Job Description

Terms of Reference for Developing participatory disaster risk assessment (PDRA) and Community Action Plan in Jowhar & Aden Yabaal in Middle Shabelle Region

Background

This project “PoWEr – Promoting Women Empowerment through an Integrated Approach” is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through action medeor. This project, delivered in a consortium, aims to enhance the economic and social empowerment of women, girls, and other vulnerable groups while promoting gender equality and resilience against climate change, disasters, and conflicts. The project’s core approach integrates gender-transformative strategies and aims on building resilience through three key measures: fostering women’s participation in decision-making and economic activities, improving access to essential services, and supporting climate-smart agricultural practices for food security and financial independence. The aim is to strengthen gender equality and resilience at individual, household, and community levels. WARDI is focusing on the districts Jowhar and Aden Yabaal in Middle Shabelle region of South-Central Somalia.

Vulnerable communities in the Middle Shabelle region face significant climate shocks and stressors that severely impact their lives and livelihoods. Recurring flooding is a primary challenge, caused by River Shabelle bursting its banks during heavy rainfall. These floods result in widespread destruction of crops, displacement of communities, and damage to homes and infrastructure. Contaminated water sources further exacerbate the risk of waterborne diseases, compromising community health. The floods disrupt food security and perpetuate poverty, leaving the communities highly vulnerable. In addition to flooding, the region experiences prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall patterns. Unreliable precipitation and water scarcity lead to crop failures and reduced pastureland, severely affecting agriculture. The loss of livestock exacerbates economic instability for pastoralist communities reliant on them.

The combination of floods and droughts creates a cycle of vulnerability, perpetuating poverty and eroding community resilience. Somalia’s complex socio-political situation, coupled with climate shocks, has created a nexus between climate change and conflict. Competition over limited resources, such as water and grazing land, has heightened tensions and contributed to conflicts within and between communities, resulting in displacement of women and children.

2. Project Goal

Project aims Women Empowerment and strengthening vulnerable groups through an integrated approach to create resilient communities in South Central Somalia.

3. Relevant Project Target

Outcome 1: Around 10,000 people from 54 target communities, including 65% women, 15% people with disabilities and 30% people from particularly marginalised groups, live in more peaceful, inclusive, and resilient communities.

WARDI is seeking a consultant to conduct a community-based disaster risk management pre-vulnerability assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to identify and

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understand the existing vulnerabilities and risks within the target community, to develop effective strategies and interventions to mitigate these risks.

Specifics objectives of the assessment include:

• Conduct a comprehensive pre-vulnerability assessment in the project target locations to identify and understand potential hazards and vulnerabilities within the communities, while considering specific risks and vulnerabilities for girls, women and PwD.
• Engage the local communities actively in the assessment process to ensure a nuanced understanding of local conditions, vulnerabilities, and resources.
• Develop tailored risk reduction strategies that are specific to the needs and context of each community.
• Contribute to the establishment of early warning systems that are customized to the specific risks identified within the communities.
• Identify gaps in the communities’ capacity to respond to disasters and provide recommendations for targeted capacity-building initiatives.
• Identify and analyze the existing disaster risk management practices and capacities within the community.
• Assess the community’s level of awareness and understanding of disaster risks, as well as their preparedness for emergencies.
• Identify key stakeholders and their roles in disaster risk management within the community. Provide recommendations for enhancing the community’s resilience and capacity to respond to disasters.

4. Methodology

The consulting firm or team will propose a participatory method using qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Key steps include:

Desk Review: Desk review of relevant project documents, assessments, and data to gain an understanding of the project context and target locations.

Field visit: Conduct field visits to the project target locations and engage with the local communities through a variety of participatory methods, such as focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and Household Surveys.

Facilitate community Action plans with the communities to collectively identify and analyze potential hazards, vulnerabilities, and existing resources and capacities. The community action plans should be inclusive and gender sensitive.

Assess the communities’ current early warning systems and provide recommendations for enhancements or the establishment of new systems.

Analyze the collected data and information to develop tailored risk reduction strategies and capacity-building initiatives for each community.

Provide recommendations for future monitoring of the implementation of the action plans and monitoring how the activities contributed to reducing risks and building capacities.

Provide a comprehensive report detailing the findings of the pre-vulnerability assessment, the identified risks and vulnerabilities, the proposed risk reduction strategies, and the recommendations for capacity-building initiatives.

5. Place

The assessment will be conducted specifically targeting the districts Jowhar and Aden Yabal in Middle Shabelle region, where the intervention will be implemented by WARDI. The assessment will target all 16-project target villages.

6. Deliverables

Deliverables under this consultancy will include the following:

1. Inception report outlining the detailed methodology, work plan, and timeline for the assignment.
2. Pre-vulnerability assessment report, including the identified hazards, vulnerabilities, and risk reduction strategies for each target community.
3. Recommendations for the establishment or enhancement of early warning systems in the target communities.
4. Capacity-building initiatives to address the identified gaps in the communities’ disaster response capabilities.
5. Community action plans for the 15 villages.
6. Final assessment report
7. Ethical considerations

The consultancy team is expected to adhere to WARDI’s ethical guidelines and ensure privacy, confidentiality, and protection of information and data collected. Informed consent should be obtained from individuals participating in interviews or providing information.

8. Budget

The consultancy firm will submit to WARDI a Financial proposal covering consultancy fees, operational costs, reimbursable flight costs, accommodation in line with the methodology described in the technical proposal.

9. Conditions of Work

The consultancy firm will be supervised by the Program Director with support from the MEAL Manager and the Project Coordinator. The consultancy firm will be required to abide by the organization’s applicable rules and regulations, code of conduct, and child safeguarding policy.

Consultancy firm Qualification

The below information is required:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in conducting community-based vulnerability and risk assessments, particularly in the context of disaster risk reduction.
• Strong understanding of participatory methods and tools for community engagement and data collection.
• Demonstrated experience in developing tailored risk reduction strategies and early warning systems based on community-specific needs and contexts.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders, including local communities.

How to apply

Applications should be submitted electronically in a non-changeable format such as PDF, duly filled and signed to WARDI (procurement@wardi.org ) by 28.04.2025.

Please indicate in the subject line: CONSULTANT_ PDRA.

The procurement procedure is a competitive procedure with negotiation. WARDI reserves the right to ask the bidders for further documentation.

Contents of the offer

• Expression of interest (EoI) outlining how the consultant/trainer meets the selection criteria and their understanding of the ToR.
• A summarized description of the scope of work and the intended methodology to be used.
• CV indicating all relevant experiences
• Copies of relevant academic degrees and certificates
• Contacts of at least 1 professional reference related to successful completion of recent similar activities.
• Financial offer with clear distinction of daily honorarium, travel expenses and taxes. The budget should present consultancy fee costs over the entire period of working days.
• Signed copies of annex I (Contractor declaration), annex II (Consultant’s declaration of honor statement), and annex III (the fraud and anti-corruption and declaration).
• Valid Registration (Federal or State)