project is being implemented in 21 districts by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), in collaboration with the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS), Department of Water Resources (DWR), Department of Agricultural Extension Services (DAES), Department of Fisheries (DoF), and the National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi (NASFAM).

The project has three expected outputs;

Expansion of observation networks that generate climate-related data to save lives and safeguard livelihoods from extreme climate events

Development and dissemination of products and platforms for climate-related information/services for vulnerable communities and livelihoods

Strengthening communities’ capacities for use of EWS/CI in preparedness for response to climate related disasters

One of the objectives of the project is to scale-up community based early warning systems in flood-disaster prone areas of Karonga, Salima, Dedza, Nkhotakota, Nkhata Bay, Rumphi, Phalombe and Zomba through awareness raising  on flood hazards and  vulnerabilities,  installation of automated rainfall and hydrological monitoring and telemetry system and implementation of flood risk reduction and management measures that includes community level vulnerability and risk  assessments, development and implementation of local level flood risk management measures. 

Community based disaster risk management (CBDRM) is a process, which leads to locally appropriate and locally 'owned' strategies for disaster preparedness and risk reduction.  The importance of this approach has been recognized widely to promote a culture of safety, reduce vulnerabilities and enhance local capacities. In Malawi, similar approaches have been practiced by national and international NGOs and government departments. Community based early warning systems (CBEWS) for flood forecasting and warning is one such CBDRM approaches being promoted in Malawi. Over the years, the number of agencies implementing CBEWS projects has increased significantly. However, their approach to CBEWS has remained inconsistent due to absence of national standards to guide implementation of such projects.  Under the M-CLIMES project, DoDMA, in partnership with NGOs will be implementing CBEWS sub-projects in 33 flood prone communities in eight districts.  Before the commencement of this initiative, DoDMA wishes to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the performance and effectiveness of similar projects in Malawi.  The lessons learnt from this exercise will not only inform the implementation of the planned CBEWS sub-projects, but also lead to development of national guidelines to ensure a consistent approach to implementation of similar projects in Malawi. In the above context, UNDP Malawi Country Office currently seeks to hire a consultant to support DoDMA in assessing the existing CBEWS and develop national guidelines for Community Based Flood Early Warning Systems (CBEWS) under M-CLIMES project. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will review current and past CBEWS projects and initiatives implemented by different stakeholders in Malawi and document best practices, implementation modalities and strategies used for community mobilization and risk reduction (including risk assessment, preparedness and response).  Through field visits the consultant will also assess the information needs of flood prone communities that could protect their lives and livelihoods in the event of a flood.  It is envisaged that the consultant needs to conduct stakeholder interviews at national, district and community levels, including relevant government departments, NGOs, donor partners, district councils, civil protection committees and local communities.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledgeable of climate change vulnerability challenges and resilience building opportunities particular to Malawi and/or developing countries;
• Knowledge of, and experience in, community-based early warning systems;
• Demonstrable publications in the area of disaster risk reduction, climate science, early warning systems, and/or climate change adaptation;
• Demonstrated familiarity of current methods for disseminating weather and climate warnings;
• Excellent organizational skill, punctual, self-motivated, proactive, reliable and demonstrated ability to work in harmony with staff members of different national backgrounds;
• Fluency in English with concise, diplomatic, and accessible written and oral communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Minimum of a Master’s degree in either of the following areas:  Environmental/natural Sciences, disaster risk management, climatology, meteorology or water resources management.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years’ experience in community based early warning systems for flood forecasting.
• Experience in conducting assessments and evaluations of projects, particularly those in the areas of community based disaster management, climate change and disaster risk management
• Experience in working with communities, government, local authorities, NGOs and development partners;
• Experience in conducting assignments of similar scope and size  for international, multilateral, bilateral donor funded climate-related EWS initiatives;
• Previous experience in working with national governments in Africa or other developing countries;

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.

How to apply:

Interested and qualified consultants are invited to apply. The consultant must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

A technical proposal detailing

• Applicants’ understanding of ToRs, proposed methodology, and CV.
• Contacts - email and phone of 3 former clients or referees.
• A detailed list of similar assignments  that the consultant has conducted in the past - copies of these maybe requested as necessary 

A financial proposal breaking down cost for each operational line and professional fees.