ThaiNGO

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) seeks to appoint a:

Title:                Consultant for Climate Smart Community and Resilience (CSCR) project     

Reports to:      Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Advisor

Working period:   55 days (December 2015- March 2016)

Organizational background

South East Asia is one of the most disaster-prone regions in Asia and the Pacific. And, unfortunately, climate change is increasing this vulnerability. As temperatures rise and precipitation patterns change, extreme weather events – from cyclones to heatwaves to floods – are increasing in frequency and/or intensity. The potential of disasters to cause large scale loss of life, livelihoods and assets is escalating. As the impacts are felt, adaptation (CCA), mitigation (CCM) and early warning early

action (EWEA) are emerging as important components in Red Cross and Red Crescent National Society programming. In particular, disaster risk reduction and climate-sensitive disease prevention.

This Climate Smart Community and Resilience (CSCR) project is designed to promote a participatory approach through peer-to-peer learning among the National Societies conducted through the exchange of knowledge, skills and information on both climate change mitigation and adaptation. The peer-to-peer learning also focuses on identifying and assessing the best entry-points in programming in order to appropriately and adequately mainstream climate change considerations into programming.

Project Objectives:

Component 1: To develop a community based study on climate change by applying a participatory action research in focusing on existing needs e.g. of CBDRR, Watsan, CBHFA programmes in terms of integration of climate risk/ climate change information into assessment, planning and action in practice in a real programme situation.

Component 2: To develop a smart pocket guide which will offer very practical, hands-on and easy-to-understand information for National Societies in Mekong Region for climate change practitioners and volunteers in communities.

Component 3: To finalize the training toolkit by integrating the result.

Alignment to the IFRC’s objectives and strategy

(IFRC’s Strategy 2020)

IFRC’s Strategy 2020 guides the Red Cross Red Crescent to save lives, protect livelihoods, enable healthy and safe living, and change minds. In line with Strategic Aim 2 of the IFRC Strategy 2020 “Enable Healthy and Safe Living”, this project was able to enhance the capacity of South-East Asia National Societies with the support from IFRC in providing technical support to plan and implement climate smart project activities at national, sub national and community level.

In September 2014, IFRC’s South East Asia Regional Delegation (SEARD) - together with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre and supported by the Finnish Red Cross - organized a regional South-East Asia Climate Change Master Training of Trainers (ToT) in the first week of September 2014, to address the need for more trained experts. This highly participatory training was aimed at creating a core group of climate change experts amongst South-East Asia National Societies.

Building upon the regional Climate Change ToT in 2014, to further strengthen the capacity of National Societies in mainstreaming effectively climate change adaptation into programming, IFRC SEARD has identified the need to:

- Map existing needs, challenges, strengths and recommendations to further mainstream climate change mitigation and adaptation in climate smart initiatives integrated into existing and upcoming community resilience programming

- Round up practical and easy-to-digest information in a pocket book that will further facilitate the community action teams in the field in the region, to be shared within and across the region

- Finalize the climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation training kit that could be used for the entire region of South-East Asia.

Desired outcomes

Component 1: Improved and integrated climate risk/ climate change information into assessment, planning and action in practice in a real program situation by conducting a study on a participatory action research on Climate Change Smart Community & Resilience.

Component 2: Developed and produced a climate smart pocket guide for National Societies in Mekong Region.

Component 3: Finalized the CC training toolkit which include the pocket guide.

Consultancy outputs

1. Consultants provided and summarized the findings of PAR- participatory action research conducted in communities in three targeted countries

2. Drafted , field tested, finalized a pocket guide on Climate Smart Community

3. Finalized the CC training toolkit

Support to be provided to the consultant

1. IFRC will provide the necessary / primary information and thorough briefing relevant to the CSCR project.

2. IFRC will make the travel and logistics arrangements for the mission to respective country and National Society defined under each component and accompany the consultant to the visits to the communities that have been selected for the research and field testing.

3. IFRC will provide feed-back and guidance and comments at each step of the three components including on formats and contents or the consultancy final products.

4. IFRC will cover the cost of international flights to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam    

5. Consultant will cover the cost of travelling, accommodation and other expenses in the field trip.

Time Allocation, for budget purposes

Tentative schedule: Working period – 55 days (December 2015 to March 2016)

Management of consultancy

1. Consultants will be supervised and guided by Regional DRR Advisor

2. Consultants will update and report to Regional DRR Advisor regularly according to the schedule and timeframe.

3. Consultant will effectively manage and conduct the project activities with three components with professional expertise on climate change and with the integrity and ethical behaviours on research methodology and project conceptual framework.

Qualifications, experience and skills required:

- Demonstrated experience in research and evaluation reports relevant to Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and Community Resilience

- Knowledge of  Participatory Action Research, Qualitative research study and community participation

- Knowledge of Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and Research methodology.

- Familiarity with Climate Change, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and Community Resilience

- Familiarity with desk/ documentary review and development of guidelines and recommendations

- Familiarity with research writing, finding , and reports  between 45 and 60 pages

- Excellent writing and verbal communications skills (English and /or ASEAN languages / Mekong region)

Candidates are requested to send:

- Cover letter and CV in MS Word

- Quotation or financial proposal (total 55 working days) in currency (CHF) - daily fee (CHF)

- Sample previous research publications / evaluation reports that relevant to this project developed by the consultant

- Sample previous reports or case studies developed by the consultant

Candidates are requested to send the application to anchalee.limpiponpaiboon@ifrc.org. Closing date: 1 December 2015. Only short listed candidates will be acknowledged. More information about IFRC, please see www.ifrc.org.