[Hiring] Consultancy for Flood Risk Assessment and Drainage Infrastructure Design @PACT Belize

Role Description

The Consultant shall undertake the following tasks:

• Inception Phase:
  • Convene an inception meeting with representatives from PACT, MRTCDLG, and the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing (MIDH) to confirm the scope of work, clarify expectations, finalize deliverables, discuss logistics, and agree on timelines.
  • Review relevant literature, national policies, previous assessments, hydrological and meteorological datasets, spatial maps, planning documents, and regulatory frameworks.
  • Prepare and submit an Inception Report outlining:
    • Background of the project
    • Understanding of objectives
    • Refined methodology
    • Detailed work plan and timeline
    • Deliverables schedule
    • Stakeholder engagement plan
    • Identified risks and proposed mitigation measures
    • Any adjustments agreed upon during the inception meeting
• Data Collection and Field Assessments:
  • Conduct field visits in all four (4) communities.
  • Collect primary data through:
    • Key informant interviews (village leaders, local authorities, technical officers, and residents in flood-prone areas)
    • Community consultations
    • Physical site inspections and field observations
  • Assess existing drainage systems, waterways, culverts, embankments, and related infrastructure.
  • Document historical flood events, including extent, depth, frequency, and recurrence patterns (where data is available).
  • Collect GPS coordinates and photographic documentation.
  • Identify and document critical infrastructure exposed to flooding, including households, schools, roads, businesses, and utilities.
• Technical Analysis:
  • Characterize relevant climate variables and establish a climate baseline using historical rainfall, temperature, storm, and tropical cyclone data.
  • Apply hydrologic and hydraulic analysis tools to describe the behaviour of drainage systems and water flow in the project area.
  • Define hydrologic and hydraulic variables for flood-prone areas, including drainage infrastructure and roadways.
  • Incorporate mid-century climate change projections (circa 2055) to define design parameters for roads and hydraulic structures in flood-prone areas.
  • Consider extreme weather events, including maximum 24-hour rainfall, hurricanes, and tropical storms, for design purposes.
  • Recommend appropriate recurrence intervals for meteorological events (e.g., 1-in-10, 20, 50, 100-year events) impacting the proposed design of the infrastructure.
  • Analyze hydrological, topographical, and environmental data including rainfall projections, to inform the scheduling of the proposed drainage infrastructure.
  • Develop hydraulic and roadway/drainage design options in flood-prone areas based on climate change scenarios.
  • Develop flood hazard maps categorizing risk levels for all relevant storm scenarios.
  • Develop flood vulnerability maps for the project area and flood-prone roads/drainage.
  • Conduct exposure and vulnerability assessments of community assets and infrastructure.
  • Identify infrastructure and institutional preparedness gaps.
  • Develop preliminary engineering design recommendations for drainage and flood mitigation structures.
  • Identify key vulnerable hotspots and potential climate adaptation measures.
  • Conduct an Environmental and Social Assessment (ESA) to evaluate potential environmental and social impacts of proposed interventions.

Outputs and Deliverables

• The Consultant shall prepare and submit:
  • Inception Report
  • Draft Flood Risk Assessment and Design Report
  • Final Flood Risk Assessment and Design Report
  • Environmental and Social Assessment Report
• The Draft and Final Reports shall include:
  • Executive Summary
  • Introduction and Background
  • Methodology
  • Community Profiles detailing demographic characteristics
  • Flood Hazard Mapping
  • Risk and Vulnerability Analysis
  • Infrastructure Gap Analysis
  • Engineering Design Recommendations
  • Prioritized Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Interventions
  • Conclusions
  • Annexes (maps, datasets, photos, survey instruments, stakeholder lists, etc.)
• Deliverables:
  • Inception Report (within fifteen (15) working days of inception meeting)
  • Draft Flood Risk Assessment and Design Report
  • Environmental and Social Assessment Report
  • Final Flood Risk Assessment and Design Report
  • All GIS files, spatial data, maps, design drawings, and raw datasets supporting the assessment and design.

Qualifications

• A minimum of a Master’s degree in Hydrology, Civil Engineering, Environmental Science, Disaster Risk Management, Geography, or a related field.
• At least five (5) years of demonstrated experience in flood risk assessment, hydrological analysis, or disaster risk reduction.
• Proven experience conducting community-level vulnerability assessments.
• Demonstrated expertise in GIS and spatial analysis tools.
• Strong analytical, technical writing, and reporting skills.
• Experience working in similar geographic and socio-economic contexts will be considered an asset.

Application

Interested Consultants shall submit a Technical and Financial Proposal along with supporting documentation demonstrating their qualifications and experience to undertake this assignment.

Location

Belize (Remote)

Employment Type

Contract