Technical reviewer

Background

Guyana has an area of 216,000 square kilometres and is located on the north coast of the continent of South America. The coastal plain lies near or below sea level, supports 90% of the country’s multi-ethnic population and is the administrative, agricultural, commercial and industrial center of the country. The country is subject to Atlantic swells and high intensity seasonal rainfall. As a result of the dynamic interplay between high tides, high rainfall levels and the coastal drainage and irrigation systems designed to support agricultural production and protect the coastal lowlands from high tides and flooding; the populated coastal zone remains at high risk to flooding.

In January 2005 Guyana experienced its largest disaster within the last century. Torrential rains resulted in flooding in Georgetown (the capital city) and the surrounding areas, affecting over 300,000 people – almost half of the country’s population of 750,000. This extreme flood event resulted in a near breach of the East Demerara Water Conservancy dam and total economic losses equivalent to USD$465.1 m (60% of GDP for that year).

This event led to the Government of Guyana (GoG) making a request to the international donor community for relief aid and technical cooperation. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiated a project, co-funded by the Inter-American Development Bank and the GoG, titled Strengthening National and Local Capacities for Disaster Response and Risk Reduction. The project, which was signed in December 2009, was aimed at building capacities of the national emergency management agencies’ (Civil Defence Commission and line ministries) to coordinate disaster response, and strengthen communities’ capacities in disaster risk assessment and response planning. It also sought to raise awareness of the population about prevailing natural hazards and enhance national and local disaster risk reduction abilities. Further, the initiative supported the strengthening of relevant legislative and institutional frameworks on the national level, which will be complemented by the small-scale disaster risk mitigation initiatives in the most vulnerable communities.

Duties and responsibilities

- To review ToRs for consultancies and give input on the expected deliverables
- To conduct technical reviews of the draft and final reports for the Disaster Risk Reduction project and give an opinion on the accuracy, quality (editorial and technical) and acceptability of the various reports.
- To identify possible information gaps in the documents and provide recommendations for improvements
- To revise/ refine previously done documents as far as possible.

Key functions

- Receive all draft and final documents relating to policy and disaster preparedness and response, including ToRs produced under the project and where relevant, comments provided by the CDC, from the Project Coordinator.
- Conduct detailed review of methodological application; results; analysis; assessments; interpretations; conclusions; recommendations and bibliography, where possible and taking into account experiences of other countries , the peculiarities of Guyana and the wider framework of CARICOM.
- Submit detailed reports of the reviews conducted to the Project Coordinator.
- Revise and/ or refine previously done documents as far as possible based on the results of the review and in consultation with CDC.
- Submit the revised/ refined previously done documents and detailed reports of the reviews to the CDC.

Deliverables

- Detailed report of the reviews conducted. Details should include but not be limited to specific referencing of details in the document, detailed explanation of the observations with recommendation/s.
- Revise and refine documents.

Competencies

Organizational Awareness:
- Effective teamwork
- Communicating Information and Ideas
- Self-management and Emotional intelligence

Functional Competencies:
- Advocacy / Advancing Policy Oriented Agenda
- Building Strategic Partnerships
- Job Knowledge and Technical Expertise
- Adaptation and Application of Knowledge / Innovations in Different Contexts

Required skills and experience

Education:
- Minimum master’s of Science in Earth Science, Disaster Risk Management, Environmental Science or any related discipline.

Experience:
- The Firm/Team should have at least ten years experience in technical disaster risk management (DRM) with specific experience in the area of DRM Policy and Plans.
- Previous knowledge in reviewing technical Disaster Risk Management documents
- Previous experience in an advisory capacity on matters relating to national Disaster Risk Management systems
- Previous experience in the preparation of national Disaster Risk Management plans and policies
- Strong understanding of DRM and development policies at the regional and international levels
- Strong reporting skills

Language:
- Fluency in English particularly in writing/editing.