CONSULTANCY - Consultant on Flash Drought SSA-2026-SS-SSCD-2

Background

There is increasing discourse on the importance of flash drought as a rapid-onset hazard, in contrast to “conventional” drought, which is generally regarded as a slow-onset hazard. This has resulted in growing demand for improved scientific understanding and operational guidance on the characteristics, drivers, impacts, monitoring, forecasting, and management implications of flash droughts. Unlike conventional droughts that typically evolve over months or years, flash droughts can emerge and intensify within a matter of weeks or even days, creating significant challenges for early warning systems, preparedness, response, and policy frameworks that have traditionally been designed around slower-onset drought processes.

In response to these emerging needs, this consultancy, to be undertaken in close collaboration with the WMO Expert Team on Drought (ET-Drought) under the Standing Committee on Services for Agriculture (SC-AGR), will review the current state of science on flash droughts and develop guidance for monitoring, forecasting, early warning, management, and policy applications as well as document relevant case studies and good practices. The consultancy will support the integration of flash drought considerations into existing drought management frameworks in relation to the three pillars of the Integrated Drought Management (IDM), while contributing to enhanced preparedness and early action in the framework of the UN Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative and knowledge generation under the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP).

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature on flash droughts, including definitions, global distribution, and trends in frequency and intensity.
2. Define and characterize flash droughts, including temporal, geographic and spatial scales, and identify key drivers/physical processes and their differences in definition, characteristics and impacts with respect to “conventional” droughts.
3. Evaluate the compound and cascading effects and impacts of flash droughts including their role in amplifying other hazards as well as their interaction with the rapid transition events and changes from floods to droughts and vice-versa events and their component of simultaneous and sequential compound extremes.
4. Provide guidance along the three IDMP pillars in relation to implications on (i) time scales for monitoring and forecasting (role and limitations of S2S forecasting, EW triggers and thresholds and recommended indicators) (ii) policy guidance and planning (differences to traditional policy and management, changes in needs for dynamic drought management frameworks, integration into drought planning) (iii) sector-specific guidance for key affected sectors.
5. Formulate actionable recommendations for operational agencies (e.g. NMHS, Regional Climate Centers, WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction system (WIPPS) centers), policymakers and development and humanitarian partners.
6. Document case studies on flash drought monitoring, forecasting, early warning and response.

MAINS DELIVERABLES:

1. Prepare, in collaboration with the WMO focal points, the WMO Expert Team on Drought (ET-DRG) and the IDMP Technical Support Unit (TSU), a draft outline of the knowledge product and a tentative list of case studies.
2. Submit a first draft of the flash drought knowledge product for a review by the Expert Team on Drought (ET-DRG) and for public review through the IDMP partner network.
3. Submit a first draft of the case studies for a review by the Expert Team on Drought (ET-DRG) and for public review through the IDMP partner network
4. Submit a final version flash drought knowledge product with case studies, incorporating comments and feedback received

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Advanced degree (Masters or PhD) in Meteorology, Applied Meteorology, Climatology, Hydrology, Environmental Science, Agricultural Sciences, or a related field.

Experience: Minimum of 10 years of professional experience in drought management or related environmental fields, with proven knowledge and experience on flash droughts, rapid-onset extremes or climate extremes. Experience in drought monitoring, forecasting, and early warning systems. Proven track record in developing technical reports, guidance documents, or knowledge products for operational agencies, policymakers, or international organizations.

Other Requirements: Strong understanding of policy implications of drought management and adaptation strategies for dynamic frameworks. Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Languages: Excellent knowledge of English (both oral and written). Knowledge of other official languages of WMO would be an advantage.

(Note: The official languages of WMO are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.)

Salary and Allowances: Payband C

Duration 30 days over a period of 5 months

Focal point name and email for additional information: Robert Reinhardt : rreinhardt@wmo.int

Applications: Applications should be made online through the WMO e-recruitment system.

Do not send your application via multiple routes. WMO no longer accepts applications via post or email. Only applicants for whom WMO has a further interest will be contacted. Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit a written test and/or an interview.

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