Laos National Coordinator

Purpose and Objectives:

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 expanded its role to be for scientific, educational, developmental and humanitarian purposes. ADPC employs a wide range of professional expertise typically required for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Resilience (CR) in an effective manner.

ADPC develops and implements cross-sectoral projects/programs on the strategic themes of risk governance, urban resilience, climate resilience, health risk management, preparedness for response and resilient recovery. Our strategic themes are complemented and underpinned by the cross-cutting themes of gender and diversity, regional and transboundary cooperation as well as poverty and livelihoods.

Through its work, ADPC supports the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the agenda defined at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016, and other relevant international frameworks

For details, please refer to ADPC website at http://www.adpc.net/

The Geospatial Information (GEO) Department supports stakeholders to increase their uses of geospatial technology, data, and information for supporting decision making related to disaster risk management and climate resilience. The department supports all thematic areas of focus of ADPC to achieve their goals, mainly through:

• Increased accessibility and technical capacity to develop, maintain, and use geospatial information including disaster and climate risk maps, forecasted and real-time disaster data for early warning, and damage data for post-disaster assessment and recovery planning,
• Increased awareness by decision makers on applications of geospatial information in disaster risk management and climate resilience decision making, and
• Geospatial solutions, such as maps, tools, models, and data, customized to the demands of stakeholders

The GEO Department anticipates to be awarded a project on Climate Vulnerability Analysis and Feasibility Study on Anticipatory Action for Lao PDR, aiming to conduct a climate vulnerability analysis for flood and drought hazards, which will support various stakeholders on preparedness and contingency planning, anticipatory action, as well as raising awareness of key decision makers in the country, and to conduct a feasibility study on anticipatory action (AA) to inform country-specific activities that will ensure the successful implementation of the Anticipatory Actions approach in Lao PDR. The GEO Department also anticipates another project on Addressing Climate and El Niño-related Risks in Southeast Asia, with pilots in Lao PDR and Indonesia, aiming to create high-quality geospatial data, vulnerability, and risk information products to support risk-informed and climate-smart decision-making in development cooperation and disaster risk management (DRM) for pilot areas in the 2 countries.

ADPC and the GEO Department are seeking a qualified Laos National Coordinator to support delivery of the outputs for the 2 projects mentioned above.

Expected Outputs:

The following outputs are expected from the assignment:

1. A spreadsheet of key organizations, official representatives, and experts in Lao PDR as well as their contact information for project consultations;
2. A synthesized list of organizations, agencies, and institutions having ownership of the data and information needed for project implementation (a list of data will be discussed with the implementation team);
3. Monthly reports;

Scope of Work:

The consultant will:

• Act as a representative of ADPC in Lao PDR for project related activities, as requested by the supervisor;
• Coordinate activities and regularly liaise with key technical partners and government counterparts in Lao PDR;
• Provide on-site facilitation for project meetings, trainings, and workshops in Lao PDR;
• Facilitate collection of the data identified by the project implementation team;
• Travel to the projects’ pilot sites, including Southern Laos provinces but can include other places in Lao PDR too.

Working Principles:

The Consultant will report to the Director of the Geospatial Information Department of ADPC, while working closely with other specialists of the department.

Qualifications:

The Consultant is expected to possess the following qualifications.

• The consultant should have an academic background in disaster management, public policy, public administration, or related fields.
• Candidates who have experience coordinating with the Government of Lao PDR, particularly the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), will be considered favorably.
• Candidates with an in-depth understanding of Lao PDR’s disaster and climate change related policies will be considered favorably.
• Strong interpersonal skills are desirable.
• Strong English communication skill is required for coordinating with the ADPC team.
• Only Laos nationals will be considered.

Duty Station: home-based, with occasional travels to provinces in Lao PDR

Duration: The duration of this assignment will be for 12 months

Itinerary: The assignment may require travels to other provinces in Lao PDR. ADPC will bear the cost of those travels, subject to approvals of the supervisor.

Condition of payment: Payment will be made a daily rate by submit the monthly timesheets

as agreed by the consultant and ADPC.