Consultant: Model IDRL Regs

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, with 191 member National Societies. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, our work is guided by seven fundamental principles; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

IFRC’s Strategy 2030 (S2030) – a platform for change– defines its vision, and approach for the period 2021-2030. IFRC is committed to building the resilience of communities to disasters by advocating for laws and policies that promote an enabling environment for disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and the entry and facilitation of international humanitarian aid. Without the appropriate mechanisms in place, authorities can be quickly overwhelmed by relief operations and vital aid can be delayed. The IFRC contributes to more effective disaster preparedness and response and getting relief to vulnerable people faster.

In the Americas, the IFRC Secretariat is organized through a group of support services and technical functions, and geographical configurations of Country Cluster Delegations and Country Delegations. The Country Cluster Delegation (CCD) in Port of Spain (POS) covers 13 countries in the Caribbean. Various teams deliver assistance, support, and advice to national Red Cross societies. In turn, these teams are supported by support services teams.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is the regional intergovernmental agency responsible for disaster management coordination and support across 20 Participating States in the Caribbean. Guided by the principles of regional integration, cooperation, and resilience building, CDEMA leads efforts to advance a proactive, multi-hazard approach to disaster management through its Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Strategy.

The CDM Model Legislation, developed under this strategy, serves as a key tool in strengthening legal and institutional frameworks within the Participating States. It promotes an integrated, multisectoral approach to disaster risk reduction, preparedness, response, and recovery, aligning national legislation with regional and international standards. CDEMA’s work, in conjunction with the IFRC, supports the creation of enabling legal environments that improve coordination, clarify roles and responsibilities, and ensure that disaster management is mainstreamed into national development planning. By providing a legislative template tailored to the unique vulnerabilities of the Caribbean region, CDEMA empowers these states to enhance national resilience, improve coordination, and align with international best practices in disaster governance.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Ensure the fulfillment of all the consultancy’s deliverables outlined in this Terms of Reference in accordance with the agreed timeframe.
• Serve as the primary researcher in all issues relevant to the Project Objectives.
• Facilitate feedback and inputs from all key partners including IFRC, CDEMA, the IDRL Working Group, National Disaster Officers and other key stakeholders from CDEMA Participating States.
• Report to the IFRC Disaster Law Team at the Port-of-Spain CCD as required.

For full details please review this  ToR - Consultancy on Model IDRL Regulations_FINAL_clean.pdf

Consultancy Deliverables

The key deliverables for this consultancy will be the following:

• Inception Report

A report which contains a detailed workplan, explains the methodology and approach, and outlines a stakeholder engagement strategy.

• A Legislative and Policy Review Report

A report which identifies the areas requiring regulatory support, which is assessed against international and regional best practices.

• Stakeholder consultation report

A report which contains a list of the stakeholders consulted, the summary of feedback received and a record of how the feedback has been integrated into the draft and final versions of the regulations.

• Model IDRL Regulations

This is the main output of the consultancy. It should contain clearly structured and legally sound regulations that are representative of the drafting style and norms of Caribbean Commonwealth jurisdictions and within the framework of the Model CDM Legislation and Regulations of CDEMA. It should be accompanied by explanatory notes or a rationale for each part.

• Presentations to stakeholders

The Consultant will be required to do validation and sensitisation sessions to key stakeholders including (1) the IDRL Working Group; (2) National Disaster Coordinators; (3) CDEMA Technical Advisory Committee or other sub-committees as required; (4) key national stakeholders who may be responsible for implementing the proposed regulations such as government ministries and agencies responsible for immigration, customs, foreign affairs, legal affairs, ports, finance among others; and (5) international organisations and non-state entities who may be involved in humanitarian operations including but not limited to UN Agencies, NGOs, Red Cross National Societies, and academia.

Methodology

The consultancy deliverables may take on the following methodology:

• Legislative and Policy review: This will involve the review and analysis of the Model IDRL Provisions developed in 2024-2025 by the IDRL Working Group; as well as a review of other IFRC and CDEMA Benchmarking tools including the IFRC Model Act for the Facilitation and Regulation of International Disaster Relief and Recovery Assistance; the CDEMA Comprehensive Disaster Management Model Policy and Legislation, the Regional Response Mechanism and the Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy 2014-2030.
• Stakeholder consultations: May be conducted using a variety of formats such as key informant interviews, focus groups, survey, workshops or other kinds of investigation and information gathering.

Support to be provided to the Consultant

The Consultant will be supported directly and managed by the IFRC Disaster Law Team based in the Port-of-Spain CCD. Technical guidance will also be provided by CDEMA and members of the IDRL Working Group.

The Consultant will report to the IFRC Disaster Law Team in the Port-of-Spain CCD.

REQUIRED:

• Bachelor’s degree in law
• Advanced qualification or equivalent experience in a relevant area (law, humanitarian policy, disaster management, health)

REQUIRED:

• Demonstrated research, writing and reporting experience in English (sample to be provided)
• Demonstrated experience in legislative drafting, law and policy development
• Demonstrated experience in project management and office administration
• Demonstrated experience with organising and managing files, documents and databases
• Experience with networking and communicating with different stakeholders such as government, CDEMA, Red Cross / Red Crescent, UN, NGOs and other organisations
• Experience in national processes for law and policy-making.

REQUIRED:

• Advanced level of knowledge and understanding of International Disaster Response Law (IDRL) and the application of the IDRL Guidelines
• Advanced knowledge of Comprehensive Disaster Management
• Advanced knowledge, understanding and research capacities in law/policymaking in the English-speaking Caribbean
• Skills in legislative drafting
• Excellent professional communication skills, both written and verbal
• Good computer skills including knowledge of Microsoft Office applications
• Ability to use own initiative and problem-solving skills
• Excellent spoken and written English

• Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability
• Core Competencies: Communication; Collaboration and Teamwork; Judgment and Decision Making; National Society and Customer Relations; Creativity and Innovation; Building Trust
• Functional Competencies: Strategic Orientation; Building Alliances; Leadership; Empowering others.

Selection Criteria

The Consultant is required to submit a technical and financial proposal which should include an action plan to achieve the Project Objectives and the Consultancy’s deliverables in accordance with this Terms of Reference   ToR - Consultancy on Model IDRL Regulations_FINAL_clean.pdf