Earthquake Specialist - (Home-based)

Organizational Context

The IFRC MENA Health, Disaster, Climate, and Crisis (HDCC) team is dedicated to supporting National Societies in building robust and sustainable Disaster Risk Management (DRM) programs. This initiative aligns with the four priority areas of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, and contributes to IFRC Strategy 2030 Strategic Goal 1: enabling people to anticipate, respond to, and recover quickly from crises.

By enhancing understanding of earthquake hazards, this consultancy supports National Societies in developing tailored preparedness messaging, conducting community awareness campaigns, and improving institutional readiness for seismic risks—particularly in high-density urban areas.

Job Purpose

The purpose of this Terms of Reference (ToR) is to hire a consultant to serve as both a technical expert and educational coach to support the development of an interactive earthquake fault map and strengthen the earthquake risk communication and preparedness capacity of National Societies (NSs) across the MENA region.

This consultancy is part of the ShakeSmart: Earthquake Risk Reduction for MENA initiative, funded by the Japanese Red Cross. ShakeSmart aims to build urban resilience and public awareness through regionally coordinated risk communication tools and targeted preparedness interventions.

The consultant will play a lead role in guiding the technical content for the hazard map, ensuring that key information—such as fault types, return periods, rupture histories, and shaking characteristics—is presented in a way that is accessible and actionable for NSs and the communities they serve. The consultant will work closely with IFRC’s Information Management (IM) team and lead the delivery of training and educational support to help NSs use the map for public awareness, contingency planning, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) programming.

Alignment to the IFRC’s objectives and strategy
The IFRC MENA Health, Disaster, Climate, and Crisis (HDCC) team is dedicated to supporting National Societies in building robust and sustainable Disaster Risk Management (DRM) programs. This initiative aligns with the four priority areas of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, and contributes to IFRC Strategy 2030 Strategic Goal 1: enabling people to anticipate, respond to, and recover quickly from crises.

By enhancing understanding of earthquake hazards, this consultancy supports National Societies in developing tailored preparedness messaging, conducting community awareness campaigns, and improving institutional readiness for seismic risks—particularly in high-density urban areas.

Project objectives

This consultancy will:

• Support the development of an interactive earthquake fault map using existing geoscientific data to inform NSs about fault line characteristics and earthquake hazards.
• Provide education and capacity-building support to NSs to strengthen their understanding of earthquake risk and preparedness strategies.
• The consultant will ensure that both the technical content and training materials are tailored to the needs of NSs, supporting public risk communication, preparedness messaging, and urban DRR planning.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will undertake the following tasks, grouped into phases to ensure a structured and logical workflow:

Phase 1: Consultation and Data Review

• Engage with National Society focal points to assess their technical knowledge, awareness needs, and preferred formats for public-facing earthquake risk information.
• Collect feedback on the map’s intended functionality, design, and language accessibility.
• Review and synthesize existing open-sourced geoscientific data relevant to earthquake fault lines across the MENA region.
• Identify and describe key attributes for each fault line, including type, historical seismicity, return periods, and likely ground shaking behaviour.

Phase 2: Development of the Earthquake Fault Map

• Provide technical content and structure for the interactive map pop-ups.
• Collaborate closely with IFRC’s IM team to ensure the integration of scientifically sound, easily understandable content.
• Support development in Arabic and English versions.

Phase 3: Education and Capacity Building

• Design and deliver structured training sessions on fault systems, shaking characteristics, and the practical use of the hazard map.
• Develop user-friendly materials, such as presentations, manuals, or videos, to enable NSs to use the map in public risk awareness campaigns and DRR planning.

Phase 4: Reporting and Final Deliverables

• Submit a final report detailing the methodology, data used, consultations held, and lessons learned.
• Ensure all technical materials, raw data, and educational tools are organized and handed over to IFRC for future updates and maintenance.

Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

Deliverables

• Inception Report: Detailed work plan and methodology within two weeks of contract start.
• Support to IFRC IM Team: Identify, review, and summarize relevant geoscientific data to guide the IM team in populating the hazard map with scientifically accurate and user-friendly information.
• Draft Earthquake Fault Map Content: Technical summaries of faults and guidance for IM integration.
• Training Briefs: Short, user-focused materials (2–5 pages or video) for National Society staff and volunteers on understanding and applying the hazard map.
• Final Fault Map Content: Validated information embedded in the online platform.
• Final Report: Comprehensive documentation of findings, feedback, and recommendations.

Method of delivery and reasons for selecting that method

Remote consultations to maximize regional access and minimize travel costs.

• In-person engagement at the ShakeSmart Inception Workshop and (if feasible) selected training events.
• Hybrid design of training materials to support both online and face-to-face delivery.
• Support to be provided to the consultant
• Background materials on NS activities and risk communication needs.
• Access to geoscientific data and existing IFRC DRR tools.
• Connection to regional partners
• Coordination support from IFRC’s IM and Climate and Resilience team.

Schedule for payment of fees

30% upon completing phase one, 30% upon completion of phase two and three, and 40% upon completion of phase four.

Time Allocation, for budget purposes

Work should be completed within 4-6 months of contract award. We ask interested candidates to submit a detailed project delivery timeline and quote offer.

Travel and workshop participation costs reimbursed in accordance with IFRC policies. This position will primarily be home based. However, it is anticipated that the consultant will attend the inception workshop in Dubai UAE for 4 days and one trip to Amman or Beirut to work with the IM Team for 1 week (if necessary).

Education

Advanced degree in geosciences or a related field.

Experience

• Minimum of 2 years of experience in earthquake science and fault line analysis.
• Experience developing educational materials and delivering training.
• Strong understanding of earthquake risks and risk communication in the MENA region

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Must be proficient in English. Working knowledge of Arabic is an advantage.

Competencies, Values and Comments

Management of consultancy

The consultancy will be managed by the IFRC MENA RO – HDCC Unit, under the supervision of the Thematic Lead for Climate and Resilience, in collaboration with the Information Management team

Submission:

• Resume / Company portfolio
• Expression of Interest: 1-3 page technical and one-page financial proposals as per below guidelines.
• Any relevant publications or research related to earthquake within the MENA region (if available)

Technical and Financial proposals to be submitted by 24th of June 2025 addressed to: Sara Walsh - IFRC MENA Climate & Resilience Thematic Lead at sara.walsh@ifrc.org

Interviews may form part of the selection process, if necessary, after analysis of the technical and financial proposals.

Technical Proposal

• Provide understanding of tasks as indicated in the TOR.
• Share the documentation of previous work done as relates in recent 5 years.
• Tentative workplan with working days for main activities and dates for milestones.

Financial Proposal

The financial proposal should include all costs necessary for the consultant (including direct fees and reimbursable costs for expenses incurred) to effectively complete the tasks as per the TOR. Financial proposal shall form part of the contract agreement signed by both the IFRC and the Consultant.

The table below is as a guide for costs in CHF.

Notes

• The consultant will be contracted by the IFRC and the standard contractual terms will apply.
• Agreed travel expenses will be reimbursed at cost in accordance with in the IFRC’s relevant regulations.
• This consultancy is budgeted for 30,000 CHF

IFRC ensures equal employment opportunities!