Terms of Reference – Short Term Consultant
Support to the 2016 Understanding Risk Forum
Background
The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) is a partnership of the World Bank, United Nations, major donors and recipient countries under the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) system to support the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). The HFA, endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly and ratified by 168 countries, is the primary international agreement for disaster reduction. HFA’s principal goal is to effectively integrate, in a coherent manner, disaster risk considerations into sustainable development policies, planning, programming, and financing at all levels of government. Launched in September 2006, GFDRR provides technical and financial assistance to help disaster-prone countries decrease their vulnerability and adapt to climate change. GFDRR works closely with UN agencies, client governments, World Bank regional offices, and other partners.
GFDRR focuses on five pillars of action to further the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) agenda: Risk Identification, Risk Reduction, Preparedness, Financial Protection and Resilient Recovery. The Risk Identification pillar aims to improve access to information about disaster and climate risks in vulnerable countries and to support a greater capacity to create, manage and use this information. This pillar then provides valuable and often critical inputs to the other pillars to reduce and manage disaster risk.
About the GFDRR Innovation Lab and Understanding Risk Community
GFDRR also hosts the GFDRR Innovation Lab team. The Innovation Lab supports the use of science, technology, and open data in promoting new ideas and the development of original tools to empower decision-makers in vulnerable countries to strengthen their resilience.
The Innovation Lab manages the Understanding Risk (UR) Community, an open and global community in the field of disaster risk identification with representatives from the public and private sector, multilateral organizations, NGOs, academia and civil society.
Every two years, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) convenes the UR Forum—a five-‐day event designed to showcase best practices and the latest technical advances in the field. The UR Forum is the world’s leading conference on improving the assessment and understanding of disaster and climate risks. Previous events brought together over 800 experts and practitioners from more than 80 countries in Washington DC, Cape Town and London.
The fourth biennial Forum (UR2016) will be held in Istanbul, Turkey from May 16 – 20, 2016 at the Haliç Congress Center. The Forum will be co-organized with the Governorship of Istanbul. It is expected that 1000 people will attend the event.
For more information on the upcoming event and past events, visit www.understandrisk.org
About the Position
GFDRR Innovation Lab is looking for a motivated self-starter to support the organization and management of UR2016. The Consultant must enjoy working in a fast-paced environment with short deadlines and changing priorities, and be able to work with a diverse group of colleagues.
The ideal candidate will be highly organized, enjoy working in a team, but capable of taking on individual tasks and seeing them through to completion in a high-quality and efficient manner. Enthusiasm and a willingness to take on any task needed to get the job done are key to this role.
Duties and Accountabilities
GFDRR has hired an event management firm based in Istanbul to manage the overall event, however, the Consultant will support the management of items that fall outside the purview of the firm. The Consultant will not be solely responsible for the GFDRR-side of the event, and will be under direct supervision of Simone Balog, manager of the UR Community and main organizer of UR2016.
The Consultant will be responsible for the logistical arrangements, organization and ad hoc activities associated with the 2014 UR Forum. S/He will also interact with other members of the team and external organizations, as required.
Activities include:
- Support the logistical arrangements of the conference, including: venue, catering, registration, AV and IT requirements, security etc.
- Support the procurement of third-party vendors that the event management firm has identified, including writing terms of references, reviewing proposals, working with the WB Procurement Department to ensure successful procurement
- Support the communication and outreach strategy, including website updates, as well as the design and look and feel of the conference, such as the development of brochures, posters, banners, welcome packs etc.
- Support the development of the program for the Forum, including the organization of sessions, side events, training workshops, community of practice meetings, as well as the innovation expo
- Support the communication with the session leads as needed to ensure that responsibilities and expectations are being attended to
- Handle logistical queries from participants regarding the conference
- Liaise with the event management firm as required
- Support the development of the post conference publication
- Work on other related projects as required
Selection Criteria
- MA in Business management, Hospitality management, Marketing, International Relations or other related field and 2-3 years of relevant experience;
- Demonstrated experience in organizing large, global conferences (+200 attendees)
- Attention to detail and advanced organizational skills
- High degree of motivation, initiative, flexibility, reliability, and responsiveness to changing demands; capacity for effective multi-tasking, with demonstrated ability of being an independent starter with minimal supervision, and a high capacity to persevere for results.
- Deals sensitively in multi-cultural and matrix environments and has demonstrated ability to effectively mentor staff and design skills enhancement initiatives to ensure effective transfer of knowledge and skills.
- Written and spoken fluency in English; fluency in Turkish a plus
- Experience with WordPress a plus
Location and Hiring Manager
The Consultant will be based in Washington, D.C., for a 100-day assignment beginning February 3, 2015. The hiring manager is Emma Phillips, Disaster Risk Management Specialist, GFDRR Innovation Lab.
How to Apply
Please send a CV and cover letter to Simone Balog sbalog [at] worldbank [dot] org
Deadline
The deadline for applications is Friday, Dec. 18, 2015, noon EST.
Organization: Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery
Deadline to Apply: December 18, 2015