BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH
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, GIS and remote sensing. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO with headquarters based in Paris and presence in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, which allows IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support in its fields of intervention.
We are currently looking for a Senior Assessment Officer to support our REACH Yemen team. Position: Senior Assessment Officer
Contract duration: 12 months (renewable)
Starting Date: 1 April 2024
Location: Amman, Jordan (with potential travel to Yemen)
COUNTRY PROFILE
After more than eight years of conflict, millions of people in Yemen are experiencing the compounded effects of armed violence, ongoing economic crisis and disrupted public services. In 2023, an estimated 21.6 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection services. The direct effects of the conflict – from airstrikes, to sieges of population centers and blockages – continue to have severe effects on the population. Other aspects, such as deterioration of basic service infrastructure and a fuel crisis also have enormous impact on Yemenis. Food insecurity is a the main driver behind the number of people in need with approximately 17.3 million people in need of food and agriculture assistance. In addition, natural hazards, such as heavy rains and flooding cause deaths and injuries, destroy infrastructure and livelihoods, and increase the spread of diseases. The loss of livelihoods, when combined with the depreciation and general volatility of the Yemeni currency, has made the purchase of basic everyday necessities difficult for most Yemenis. Overall, 1.6 out of 4.5 million (36%) Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) live in more than 2,400 substandard IDP Hosting Sites with inadequate or without access to predictable assistance and services.
REACH has supported the humanitarian response to the Yemen crisis since late 2016, working extensively with the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster, the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster, the Cash and Markets Working Group (CMWG) and the Shelter Cluster. The REACH team, based remotely in Amman, provides systemic assessment and Information Management (IM) support to the response through indicator review, tool design, coordination of data collection exercises, data analysis, output production, and IM platform design. Given the challenging context in Yemen, REACH is constantly working to find new and innovative ways to effectively inform the humanitarian response.
POSITION PROFILE
Under the line management of the Research Manager in Amman, Jordan, the Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for the implementation of all research cycles related to the Intersectoral portfolio, with the primary responsibility for representing REACH on the Technical Working Group (TWG) for the Multi-Cluster Location Assessment (MCLA). This includes strategy review, indicator review, sampling, data collection tool, analysis, drafting, coordination of technical support during the implementation of data collection, output production and presentation of results, and supporting the incorporation of MCLA findings into strategic planning documents. In addition, the SAO will serve as the primary liaison for REACH Yemen with the Information Management and Assessment Working Group (IMAWG), which serves as a forum for the sharing of best practices, lessons learned, and relevant sectoral and intersectoral assessment and monitoring outputs. In collaboration with the REACH Yemen Research Manager, relevant partners, and with IMAWG coordination, the SAO will ensure that REACH-supported data and analysis is shared with and utilized by the broader humanitarian community and will help the IMAWG in mapping existing assessments and building an Assessment Register. In addition, the SAO will be responsible for leading the Accountability to Affected Population (AAP), Gender and Inclusion mainstreaming across all units, teams and research cycles.
This position requires strong research skills, prior experience in hardship location, an analytical mind, creativity, independence, and an interest in the regional context. Candidates should have strong writing and presentation skills and be able to clearly think through and articulate implications of research findings. The position will regularly require looking at data, pulling out relevant findings, writing engaging briefs and factsheets, presenting findings to external audiences with varying amounts of data literacy, and guiding colleagues in how to think more analytically about their own research.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for overseeing the planning, implementation and follow-up of research cycles to which s/he is assigned, in close coordination with other team members and with relevant external partners. In doing so, the Senior Assessment Officer will ensure an effective management of related projects and resources, including (when relevant) line-management national and international assessment staff.
More specifically the Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for the following: RESEARCH CYCLE MANAGEMENT
- Ensure that the assessments are planned in line with the country strategy, relevant research, and
project objectives and with IMPACT’s research cycle and other relevant guidelines.
- Managing relevant research cycle, including oversight of research design, data collection, or analysis.
- Keeping up to date with the shifting Yemeni context and humanitarian partners to ensure that
IMPACT’s activities are relevant and pertinent to the situation.
RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL SKILLS
- Leading the research cycle including research design, tool development, and data collection.
- Ensuring development and implementation of analytical workstreams, including use of existing REACH data in thematic briefs, reports, presentations, etc.
- Liaise with external partners to provide technical guidance and to identify potential for findings to be integrated into existing data sources used by the humanitarian community.
STAFF MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING
- Promoting capacity building across the IMPACT Yemen mission related to deepening analytical capacities using existing research.
- Communicating and working with the different units/workstreams.
- The Senior Assessment Officer will ensure that the IMPACT Yemen team is comprehensively briefed on the objective, expected outputs and that the overall implementation strategy of any given activity is clearly understood.
COORDINATION
- Internal Coordination
- Interacting autonomously with HQ departments and may serve as mission focal point for particular themes or technical areas.
- Coordinating with research units and teams to move forward or improve aspects of the research cycle.
- Supporting senior management with designing, planning, and implementing strategies, and objectives.
- External Coordination
- Leading on external engagement related to analytical research findings as necessary.
The Senior Assessment Officer will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes. They will actively take measures to prevent the unauthorized sharing of any information and data belonging to IMPACT and its partners collected during his/her assignment with IMPACT.
REQUIREMENTS
- Years of work experience 3 years of relevant working experience in a humanitarian setting, such as assessments, monitoring and evaluation, research design and analysis, etc.
- Research skills Excellent quantitative and qualitative research data analysis experience required.
- Familiarity with aid system Good understanding of the aid system and the research community. Prior experience with humanitarian coordination forums preferred.
- Communication/reporting skills Excellent verbal and written communication and drafting skills for effective reporting required.
- Academic qualifications Excellent academic qualifications, including a master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline (e.g. international studies, development, humanitarian response, data science, political science, etc.);
- Software skills Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Familiarity with R, SPSS and/or STATA or other statistical analysis software an asset. Experience with InDesign an advantage.
- Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.
- Experience in geographical region Past experience in the region is desirable.
- Language skills Fluency in English. Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
- For this position, salary between 2’500 CHF and 2’640 CHF monthly (before income tax), etc as well as a monthly living allowance of 300 USD
NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education of staff. A location-dependent security and/or isolation adjustment is then applied as a recognition that some staff are required to work in difficult places where living and working conditions are much more difficult than elsewhere.
- Accommodation and food provided in a guesthouse. Depending on the country situation, a contribution to a housing allowance of up to 75% of country-specific benchmark can be considered instead. NB – IMPACT is hosted by ACTED in this country.
- Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swisslife – approx. 9.975% of staff gross salary), health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance
- Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered (in-country travel costs and professional expenses are fully covered).
- Contribution to the luggage transportation: between 20 and 100 kgs, depending on the length of the contract (+ luggage and personal property insurance)
- Annual leave of 36 days per year. Public holidays of the country of assignment. Family/compassionate leave when applicable.
- Predeparture induction – 3 days at IMPACT Initiatives’s HQ in Geneva + one week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ in Paris, including a 4-days in situ security training;
- Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.
- IMPACT prioritizes the psychological safety of its staff and the health insurance provided covers, among others, up to 1000 € per year of psychosocial counselling fees.