About This Course
Disasters — whether natural, technological, or human-induced — continue to cause devastating losses to lives, livelihoods, and organisational continuity worldwide. Governments, corporations, humanitarian agencies, and public institutions increasingly recognise that reactive approaches are no longer sufficient; proactive resilience-building and systematic risk management are now core institutional competencies. Yet many organisations lack the structured frameworks, skilled personnel, and tested plans needed to anticipate, absorb, and recover from disruptive events.
TrainingComplex's Disaster Resilience and Risk Management Training is a rigorous, practice-oriented programme designed to close that gap. Drawing on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, ISO 31000 risk management principles, and globally recognised business continuity standards, the course translates theory into actionable strategies that participants can deploy from day one. Every module is grounded in case studies from Africa, the Middle East, and beyond, ensuring relevance to the operating environments delegates actually face.
Over five intensive days, participants move through the full disaster risk management cycle — from hazard identification and risk assessment through contingency planning, crisis communication, and post-disaster recovery. Interactive simulations, tabletop exercises, and collaborative planning workshops ensure that learning is retained and immediately transferable. By the end of the programme, delegates will possess the analytical capability to evaluate organisational vulnerabilities, the leadership confidence to coordinate multi-agency responses, and the planning expertise to design resilient systems that protect people, assets, and mission-critical operations.
Who Should Attend
- Disaster risk managers and emergency response coordinators
- Business continuity and organisational resilience officers
- Safety, health, and environment (SHE) professionals
- Humanitarian aid and development programme officers
- Government officials responsible for civil protection and emergency planning
- Project managers working in high-risk or complex operating environments
- Facility and infrastructure managers in critical sectors
- NGO and UN agency programme staff
- Corporate risk and compliance officers
Learning Objectives
- Understand the international frameworks governing disaster risk reduction, including the Sendai Framework and ISO 31000
- Conduct systematic hazard identification, vulnerability assessments, and risk profiling for diverse organisational contexts
- Design and operationalise contingency plans, business continuity plans, and emergency response protocols
- Apply risk treatment strategies including avoidance, mitigation, transfer, and acceptance to organisational risk registers
- Lead and coordinate multi-agency emergency response operations effectively under pressure
- Develop and test crisis communication strategies for internal and external stakeholders
- Integrate early warning systems and monitoring mechanisms into organisational risk management processes
- Apply post-disaster needs assessment methodologies and design evidence-based recovery and rehabilitation programmes
- Embed a culture of resilience across teams and institutions through training, drills, and continuous improvement
- Produce a tailored disaster resilience action plan aligned to the participant's own organisational context
Course Modules
Module 1: Foundations of Disaster Risk and Resilience
- Defining disasters, hazards, vulnerability, exposure, and resilience
- The global disaster risk landscape: trends, costs, and drivers
- The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030: priorities and targets
- Organisational resilience as a strategic imperative
- Distinguishing between risk, uncertainty, and crisis: conceptual boundaries and practical implications
- The role of systemic and cascading risks in amplifying disaster impacts across interconnected systems
Module 2: Risk Management Frameworks and Standards
- ISO 31000:2018 principles, framework, and process overview
- The relationship between enterprise risk management and disaster risk reduction
- National and regional disaster risk governance structures in Africa and the Middle East
- Integrating risk management into existing organisational systems and cultures
- Comparative overview of complementary frameworks: COSO ERM, NIST, and the HFA successor arrangements
- Roles and accountabilities in organisational risk governance: boards, risk owners, and oversight functions
Module 3: Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
- Typology of hazards: natural, technological, biological, and conflict-related
- Hazard and threat analysis techniques: HAZID, PESTLE, and scenario analysis
- Vulnerability and capacity assessment methodologies
- Building and maintaining an organisational risk register
- Quantitative versus qualitative risk assessment approaches: selecting the right method for context and data availability
- Incorporating climate projections and emerging threat intelligence into forward-looking risk assessments
Module 4: Risk Treatment and Mitigation Planning
- Risk treatment options: avoidance, reduction, transfer, and acceptance
- Designing and prioritising risk treatment action plans
- Structural and non-structural mitigation measures
- Cost-benefit analysis for risk reduction investments
- Assigning treatment ownership and integrating action tracking into organisational performance management
- Residual risk evaluation: determining acceptable risk thresholds and tolerance levels after treatment
Module 5: Business Continuity and Contingency Planning
- Business impact analysis: identifying critical functions and dependencies
- Developing business continuity plans (BCPs) aligned to ISO 22301
- Contingency planning for humanitarian and development operations
- Testing, exercising, and maintaining plans over time
- Establishing recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) for critical processes
- Managing third-party and supply chain continuity risks within organisational BCPs
Module 6: Early Warning Systems and Risk Monitoring
- Principles and components of effective early warning systems
- Regional and global early warning platforms relevant to African and Middle Eastern contexts
- Establishing organisational monitoring, trigger points, and escalation protocols
- Community-based early warning and last-mile communication approaches
- Integrating multi-hazard monitoring data into unified organisational dashboards and reporting cycles
- Evaluating early warning system effectiveness: false alarm rates, response lead times, and coverage gaps
Module 7: Emergency Response Operations and Coordination
- The Incident Command System (ICS) and unified command structures
- Multi-agency coordination: roles, responsibilities, and information sharing
- Resource mobilisation, logistics, and surge capacity management
- Health and safety of responders during emergency operations
- Situational awareness tools and common operating picture maintenance during active incidents
- Transitioning from emergency response to early recovery: handover triggers, documentation, and continuity of leadership
Module 8: Crisis Communication and Stakeholder Management
- Principles of effective crisis communication: speed, accuracy, and empathy
- Mapping and segmenting stakeholders for targeted messaging
- Media management, social media monitoring, and rumour control
- Internal communication protocols during incidents and activations
- Developing pre-approved message templates and communication decision trees for rapid deployment under pressure
- Managing communication across multilingual and low-literacy audiences in diverse operational contexts
Module 9: Post-Disaster Needs Assessment and Recovery Planning
- Introduction to Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) and Multi-Cluster/Sector Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA)
- Assessing damage, losses, and recovery needs across sectors
- Designing recovery and rehabilitation programmes: Build Back Better principles
- Monitoring and evaluating recovery progress
- Engaging affected communities and local authorities in participatory recovery planning processes
- Addressing cross-cutting issues in recovery: gender equality, disability inclusion, and environmental sustainability
Module 10: Building Organisational Resilience: Culture, Capacity, and Continuous Improvement
- Embedding risk awareness and a resilience culture across teams and leadership
- Designing organisational training programmes, drills, and simulation exercises
- Lessons learned processes and after-action reviews
- Capstone: presenting individual disaster resilience action plans and peer feedback
- Using organisational resilience benchmarking tools and maturity models to track progress over time
- Building internal networks of resilience champions to sustain momentum beyond formal training interventions
Requirements & Prerequisites
Participants should have at least two years of professional experience in a relevant field such as operations, project management, safety, public administration, or humanitarian response. A basic familiarity with organisational planning processes is helpful but no prior formal training in risk management is required. The course is designed to be accessible to motivated professionals from diverse sectoral backgrounds.
Training Methodology
- Tabletop simulation exercises replicating real disaster scenarios — including floods, industrial incidents, and public health emergencies — to test decision-making under pressure
- Risk assessment workshops where participants complete live hazard identification and vulnerability mapping exercises for their own organisations
- Case study analysis of disaster response successes and failures drawn from East Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East
- Contingency plan drafting sessions with structured peer review and facilitator feedback
- Crisis communication role plays requiring participants to brief media, leadership, and affected communities under simulated emergency conditions
- Group scenario planning using the disaster risk management cycle as a structuring framework
- Early warning system design exercises using publicly available data and monitoring tools
- Post-disaster needs assessment simulations using PDNA and MIRA methodologies
- Reflective practice journals maintained throughout the course to consolidate key insights
- Individual capstone exercise: each participant drafts a disaster resilience action plan for their organisation and presents it to the group on the final day
Organisational Benefits
- Strengthened organisational capacity to identify, assess, and treat risks before they escalate into crises
- Reduced financial, reputational, and operational losses resulting from unplanned disruptive events
- Compliance with national regulations and international standards on disaster risk management and business continuity
- Improved staff preparedness and confidence in executing emergency response procedures
- Enhanced donor and stakeholder confidence through demonstrable resilience planning capabilities
- Greater coordination effectiveness with government authorities, emergency services, and partner organisations
- Reduced recovery timelines and associated costs following incidents or disasters
- Culture of proactive risk awareness embedded at all levels of the organisation
Where Is Disaster Resilience, and Risk Management Training Offered?
This course runs in-person across: Johannesburg, Nairobi, Kigali, Kampala, Abuja, Nakuru, Lagos, Kisumu, Dubai, Pretoria, Naivasha, Arusha, Cape Town, Riyadh, Addis Ababa, Zanzibar, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Accra, plus Live Virtual (online) cohorts. Browse live dates for your city below.
Upcoming Schedules
| Location | Format | Dates | Price |
|---|
| Johannesburg, South Africa |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 9 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,500 |
| Nairobi, Kenya |
In-Person |
5 Oct 2026 – 9 Oct 2026 |
KES 105,000 |
| Kigali, Rwanda |
In-Person |
12 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
USD 1,900 |
| Kampala, Uganda |
In-Person |
12 Oct 2026 – 16 Oct 2026 |
USD 1,900 |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
17 Oct 2026 – 8 Nov 2026 |
KES 80,000 |
| Abuja, Nigeria |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,800 |
| Nakuru, Kenya |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
KES 120,000 |
| Lagos, Nigeria |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,500 |
| Kisumu, Kenya |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
KES 120,000 |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 4,100 |
| Pretoria, South Africa |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,300 |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
KES 80,000 |
| Naivasha, Kenya |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
KES 115,000 |
| Arusha, Tanzania |
In-Person |
19 Oct 2026 – 23 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,100 |
| Cape Town, South Africa |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,800 |
+235 more dates — view live schedule →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a formal background in emergency management to attend?
No formal background in emergency management is required. The course is designed for professionals from a wide range of sectors — including operations, project management, public administration, and humanitarian response — who have at least two years of relevant work experience.
Will I receive a certificate upon completion?
Yes. Participants who attend and complete all sessions will receive a TrainingComplex Certificate of Completion in Disaster Resilience and Risk Management, which can be used for professional development records and submitted to relevant professional bodies.
Is this course aligned to international standards?
Yes. The curriculum is explicitly aligned to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, ISO 31000 risk management principles, and ISO 22301 business continuity management, ensuring that learning is internationally recognised and directly applicable.
What should I bring or prepare before the course?
Participants are encouraged to bring a copy of their organisation's existing risk register, business continuity plan, or emergency response plan if one exists — this will be used during practical workshops. No advance reading is required, though a brief pre-course orientation note will be sent on registration.
Can this course be delivered in-house for our organisation?
Yes. TrainingComplex offers customised in-house delivery of this programme, tailored to your sector, geographic context, and organisational risk profile. Contact our client services team to discuss scheduling, group sizes, and bespoke content options.
