About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.
The Program
Jordan grapples with escalating climate-related disasters, posing a critical challenge to its humanitarian efforts, economic stability, and environmental integrity. Despite its position as one of the world's most water-scarce nations, Jordan is witnessing a distressing surge in flash floods, a peril that ranks at the top of the Jordan National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy 2023-2030. Factors such as degraded vegetation, haphazard urbanization, and the relentless impact of climate change worsen these floods, devastating local communities and the eco-tourism sector. Moreover, Jordan suffers from devastating heat waves due to climate change, leading to desertification, diminished water supplies, and exacerbated water scarcity. Since 2021, Mercy Corps Jordan (MCJ) has been actively engaged in enhancing the resilience of vulnerable communities against floods, as part of Phase 2 of the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance (the Alliance) work, which concluded in December 2023. Moving forward into Phase 3, MCJ remains committed to its mission of mitigating the severe impact of floods and heatwaves on vulnerable communities in Jordan. This project comes in alignment with the visionary efforts of the Alliance to build a world where communities are resilient to climate hazards, enabling them to thrive.
The Alliance is a multi-sectoral partnership, powered by the Zurich Foundation, focused on enhancing resilience to climate hazards in both rural and urban communities. Formerly the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, we have over a decade of experience in generating evidence of communities’ current levels of climate
resilience and identifying appropriate solutions.
Our partners are drawn from the humanitarian, NGO, research and private sectors. We work together to achieve our vision by implementing solutions, promoting good practice, influencing policy and facilitating systemic change.
Background
Jordan, like all other countries in the world, faces different types of risks that are challenging its development and prosperity. Although we can recognize many of these risks (now and in the future), we must be aware that the future is uncertain; many important and unexpected events can happen, but it is difficult to predict.
The capacity assessment of the disaster risk management (DRM) system in Jordan (known as CADRi report/assessment 2017) indicated that there are a set of challenges for having strengthened systems and capacities. Examples of these challenges are the lack of comprehensive risk information
accessible to decision-makers, the lack of relevant legislation regarding the availability of disaster risk information to public and private sector stakeholders at the national or local level; the absence of standard guidelines or formalized methodology for conducting risk assessment and significant capacity gaps among central and local government in understanding risk information and its application.
The Government of Jordan has made significant progress in the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) sector at the national level, with two editions of the National Strategy of Disaster Risk Reduction (NSDRR) (2019-2022) and the latest one (2023-2030), aligned with Sendai framework priorities and goals. The DRR strategy focuses on enhancing resilience and preparedness against natural, biological, and man-made hazards. The government's commitment is evident through various policies, frameworks, and collaborative efforts with international organizations and UN agencies to implement effective DRR strategies.
Mercy Corps and UNDP have agreed to join efforts to enhance DRR in Jordan by localizing and enforcing the national DRR strategy (2023-2030). This partnership recognizes the crucial role of the National Center for Security and Crisis Management (NCSCM) and Ministry of Local Administration (MoLA) in achieving these goals.
This assignment will contribute to following project outcomes:
- Mercy Crops’ Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance (the Alliance) Project: The consultancy will support the outcome "Strengthening the implementation of DRR/CCA policies at the local level."
- UNDP’s Enhancing Country Resilience (ECR) Project: Within the ECR project, this assignment aligns with Component 2, focused on management and measures development. The expected outcome is to "Empower stakeholders to apply DRR measures and approaches in their fields and sectors."
Consultant Objectives:
This TOR seeks a qualified consultant to work with relevant stakeholders to develop a guiding document for the “Localization of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in Jordan”. This document will be launched by MoLA and
distributed to all municipalities in coordination with NCSCM.
The objective of this consultancy is to develop a comprehensive, practical, and inclusive guiding document to support the localization of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) practices in Jordan. The document will enable municipalities to efficiently incorporate the National Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (2023-2030) into
their local planning processes, with attention to cross-cutting issues like gender, climate change, and inclusion.
The guiding document will serve as a framework to enhance local implementation capacities, accommodate specific local needs, outline resource allocation, and establish performance monitoring mechanisms, while promoting cohesive and coordinated efforts across all government tiers. Once finalized and endorsed, the guiding document will be distributed to all municipalities, along with training sessions on its usage.
Stakeholder Engagement:
The consultant will engage stakeholders during the preparation, implementation, and closing phases to ensure the highest possible quality of the final guiding document.
Conduct consultations and interviews with relevant government agencies at both local and national levels, and other stakeholders to gather insights, such as but not limited to:
- Representatives of the Ministry of Local Administration.
- National Center for Security and Crises Managment
- Ministry of Interior (Governorate), Directorate of Public Security.
- Representatives of the municipalities concerned.
- Representatives of the Ministry of Environment.
Consultant Activities:
Inception Phase:
- Attend a kickoff meeting with the project team from Mercy Corps and UNDP, to establish a consensus on the scope, methodology, and implementation details.
- Conduct a baseline assessment of current DRM practices and challenges at the municipal level.
-Review the NSDRR 2023-2030, the Sendai Framework, and other relevant international and national frameworks.
- Identify and adapt best practices for DRM localization from other regions or countries that are applicable to Jordan’s context.
Deliverables:
Develop an inception report that summarizes key findings, the methodology, a detailed plan of action, stakeholder engagement plan, and the layout outlines of the Guiding Document.
Implementation Phase:
Stakeholder Engagement & Consultation:
- Conduct participatory consultations and workshops with key stakeholders at national and municipal levels.
- Engage stakeholders to gather inputs and validate the content of the guiding document.
Development of the Guiding Document:
- Draft a guiding document that includes clear guidelines, tools, and templates for the localization of DRM.
- Include recommendations on the synergies between DRM and climate change adaptation, addressing the intersection of these issues at the local level.
- Develop a mechanism for monitoring and evaluation for municipalities for the guiding document implementation by municipalities, enabling MoLA, Mercy Corps, UNDP and relevant parties to track its adoption by the targeted municipalities following the guiding document publication.
Validation and Dissemination:
-Present the draft guiding document to MoLA and other key stakeholders for validation.
-Incorporate feedback and finalize the guiding document.
-Facilitate a national dissemination workshop to introduce the guide to all municipalities and relevant stakeholders.
Deliverables:
-1st draft of the Guiding Document.
-Indicators and M&E framework.
-Documentation of stakeholder meetingsand a progress report, (including validation and dissemination report).
Closing Phase: