At 16:53 local time on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a 7.0 Mw earthquake hit the nation of Haiti. Its epicenter was located near the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 kilometers west of the capital Port-au-Prince, and was followed by at least 50 aftershocks over the next two weeks. The disaster claimed over 200,000 lives, directly or indirectly affected millions of others, caused major damage to buildings, dwellings, roads, ports, water supply, sanitation, and other infrastructure, and severely limited the capacities of public and private institutions to function. In addition to the incalculable humanitarian toll, the earthquake severely undercut the nation’s prospects for social and economic development.

As reported in the Action Plan for National Recovery and Development of Haiti in April 2010, the earthquake not only took lives, it also took a devastating toll on the cities’ infrastructure and buildings, with an estimated 8 billion USD in damages. Although the loss of infrastructure in Haiti’s economic and administrative center was grave, the unprecedented loss of housing caused the displacement of approximately1.3 million people in Port-au-Prince alone. The Government of Haiti (GOH) with the help of the international community has been working to respond to the immediate and long term needs for housing for the victims of the earthquake.

Many aspects of daily life are returning to normal, but characteristics of Haiti and of the earthquake event itself will make the recovery of housing and neighborhoods slow and challenging. The challenges include: (1) the concentration of housing destruction in Port au Prince--a large, heavily-congested urban setting; (2) the fact that vast majority of the affected households have some of the lowest incomes in the world; (3) the reality that much of Haiti’s housing stock is substandard (not just that portion damaged in the earthquake) and that the housing sector operates almost exclusively on an informal basis; and (4) the need to mitigate multiple hazards in the reconstruction process that were not fully understood or well-managed in the past

• Work with stakeholders in a consultative manner.
• Provide leadership to resolve issues on the specific topics assigned.
• Collaborate with other guidelines consultants under the supervision of the guidelines project coordinator.
• Provide frequent (at least monthly) updates on the assignment.
• Participate in Housing and Neighborhoods team or other IHRC staff meetings, as requested.

The assignment requires a consultant with the following qualifications:
• A university degree in a field related to the work of the assignment.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in a field related to the work of the unit
• Superior aptitudes for planning, organizing, adaptation, and leadership through teamwork; solid interpersonal communication and collaboration skills, especially in intercultural contexts.
• Work experience in international development and/or NGO environment.
• Excellent written English and French; especially, experience writing about technical subjects for non-technical audiences.
• Fluency in spoken English, French; Haitian Creole an advantage.

Qualified individuals associated with firms are welcome to present their qualifications. Selection will be made on the basis of qualification within the constraints of the available grant resources. Payment will be made on the basis of daily rates.

2011-03-09