Volunteer in Disaster Preparedness and Contingency Planning for Nepal

AA Nepal seeks to strengthen their own capacity as well as the many partner organisations they work closely with to be able to respond appropriately and timely with localised responses to disasters. As such, the EU AID Volunteer will play an essential role in supporting AA Nepal and some of its partner organisations in developing (updated) Disaster preparedness plans as well as contingency plans that are built on the principles of ActionAid’s humanitarian Signature. The EU AID volunteer is expected to strengthen the knowledge and capacity of AA Nepal and their partners around Disaster Risk Reduction through trainings and internal workshops.

The placement period is 5 months with duty station in the head office in Kathmandu.

The volunteer position is part of the EUAID Volunteer’s Initiative – an Initiative that brings volunteers and organisations together from different countries, providing practical support to humanitarian aid projects and contributing to strengthening local capacity and resilience of disaster-affected communities. A core focus is further to promote global solidarity and post-placement information work in Europe.

COVID-19

Nepal is one of the countries in South Asia to take early precautionary measures to break the chain of COVID-19 spreading. The first case of COVID-19 was identified in March 2021, the lockdown followed by the identification aided to check the infection rate. However, with relaxation of the restriction measure the number of cases rose exponentially, resulting in a second wave of COVID-19. As of September 2021, of 4.6 million tested, nearly 900.000 individuals were infected, with 95.4% recovery rate and 1.5% fatality rate. The local governments have relaxed the restrictions recently following reduction in COVID-19 cases. Unlike earlier, despite the relaxation of restriction, the number of infected persons per day is lessening with around 1000 person/day being infected.

AA Nepal has been monitoring the situation closely. In reference to the COVID-19 cases and government guidelines AA Nepal ensures the office is not overcrowded, the staffs are taking necessary precautionary/preventive measures while at office, encouraging actions to limit direct engagement of staff with any health issues or COVID-19 symptoms, field level activities based on necessity among other actions.

Volunteer Tasks

For the placement, the Volunteer will support localised disaster risk reduction in vulnerable communities by providing the following support:

• Support key staff at AA Nepal in developing/reviewing AA Nepal’s Disaster preparedness plan, Standard Operation Procedure for disaster response.
• Support in developing and reviewing selected local partners’ disaster preparedness plans and standard operation procedure for disaster response
• Support in developing module and delivering orientation/training to AA Nepal and partners’ staff on DRR and Humanitarian Assistance
• Supporting in conceptualizing actions on promoting humanitarian signature and youth programming for DRR and Humanitarian response in reference to local context and experience of volunteer.
• Participate in and contribute to relevant in-country and cross-country learning and knowledge sharing events and processes within the ActionAid Federation, such as the Youth Community of Interest
• Support communication and visibility of the EU AID Volunteer Initiative, also when back in Europe after deployment

Qualifications:

• Degree in humanitarian studies or similar
• English, Basic Nepalese would be an added value
• Solid knowledge of disaster risk reduction and the humanitarian sector
• Ability to support the development of both SoP and Disaster Preparedness Plans with strong participation of and ownership by the relevant staff – especially at partner organisation level.
• Knowledge and appreciation of ActionAid’s humanitarian signature and our strong emphasis on localisation, accountability and women and youth leadership in humanitarian action
• Proficiency in the Microsoft Office Package
• Very strong cooperation and facilitation skills
• Strong intercultural skills and respect of others
• Diplomacy and humility
• Ability to work independently and proactively and seek support/guidance if needed
• Understanding and appreciating that this is a temporary position and thus strengthening the skills and competences of peers and colleagues is key in this placement
• Strong motivation to volunteer with a social justice organisation
• Practical experience relating to the concrete tasks to be performed, especially in terms of developing contingency plans, SoPs and Disaster Preparedness plans
• Previous exposure to working in a developing context
• Prior volunteer experience is an added advantage

As this volunteer is placed under the EU AID Volunteer Initiative the volunteer must be a citizen of the EU or a third country national who is a long-term resident in an EU Member State and must have a minimum age of 18 years

Terms and condition will follow those of EU AID Volunteers:

• Monthly Subsistence Lump Sum of 288,28 € per month which intends to cover basic needs and local transport.
• Monthly post-deployment resettlement of 100 € per month
• Modest accommodation, Visa fees, insurance and airfare to and from the country of service
• 2 days leave per month of voluntary activity + domestic holidays in the country of service
• Work hours in accordance with ActionAid Nepal

Application and recruitment Process

To apply, the candidate should write a letter of motivation, fill out a Europass CV [email protected] with your name and the position applied for as the headline of the email.

Application Deadline: December 5th 2021

Shortlisting and interviews on SKYPE with the candidates: Mid-December 2021

Selected candidates from interviews will be obligated to participate in an online training module as well as a 9-12 day in-presence training in Europe as part of the selection process. More than one candidate for each position will be selected for training to support the development of a pool of validated candidates – however only one candidate will eventually be selected for this position.

Travel and training costs to participate in the in-presence training will be covered.

Placement start is expected to be February 2022

Please, visit EACEA’s vacancy announcement page for more information and to see the full vacancy of this position. Here you will also be able to see other volunteer opportunities and read more about the EU AID Volunteer Initiative:

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/echo/eu-aid-volunteers_en/