Resilience Expert

Background:
Across Uganda, natural and man-made disasters such as armed conflicts, floods, and drought are frequent and intense. Since most households rely on subsistence farming, hazards have a major impact on livelihoods. With two in ten Ugandans living in extreme poverty, many communities are unable to recover from these disastrous events. Coronavirus (COVID-19) has only exacerbated the situation and threatens to reverse years of progress across economic and social indicators in Uganda.  

Building resilience to recurrent crises is a major priority for USAID/Uganda. It is one of three Development Objectives in Uganda’s current Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), and is expected to remain a priority in the revised CDCS from 2022 to 2026. USAID defines resilience as “the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth.” Broad investment from the Mission has focused on building resilience to help share and shift the responsibility of managing risk, investing in resilience, and responding to shocks from donors to governments, communities, and the private sector.  

As USAID embarks on a new CDCS 2022-2026, this proposed task, to develop a Resilience Composite Index, will draw upon extensive research from USAID on resilience measurement as well as previous conceptual USAID/Uganda work in order to design a more reliable, workable solution for regular measurement of resilience in Uganda. Box 1, can be used as a reference point for how resilience was conceptualized during the current CDCS.   

Scope of Work:
The primary objective of this activity is to conduct a scoping study and develop alternative frameworks for the measurement of a resilience index at USAID. Specifically, the study will identify methodologies and indicators for measuring the level of resilience of Ugandans to shocks and stresses. Based on this information, USAID/Uganda will be able to make an informed choice on how to measure resilience under the next CDCS. A follow-up activity will then engage in the actual measurement of resilience in Uganda. The Resilience Expert is expected to provide significant contribution to the following deliverables:

1. Evidence synthesis report.
2. Report on alternative measurement frameworks.
3. Workshop to discuss measurement alternatives.

Minimum qualifications and experience:

• Extensive experience on resilience programming in Uganda;
• Extensive background and understanding of the Uganda Disaster Risk Reduction, food security, and nutrition programs and policies;
• Understanding of government data systems especially DHIS2 and Disaster Risk Management Office data;
• Strong English writing skills;
• Bachelor’s required, Masters or PhD preferred;
• 10 years of resilience related experience;
• Basic understanding of statistics and relevant software;
• Experience working on resilience focused work with GoU, USAID or other donors preferred, and
• Suitably qualified Ugandan nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

Location:
Kampala, Uganda.