IMPACT AND REACH
REACH was born in 2010 as a joint initiative of two international NGOs (IMPACT Initiatives and ACTED) and the United Nations Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT). The objective of REACH is to promote and facilitate the development of information products that improve the decision-making and planning capacity of the humanitarian community in emergency, reconstruction and development contexts. REACH facilitates information management for aid actors through three complementary services: (a) needs and situation assessments facilitated by REACH teams; (b) situation analysis using satellite imagery; and (c) provision of databases and (web) mapping facilities and related expertise.
IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organization manages several initiatives, including the REACH initiative. The IMPACT team is composed of specialists in data collection, management and analysis and GIS. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO headquartered in Paris and present in around thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, allowing IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support in its areas of intervention.
COUNTRY PROFILE
The Central African Republic has been in the grip of a protracted and complex conflict that has lasted uninterrupted for over a decade, despite the political landmark of the Khartoum Agreement of April 2019, which was intended to resolve the open conflict between the government and the various armed groups and re-include them in the political process. Since the beginning of 2020, this political and security environment has darkened with renewed conflict in several countries of the territory, perpetuating a catastrophic humanitarian situation for ever-increasing affected populations. Numerous environmental disasters such as cyclical floods, and the COVID-19 pandemic since March/April 2020 have done nothing to improve this picture of acute humanitarian needs.
Since 2015, REACH has supported the Rapid Response Mechanism in CAR, and since 2019, REACH’s activities have grown drastically, with the implementation of multi-sectoral needs assessments throughout the territory, activities in hard-to-reach areas, activities in support of the Cash Working Group, ad-hoc assessments to support specific clusters (WASH, Education), and infrastructure mapping and emergency mapping activities in sharp development. To support this significant increase in REACH activities (in addition to other activities), it was decided to create a multi-sectoral unit to bring together under common management all multi-sectoral activities and assessments, and thus ensure the relevance and strategic impact of these activities on humanitarian actors and the response in CAR in general.
FUNCTIONS
Under the direction of the Research Manager, the Senior Evaluation Officer is responsible for the implementation of IMPACT research cycles in the Central African Republic, including the stages of preparation, data collection, analysis, writing, dissemination and evaluation. Throughout the research cycles, the Senior Evaluation Officer engages with partners to promote their participation and maximize their impact. He/she also ensures efficient and transparent use of resources required for project implementation. This may include direct supervision of evaluation teams.
The Senior Assessment Officer will be responsible in particular for:
· The establishment of the MSNA research cycle, in particular:
· preparation of research design, sampling, terms of reference, with humanitarian coordination (information manager and sector leads, and Inter-Sector Coordination Group)
· preparation of data collection tools and field tests in coordination with the Field Manager
· the development of training materials
· where applicable, management of coordination with collection partners and monitoring of data collection and its quality in coordination with the Field Manager
· the development of the data analysis plan and the entire analysis process
· the production of internal and external presentations and the preparation of REACH’s contribution to the Joint Analysis Workshop (AWG)
· production of reports, information sheets, dashboards, etc.
· supervision of one or more AO/JAO present on the project
· Monitoring of AGORA projects
As part of his/her mission, the Senior Evaluation Officer will be hosted by ACTED, IMPACT’s global partner, and will be under the direct responsibility and management of the ACTED Country Director and his/her delegates for all administrative, security, logistics and financial matters. He/she will therefore fully comply with ACTED’s rules and regulations on security, administration and human resources, logistics and finance.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Senior Evaluation Officer is responsible for overseeing the planning, implementation and monitoring of the research cycles to which he/she is assigned, in close coordination with other team members and with relevant external partners. In doing so, the Senior Evaluation Officer will ensure effective management of projects and related resources, including (where applicable) national and international evaluation staff responsible for line management.
More specifically, the Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for the following tasks:
1) Research planning and implementation : Ensure the quality and smooth running of the entire MSNA research cycle and support links with other existing projects (HSM)
a. Analysis of the context and identification of existing information gaps;
b. Ensure that the research cycle is implemented according to REACH standards;
c. Technical proposals on the choices and practices of research methodologies and their implementation (creation of questionnaires, participation in the creation of collection monitoring tools, etc.);
d. Production of MSNA products (Terms of Reference, final products).
e. Ensure coordination of the MSNA project, with all the Data, GIS, Operations, Security teams as well as the Country Coordinator.
f. Monitor all data collection, including supporting the data team in cleaning certain data.
g. Ensure the participation of external partners in research planning ¨
h. Monitoring of Agora projects
2) Participate in the identification of logistical, HR and financial needs
a. Frequent participation in IMPACT internal meetings;
b. Identification of HR, logistical and financial needs for the MSNA;
c. Monitoring of deliverables and the schedule of colleagues under his responsibility.
3) External engagement and capacity building: Ensure regular engagement with humanitarian coordination structures as well as capacity building
a. Provide training to external partners (technicians, government, NGOs, etc.) when necessary (e.g. on MSNA data);
b. Participation and organization of IMAWG meetings when relevant, as co-lead;
c. Participation in meetings of the different clusters and identification of potential cluster needs, as well as project opportunities;
d. Representation of REACH with external partners: local and international NGOs, government actors;
e. Presentations of IMPACT project results at relevant workshops.
4) Team management, capacity building and country strategy: Ensure the research strategy of IMPACT projects and the hierarchical management of two Senior Evaluation Officers
a. Ensure the distribution of tasks within the team of evaluation managers (2 Seniors, 3 managers);
b. Develop skills, implement capacity building methods for all evaluation, GIS and data officers in research;
c. Preparation of training materials;
d. Identification of internal and external training potential for the team;
e. Ensure the development and monitoring of the country strategy for the research team.
REQUIRED CONDITIONS
- Academic background: Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (international relations, political science, social research, sociology, economics, development studies, or similar).
- Management experience: Previous experience in a management role in an INGO in the field. Proven experience in managing international and national teams in humanitarian contexts.
- Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment or previous experience in high security challenge contexts an asset;
- Familiarity with the help system Familiarity with the help system and with search methods;
- Communication and Report Writing Skills Excellent communication and effective report writing skills, including proven experience in contributing to high-level presentations/briefings.
- Years of professional experience At least 3 years of relevant professional experience or proven progression within IMPACT.
- Research skills : Excellent research and analytical skills are an asset. Experience in evaluations. Monitoring and evaluation, field research and assessments are an asset.
- Software skills Proven knowledge of Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Advanced skills in R, or other statistical analysis software are an advantage. Experience with InDesign, Tableau or Power Bi is a strong asset;
- Diverse task management skills Ability to multi-task under tight deadlines, across multiple research cycles in a complex environment;
- Level of Independence A self-reliant individual with a proven ability to work independently;
- Intercultural work environment Ability to function in an intercultural environment requiring flexibility;
- Language skills Fluency in French and English required;
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
- For this position, the salary is between CHF 2,600 and CHF 2,880 per month (before income tax), etc. plus a monthly living allowance of USD 300.
o NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary scale based on the grade of the position and the education level of the staff. A location-dependent security and/or isolation adjustment is then applied to account for the fact that some staff members must work in difficult locations where living and working conditions are much more difficult than elsewhere.
- Accommodation and food in a guesthouse. NB – IMPACT is hosted by ACTED in this country.
- Membership in a Swiss private pension fund (Swisslife – approximately 9.975% of staff gross salary), health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance
- This base is not a family duty station
- Airfare every 6 months and visa fees covered (in-country travel and business expenses are fully covered)
- R&R after 2-3 months (airfare up to $500 + $200 living allowance) if duty station allows
- Contribution to baggage transport: between 20 and 100 kg, depending on the duration of the contract (+ baggage and personal property insurance)
- Annual leave of 36 days per year. Public holidays of the country of assignment. Leave for family or compassionate reasons, if applicable.
- Pre-departure initiation – 3 days at IMPACT Initiatives headquarters in Geneva + one week of pre-departure training at ACTED headquarters in Paris, including a 4-day on-site security training;
- Enrollment in the IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months of contract start.
- IMPACT prioritizes the psychological safety of its staff and the health insurance provided covers, among other things, up to €1,000 per year in psychosocial counseling costs.
