BACKGROUND ON 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). REACH’s purpose is to promote and facilitate the development of information products that enhance the humanitarian community’s decision making and planning capacity for emergency, reconstruction and development contexts. REACH facilitates information management for aid actors through three complementary services: (a) need and situation assessments facilitated by REACH teams; (b) situation analysis using satellite imagery; (c) provision of related database and (web)-mapping facilities and expertise.
IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis and GIS. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO whose headquarter is based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, enabling IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support on its fields of intervention.
We are currently looking for a Research Manager to join the Global Humanitarian Planning and Prioritization Unit in HQ.
Title: Research Manager (RM)
Location: Geneva with potential for travel (up to 20% field deployment)
Contract duration: Open-ended
Start date: December 2024
POSITION PROFILE
Under the supervision of the Global Humanitarian Planning and Prioritization Unit (HPPU) manager, the RM will be responsible for development, strategy and delivery for the Research and Development (R&D) team. The candidate should be comfortable representing IMPACT with donors and be able to coordinate and liaise with a range of senior external partners. This position requires a profile that can be both analytical and managerial, as the Research Manager’s job can range from coordinating with external partners (whether data actor, humanitarian cluster, or donor) to analytical oversight of research products to logistics.
Functions and responsibilities
STAFF MANAGEMENT
· Direct management of R&D team members, including recruitment and staff career management. The team currently consists of up to 3 contracted staff in addition to the RM;
· Development and implementation of capacity training plans for team members;
· Day-to-day management of team members, including the development of work plans and performance indicators.
PROJECT/RESEARCH CYCLE MANAGEMENT
· Ensure R&D workstreams, such as preparing all needed guidance and tools (indicator bank, MSNA guidance, etc.) and yearly cross-crisis analyses, are planned and implemented in a structured and coherent manner, in line with relevant project and strategic objectives, and with global REACH guidelines;
· Oversee the research cycles, including reviewing ToRs, methodology notes, tools, products and dissemination strategies.
· Ensure the writing and production of timely, accurate and analytically rigorous reports, presentations, guidelines, and factsheets, in particular for cross-crisis analysis;
· Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in assessment design and planning, including country teams and relevant HQ departments
· Monitor output achievement, project expenditure and ensure timely completion of the project.
· Actively advocate for the improving of analysis within REACH products, and using common methodologies, tools and analysis frameworks across units where relevant.
· Manage both research projects such as literature reviews, pilots, exploratory analyses, and product projects such as producing guidelines, data visualisation packages
GRANTS MANAGEMENT
· Under the guidance of the HPPU unit manager, support with fundraising and grants management for the unit, including initial discussions with donors, conceptualisation of new projects, drafting proposals, regular reporting, and M&E;
· Support the HPPU unit manager in tracking and planning spending relevant to the R&D team
· Ensure that contractual obligations are met in terms of programs deliverables.
EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT
· In coordination with the HPPU unit manager, represent IMPACT with donors, partners, and the wider humanitarian community relating to global humanitarian prioritisation and planning.
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
· Coordinating with other members of the HPPU, develop the R&D team strategy, engagement and involvement with various technical and coordination forums;
· Work with country teams and HQ departments to improve and seek feedback on MNSA design & analysis
· Contribute to the development and implementation of the HPPU strategy;
· Develop and implement dissemination strategies to strengthen the impact of the [unit] programmes;
The HPPU R&D RM will support the below core areas of work:
This position will lead a dynamic workstream working with outputs that are often under development, meaning that the specific workstreams will likely evolve. The RM playing an active role in deciding the future direction of the work.
Supporting the delivery of high-quality MSNAs
· Develop research standards, indicators and guidance for country teams implementing MSNAs, in collaboration with TLC
Leading global Research & Development on MSNA analysis
· Leading on the development and roll out of country-level multisectoral analysis, including frameworks for composite analysis, in coordination with IMPACT global sectoral experts
· Leading the development MSNA cross-crisis analysis (piloting methods to produce comparative analysis of needs between humanitarian crises, using core indicators collected across 2024 country MSNAs):
Informing global decision makers
· Produce global MSNA analysis products – consolidating country datasets, performing quantitative analysis to identify key global trends and findings from the data, and producing short briefs, dashboards, or other similar products for global audiences;
· Support communications and dissemination activities at global level – including website articles, social media, webinars, and other similar activities;
Requirements
- Excellent academic qualifications, including Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. development, humanitarian studies, international relations, research methods, social sciences)
- At least 4 years of experience in the humanitarian sector and/or social sciences, including at least one year in field-based roles in fragile or development contexts
- Experience with designing and implementing primary research, in particular large-scale quantitative surveys and/or humanitarian needs assessments
- Experience managing data specialists and overseeing projects with a large programming component
- Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting
- Strong interpersonal skills, including good external engagement and coordination skills
- Familiarity with the humanitarian system and global humanitarian policy frameworks, in particular the Grand Bargain and the JIAF
- Willingness to engage in short term field deployments, including to complex and challenging security environments
- Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility
- A self-starter with proven ability to work independently
- Fluency in English required; proficiency in French or a second relevant language an asset
- Prior experience leading the design or implementation of MSNAs an asset
- Ability to operate R, or a related statistical programming a strong asset
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
- For this position, gross salary between 6’000 CHF and 6’330 CHF monthly (before income tax). NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education and experience of staff. A contribution to medical insurance of 450 CHF per month is already included in the salary figure.
- Insurance covering professional and non-professional accidents throughout the period of employment with IMPACT
- Health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance in case of field visits/temporary deployments
- Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.
- Up to 40% of remote work on a weekly basis
