Field Coordinator (Consultant) – Cox’s Bazar Municipality, Bangladesh

About the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center:

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) is an autonomous international organization established for scientific, educational, developmental, and humanitarian purposes with a vision of safer communities and sustainable development through disaster risk reduction and climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific.

Established in 1986 as a technical capacity-building center, ADPC has grown and diversified its expertise across social and physical sciences to support sustainable solutions for risk reduction across a broad range of specialist areas. With over 100 staff from 19 different nationalities and a wide range of professional expertise from atmospheric scientists to social scientists with experiences from all levels of engagement typically required for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Resilience (CR) in an effective manner. ADPC has six strategic themes supported by seven departments: ADPC Academy, Risk Governance, Climate Resilience, Urban Resilience, Health Risk Management, Preparedness for Response and Recovery, and Geospatial Information. These are supported by Finance, Human Resources and Administration, and Strategic Planning departments. In addition to the departments, ADPC also works on three cross-cutting themes: Gender and Diversity, Poverty and Livelihoods, and Regional and Transboundary Cooperation through permanent working committees.

ADPC Strategy 2020 guides the organization in providing comprehensive risk reduction support to countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific. ADPC recognizes the importance of examining the linkages between disaster risk management, poverty reduction, gender equality, sustainability, rights-based approaches, climate change, and regional cooperation. For details, please refer to the ADPC website at http://www.adpc.net/

The Preparedness for Response and Recovery (PRR) Department of ADPC focuses on enhancing the preparedness, response management capacities of governments, response organizations, volunteers, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, communities, and other traditional and non-traditional actors of the Disaster Risk Management Ecosystem. It also strives to strengthen the capacity of institutions and at-risk communities for faster and efficient disaster recovery. The department works with the above-stated actors to ensure that the regional, national, sub-national, and local disaster preparedness, response, and recovery frameworks and implementation plans are in place well before disaster strikes.

ADPC has been implementing a range of disaster risk reduction activities in Bangladesh over the years. Bangladesh Resilience Advancement in City Ecosystems (BRACE) Program is a two-year initiative funded by USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). BRACE seeks to enhance the policy environment for urban resilience while enabling communities to undertake risk assessments and identify priority interventions for enhancing their resilience. It engages with at-risk urban communities, Ward Disaster Management Committees (WDMCs) in selected wards of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Cox’s Bazar Municipality (CBM) and government institutions to drive urban resilience in Bangladesh.

Purpose and Objectives:

The incumbent will be primarily responsible for the implementation of Bangladesh Resilience Advancement in City Ecosystems (BRACE) Program activities planned for Cox’s Bazar municipality in Bangladesh.

Aligned with the Standing Orders on Disaster 2019 and the National Plan for Disaster Management (NPDM 2021-2025) of the Government of Bangladesh, BRACE seeks to create safer and more resilient cities capable of saving lives, alleviating human suffering, and reducing the impact of disasters. It aims to strengthen the enabling policy environment and actions at the city level for enhancing community resilience in Bangladesh. The program enables communities to undertake risk assessments and identify priority projects for enhancing their resilience within the existing policy environment. The program will thus engage with at-risk urban communities and local stakeholders in select wards. It will work with the Ward Disaster Management Committees (WDMCs), Community-Based Volunteers and Cox’s Bazar Municipality at the city level. It will equally engage with the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) and the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) at the national level to drive urban resilience in Bangladesh.

ADPC is looking to recruit a qualified consultant as the Field Coordinator to be based in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The consultant, under the overall guidance and supervision of the assigned Manager/Technical Lead(s), will assist and coordinate program activities with program teams, consultants, interns, and partners under BRACE.

The Field Coordinator is responsible for the implementation of program activities through meticulous planning, review, and follow-up with other team members and consultants, as well as program monitoring and evaluation to ensure timely delivery of program activities and reporting.

The consultant position is open for Bangladeshi nationals only. The position is based in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

Expected Outputs:

Planning and implementation of field activities in Cox’s Bazar Municipality as per the overall work plan of the BRACE program; local coordination, financial and administrative reporting to the program team at the Head Office and Bangladesh office for timely delivery of program activities; documentation and reporting.

Key deliverables:

Work with the designated Technical Working Group, consultants and partners to ensure timely completion of the following deliverables of the BRACE Program in Cox’s Bazar:

1. Integration of DRR in city-level strategies and programs.
2. Development of city guidelines to promote DRR at local and community levels.
3. Ward-level contingency plans and simulation drills to test the plan in identified wards.
4. Emergency response plans for identified critical hospitals and health centres, including simulation to test the plan.
5. Participatory Risk Assessment in selected localities and facilities.
6. Implementation of PIPs for Community Resilience in selected urban areas.
7. Adaptation of training materials for selected training and their rollout.
8. Development of case studies, process documents on City and Community Resilience and any other knowledge products.

Responsibilities and Tasks:

Program Management and Delivery

• Draft annual, quarterly, and monthly work plans for program implementation in four wards of Cox’s Bazar Municipality in consultation with other team members and partners;
• Plan, organize and implement field activities such as urban risk assessments, vetting of risk assessment findings, identification of priority implementation projects for risk reduction, learning visits, program reviews, and meetings, – including administrative, logistical and operational coordination for these tasks
• Lead the planning and conduct of stakeholder consultations in the field and draft related documents, e.g. letters, minutes of meetings, etc.;
• Coordinate with key stakeholders at the Community, Municipality and National level for smooth program implementation
• Develop after-action reports and consolidate inputs from program partners and stakeholders in consultation with the team;

Finance and Budget Coordination

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to the head office team and Bangladesh country office in relation to assigned field activities under the program;
• Draft project and activity budget for the field locations in line with the overall budget of the program;
• Assist in project financial management, including monitoring of project budgets and reporting of monthly financial statements and reconciliation;

Research, Information and Knowledge Management

• Assist in the design, development, planning, and organization of training programs under the program;
• Contribute to the design, production, and dissemination of knowledge products such as process documents, fact sheets, brochures, project overviews, multimedia products (audios and videos), success stories/ impact stories, and other related materials;
• Prepare and produce content for monthly electronic newsletters and briefing materials on the program as needed/requested;
• Compile and properly file program documents, reports, and final products.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Ensure all information and data/statistics are collected, updated, maintained, and shared through regular progress reports, program performance monitoring sheets, and donor reporting, including the development of data collection tools and templates;
• Assist the program management team in monitoring the performance targets against the agreed M&E plans and work plans and report the progress in a timely manner.

Working Principles:

Under the overall guidance of the Director, PRR, the Program Coordinator will report to the Technical Lead, Resilient Recovery and senior project manager of the ADPC Bangladesh office.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications and Specifications

• Master’s degree in Disaster Management, Development Studies, Engineering, Environmental Studies or closely related disciplines with substantial experience in Bangladesh. A Ph.D. degree in a related field would be an added advantage.
• Proven experience in project coordination, advocacy, knowledge management, etc., in Disaster Management or related fields is required.
• Proven experience in field-level community consultations is required.
• Able to work independently with little supervision and ability to prioritize tasks.
• Good computer skills, including MS Word, Excel, and email.
• Good written and verbal communication skills in English.

Personal Qualities:

• Self-motivated, proactive, and take the initiative;
• Demonstrated ability to plan and organize work and time independently;
• Verbal and written communication skills in English and other national languages would be essential;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, team-oriented work style, and experience working in a multi-cultural environment;

General Requirements:

• Operate within all ADPC Guidelines & Procedures/ Policies
• Operate within specific program needs

Duty Station: Home based in Cox’s Bazar Municipality, Bangladesh

Duration: 12 months (01st November 2023 – 31st October 2024)

Itinerary: During official missions outside the duty station, the Consultant will be entitled to local/international travel, daily subsistence allowance, accommodation, Visa, communications and other related travel costs as per ADPC financial policy.