Conference and Meeting Support

Result of Service

The individual contractor will provide comprehensive administrative and operational support across all phases of RP27 planning and implementation, ensuring that procurement, registration, participant coordination, official statement management, and event communications are delivered efficiently and on time.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

01.10.26 - 31.03.27

Duties and Responsibilities

Background Created in December 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is the designated focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of efforts to reduce disasters and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations and regional organizations and activities in both developed and less developed countries. Led by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG), UNDRR has over 150 staff located in its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and in regional offices. Specifically, UNDRR guides, monitors, analyses, and reports on progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, supports regional and national implementation of the Framework and catalyzes action, and increases global awareness to reduce disaster risk by working with the U.N. Member States and a broad range of partners and stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, parliamentarians, and the science and technology community.

As such, the IX Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (RP27) represents an opportunity for member states and stakeholders to share experiences, build their capacities, transfer knowledge, and show successes related to disaster risk reduction at the national and local levels. It is expected that this event will increase the degree of participation and the commitment of the parties and stakeholders interested in the implementation of the Sendai Framework as well as in the integral management of disaster risk as a key component for sustainable development. The Regional Platform, which will take place in a hybrid format, will include an intergovernmental segment, including a Ministeri al Meeting and a Technical Meeting on the implementation of the Regional Action Plan (RAP).

RP27 will be a multi-stakeholder, innovative, interactive, and inclusive space, which will explicitly consider gender dimensions in line with the whole-of-society approach in order to achieve the following objectives:

1. Take stock of progress made in the implementation of the Sendai Framework and the Regional Action Plan, and reaffirm the political commitment to accelerate implementation, with a view to collecting inputs on regional priorities for the post-2030 process.
2. Provide the region with spaces to foster knowledge-sharing and good practices around regional DRR priorities under the RAP through the central theme of Governance for Innovation & Impact.
3. Promote bold pathways for resilient recovery and building back better by facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue on prospective and foresight approaches to integrate resilience into recovery through a long-term, cost-effective, and sustainable vision. Duties and Responsibilities: The individual contractor will support the organization of the IX Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas and the Caribbean (RP27) to be held hybrid in March 2027 in Nassau, The Bahamas. The RP27 is co-organized by UNDRR and the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The individual contractor will be home-based and will be under the supervision of the External Relations Officer of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean (UNDRR ROAC), and will be working with/in coordination with the Associate Administrative Officer in the UNDRR ROAC. The individual contractor will have to work collaboratively with other UNDRR team members and other consultants as well as partners and other stakeholders involved in organizing the RP27. The following activities are foreseen: - Provide support in all procurement processes to be done for RP services (such as interpretation, translation, online platforms and software, production companies, and interactive tools, among others) and other UNDRR office services as requested, from the elaboration of Terms of Reference (jointly with the hybrid event manager) to support with quotations and follow-up on administrative tasks. - Serves as focal point for administrative coordination of RP27 implementation activities, involving extensive liaison with diverse organizational units to initiate requests, obtain necessary clearances, process and follow-up on administrative actions, e.g., travel arrangements, training/study tours, authorization of payments, disbursement of funds, procurement of equipment and services, attendance of meetings, preparation of minutes, monitoring of follow-up activities, etc. - Develop and update the participants' lists and registration process before and during the event. - Management of the registration setup and workflow implementation in the back end of the online registration system (possibly INDICO). - Support the invitation process to member states and partners and follow up to the Ministerial meeting confirmations. Support member states in their participation. - Manages the general mailbox of the Regional Platform's incoming inquiries and follow-up communication with participants. - Coordinate the official statement segment through collection and organization of pre-recorded videos, liaison with member states regarding the audiovisual guidelines for the videos, production, and review of statements received. - Support Advisory Council meetings: organization, invitation, setting up, and monitoring. - Support the logistics note, including security, health, migration, accommodation, field visits, and other requirements. - Advise the communications team on the updating of relevant information on the webpage based on incoming inquiries. - Support the elaboration of a regular newsletter and email alert to be sent out to registered participants in coordination with the communication team. - Provide regular statistical reports on registration and attendance. - Provide support for other logistics arrangements as requested.

Qualifications/special skills

A first-level university degree in Social Sciences, Event and Conference Management, Tourism, Business Administration, or another related field is required. Three (3) years work experience in in organizing conferences, workshops, and other events is required. Experience in administrative processes related to procurement is desirable. Experience with the mandate, work, and activities of the United Nations or any other international organization is desirable. Experience in managing online registration processes for events is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the two working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in Spanish and English is required.

Additional Information

Due to the high volume of applications received, only successful candidates will be contacted. *FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY*. UNDRR values diversity among its staff. We welcome applications from qualified women, men, and people with disabilities.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.