International Consultant for Development and Delivery of Humanitarian Preparedness and Response Leadership Training

About the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center:

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) is an autonomous international organization for cooperation in and implementation of disaster risk reduction and building climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific.

Established in 1986 as a technical capacity-building center, ADPC develops and implements cross-sectoral projects/programs on the strategic themes of preparedness for response and resilient recovery, risk governance, urban resilience, climate resilience, and health risk management. ADPC strategic themes are complemented and underpinned by the cross-cutting themes of gender and diversity, poverty and livelihoods, and regional and transboundary cooperation. ADPC supports the implementation of national, regional, and global frameworks, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR), the Paris Agreement for Climate Change, the New Urban Agenda, the recommendations and priorities of World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), etc. For details, please refer to the ADPC website.

Background:

Over the past five years, the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, driven by climate change and complex emergencies resulting from armed conflicts, drought, flooding, landslides, disease outbreaks, and COVID-19, has left millions of people in need of life-saving and livelihood support. The challenges have been further exacerbated by economic, environmental, and social factors. Although Ethiopia’s current disaster risk management (DRM) policy advocates for multi-sectoral, integrated, and decentralized approaches, the integration of DRM into sectoral ministries and relevant institutions remains unrealized. Moreover, the frequent turnover of government officials, senior professionals, and decision-makers in the national DRM councils, key ministries, and regional bodies poses a significant challenge. Therefore, it is essential to build and sustain leadership, decision-making, and program development capacities in disaster risk management leadership, risk analysis, planning and the effective implementation of humanitarian actions.

ADPC is in search of an International Consultant to lead the development and delivery of standard training courses on humanitarian preparedness and response leadership for high-level officials and decision-makers as well as training for trainers targeting senior professionals. The International Consultant will be assisted by a few local experts in designing and delivering the training courses, as needed.

The consultancy assignment aims to enhance Ethiopia’s preparedness and response systems by equipping executives, managers, senior planners, and program design professionals with the skill set, toolset, and mindset. Training modules will be developed and delivered by assessing existing capacities, challenges, and gaps within key sectors in DRM and humanitarian response leadership.

The specific training topics will be identified at the inception stage of the consultancy, in consultation with the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC) and key ministries. The courses are expected to empower leaders to:

• Strengthen leadership skills to enhance decision-making, communication, and coordination, particularly in times of complex emergency situations.
• Develop the ability to recognize disaster risks, consider alternative emergency management options, and shift from a reactive response to proactive risk management.
• Increase their knowledge to optimize current humanitarian programming and strategic vision.
• Enhance leadership in mainstreaming DRM into policies, plans, projects, and programs.
• Contribute to the establishment of a network of humanitarian leaders and promote the development of a community of practice.
• Apply collaborative governance approaches, leadership strategies, and skills to initiate concrete actions aimed at enhancing the disaster and climate resilience of their organizations and communities.

Purpose and Objectives:

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support to EDRMC in order to build the leadership capacity of high-level officials, decision-makers, and senior professionals in humanitarian preparedness and response leadership, with a focus on disaster risk management.

The specific objectives of this assignment are to:

1. Analyze existing leadership practices and training needs of leaders and decision-makers in the EDRMC and key sector ministries (Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Water and Energy), the National Disaster Risk Management Council, and the Addis Ababa City Administration.
2. Design two (2) training course modules with facilitator guides for:
   1. A leadership training of trainers (ToT) for senior professionals responsible for strategic planning, programming, and leading national humanitarian operations from EDRMC and line ministries.
   2. A leadership training course for high-level officials and decision-makers (ministers, state ministers, commissioners, deputy commissioners, and senior advisors).
3. Deliver three (3) trainings,comprising:
   1. One (1) ToT for senior professionals.
   2. Two (2) leadership training for high-level officials and decision-makers.

Responsibilities and Tasks:

The International Consultant is a key member of the core team responsible for developing training materials and delivering training courses. The International Consultant is tasked to lead the following activities:

• Conduct an analysis of existing capacities in humanitarian leadership within EDRMC and lead sector ministries. This analysis will involve focused group discussions, key informant interviews, and a review of existing policy and strategy documents, training needs assessments, available training courses, and organizational DRM and humanitarian practices. The objective is to gain an understanding of the context, identify gaps and challenges, and determine training needs that can be translated into the development of standard training modules on leadership.
• Organize internal consultations with EDRMC and ADPC to develop a framework, refine methodological approaches, and design criteria for the leadership training.
• Propose appropriate training goals, objectives, content, session plans, exercises, knowledge flow, and measurable methods to ensure effective delivery and learning.
• Develop training course modules and materials and identify resource persons to deliver the training sessions.
• Lead the delivery of two leadership training courses for senior leaders and decision-makers, as well as a ToT for senior professionals.
• Produce the final training modules based on the findings from the two training sessions, and submit a comprehensive training report summarizing the outcomes and recommendations.

Working Principles:

In performing the duties and responsibilities above, the International Consultant will be supervised by the Director, Preparedness for Response and Recovery Department of ADPC, and work in close coordination with the Program Lead, Mainstreaming and Recovery, Program Manager, ADPC team based in Addis Ababa, EDRMC, and the technical team for this assignment.

Qualifications:

The International Consultants should have the following qualifications and experience:

• A minimum of a Master’s degree in Disaster Risk Management, Engineering, Humanitarian Response Planning, or other related fields is required. Experience in the Horn of Africa region is preferable.
• At least 20 years of experience in disaster risk management (DRM), emergency operations and management, capacity building, and training design, development, facilitation, and planning, including training needs assessment.
• Proven experience in developing humanitarian response and disaster resilience leadership training.
• Previous experience in working with national governments, humanitarian actors, and international organizations in similar programs.
• Excellent command of English, both written and spoken and ability to prepare high-quality training curriculum, materials, and reports.

Duty Station:

This is a home-based assignment. The travel to Ethiopia is required for leadership capacity analysis and training needs assessment, consultations, and training delivery.

Duration:

6 months.This is an output-based consultancy.

Itinerary:

In case the official mission outside the duty station is required, the consultant will be entitled to international and domestic flights, visa fees, local travel, daily subsistence allowance, accommodation, and other related travel costs as per ADPC financial policy.

How to apply

Interested candidates can submit their applications with the following documents to: adpcjobs@adpc.net.

1. Updated CV/Resume of applicant;
2. Prior experience with similar assignments;
3. Brief description of the approach and methodology for the said assignment;
4. Draft work plan;
5. Proposed budget (with details such as professional fee, travel, accommodation, per diem, etc.);
6. The completed ADPC application form (downloadable from www.adpc.net).

Female candidates are especially encouraged to apply.

ADPC encourages diversity in its workplace and supports an inclusive work environment.