Improvement of web-portal and digital library system for NDRMC (Consultant)

About Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

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 a program, namely “Strengthening Institutional Capacity & Preparedness for Emergency Response in Ethiopia (SIPERE). The program aims to improve the institutional capacity of the National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) and key sector ministries including Agriculture and Health with financial support from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Statement of Intent

The proposed technical assistance falls under the Intermediate Outcome 1.1 of the program on “Strengthen Preparedness for Response through Strengthening Research and Training under the NDRMC”. The support builds on the initiatives that had been commenced by the UNDP IT-professionals seconded to NDRMC by transforming and upgrading the existing static web page to a dynamic and interactive web portal and resource center using Drupal information system. The program will assist in the finalization of the integrated web-portal and digital library. The updated system will provide information management services accessible to its internal structures of NDRMC and external stakeholders at various levels. The system will serve as a DRM knowledge sharing platform among the DRM stakeholders to exchange knowledge and experience, documents and procedures, systems and tools, sector-specific and joint resilience-building practices, research and reports, training and human resources, etc. This will also facilitate the effective coordination of DRM actions, cross-learning, and program synergy. Under this assignment, the national consultant will provide technical assistance for the finalization and testing of web-portal and digital library systems using agile software development methodology. The consultant will also develop a Web Content Management Guideline for operating the system.

Qualifications and Experience

The following qualifications and expertise are required to deliver the consultancy:

• A team composed of at least a web-portal designer and system content governance guideline developer with the qualification of a master’s degree or advanced studies in computer science, information management, information technology, or software engineering.
• Proven experience in developing virtual platform system design and development, and system guidelines/manuals for operations.
• Proven experience in working with the Ethiopian government and multi-stockholders.
• Advanced experience in developing the drupal-7 website or web portal for government and I/NGOs will be an added advantage.
• Experience in developing responsive web sites, portal design, exposure to git version control, front end GUI design, REST API integration, training, user manual development, drupal-7 CKK, and views modules. - Fluent in Amharic and English (both oral and written skills) and able to write clearly and concisely. - Awareness of the National DRM policy, DRM Strategic plan, and Investment Framework of NDRMC 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;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, team-oriented work style, and experience in working in a multi-cultural environment;
• Strong networking capacity and understanding of development work;
• 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 this assignment is the finalization of integrated web-portal and digital libraries for NDRMC and the development of a Web Content Management Guideline for system operation.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Technical assistance for finalization of Web portal development and establishment of Digital library at NDRMC using Drupal Technology:
   • Extend the web-portal theme template design for responsiveness, customize forms, core, themes without altering core files, but by using template files.
   • Design Early warning, research, and training content types and views using modules such as CCK, C-Tools, Views, and Panels, make views and link them to menus and regions.
   • Finalize user manual and development tracking document and write the admin manual.
   • Launch the web-portal with the pre-launch checklist fulfilled.
   • Give online and in-person training to staff on how to use the system and train the IT staff on the admin and developments.
   • Report users traffic weekly using google analytics and apply security and performance measures.
   • Perform backup weekly and report to ICT directorate.
   • Install and configure Ubuntu server web hosting applications.
   • Organize and migrate archived Early Warning reports and contents.
   • Test against the pre-launch requirements checklist.
   • Implement an Agile software development methodology for all the tasks.
2. Develop Web Content Management Guideline:
   • Strategize document types for the web portal, intranet, share-folder, email, social media, and digital library.
   • Identify the roles in all content workflows with regards to content and design for the web-portal, intranet, digital library, social media, and share-folder. Identify who to review and update content regularly and get them to sign a consent form.
   • Provides guidance on best practices for content, branding, style, and accessibility.
   • Define content quality and workflow, content relevancy and ensuring up to date site content, and web content related requests mechanism.
   • Outline the training and education parameters and recommendations.
   • The guideline goes hand in hand with the technical assistance and gives a frame for the applicability and sustainability of the web portal and library.
   • The responsive design for the web portal will use mobile-friendly templates for users to access the web portal using handheld devices.
3. Develop User-Friendly Training Manual and conduct User Acceptance Test (UAT):
   • Develop the User-friendly training Web portal and Digital library application training manual.
   • Conduct key user training and conduct user acceptance tests (UATs).
   • Incorporate comments and additional inputs provided during the training, fix loose ends in the content management guideline, and submit for final endorsement by the client (ADPC and NDRMC)

Key Activities and Deliverables

1. Technical assistance for finalization of Web portal and Digital library development - Improved Drupal GUI responsive custom front end templates.

• Develop Early warning, research, and training content types and views.
• Organized and Migrated 1,500 pdf documents to the portal.
• Deliver Amharic translation of the portal.
• Launched portal and digital library.
• Finished User manual, administration manual, development manual.

1. Development of Web Content Governance and Management Guideline

• Develop a comprehensive Web content management strategy document for the portal, intranet, social media, and share folders.
• UI Design and style guidelines.
• System architecture and user guide.
• Train ICT staff related to guidelines applicability, workflows, and sustainability.
• Technical assistance output.

1. Development of User-Friendly Training Manual and conduct User Acceptance Test (UAT)

• Develop a user-friendly training manual.
• Provide technical training to staff from NDRMC directorates (Early warning, IT, Disaster Risk Reduction, Public Relations), and relevant stakeholders.
• Produce, refined and finalized the training manual and web content management guideline based on feedback from the user acceptance test.

Reporting Relationship

In performing the duties and responsibilities indicated above, the consultant will be supervised by the Drupal web portal development team. The consultant will complete the deliverables following a scrum/agile development methodology to attain with close guidance and consultation of the ICT Directorate. The consultant is expected to conduct a series of consultations with NDRMC units and officials in the development of the Web Content Governance and Management Guideline. The NDRMC units and officials to be consulted include, but not limited to, Early warning, Disaster Risk Reduction, ICT, PR Directorates. The “Web Content Governance and Management Guideline” will be technically reviewed by the IT specialists in ADPC and NDRMC before final approval by the designated officials.