Senior Assessment Officer for Sudan, based in Kampala, Uganda

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 team in Kampala, Uganda, with potential travel to Sudan

Position: Senior Assessment Officer

Contract duration: 12 months

Starting Date: August 2024

Location: Kampala, Uganda, with potential travel to Sudan

COUNTRY PROFILE

Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on 15 April 2023. Fighting has been concentrated in densely populated urban centres, starting in Khartoum but quickly spreading across the country. These clashes have triggered waves of forced displacement, both internally as well as to neighboring countries, including Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Sudan. The operating environment for humanitarian actors has also been constrained due to insecurity. This latest crisis comes amidst a complex and protracted humanitarian context in Sudan, with 15.8 million people estimated to be in need – the highest in a decade – prior to these events. The country faces persistent environmental risks, including recurrent flooding events, droughts, and locust invasions, in addition to widespread food insecurity and economic challenges. Prolonged internal displacement, high refugee caseloads, and continual pockets of inter-communal conflict further exacerbate needs and vulnerabilities. Through its REACH initiative, IMPACT has been present in Sudan since 2020, providing humanitarian actors with up-to-date data and analysis on existing needs through a first country-wide Multi-sectoral Needs Assessment. Following the recent outbreak in violence between the SAF and RSF, IMPACT is mobilising an emergency response in Sudan and neighbouring countries, to provide decision makers with rapid analysis of conditions on the ground.

POSITION PROFILE

Under the line management of the IMPACT Humanitarian Prioritization and Planification Unit Research Manager in Sudan, the hard-to-reach (H2R) Senior Assessment Officer be responsible for the implementation of IMPACT's needs assessment in hard-to-reach areas of Sudan research cycle in Sudan, including the preparation, data collection, analysis, drafting, dissemination, and evaluation stages. Throughout each assessment, the H2R Senior Assessment Officer engages with partners to promote their participation and maximize the impact of the assessments conducted. They also ensure an efficient and transparent use of resources required for project implementation.

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.

BACKGROUND ON NEEDS ASSESSMENTS IN HARD-TO-REACH AREAS OF SUDAN

Given the access constraints for humanitarian actors, significant information gaps persist regarding the humanitarian situation in the country, particularly in areas affected by active conflict. Information on the humanitarian situation in hard-to-reach areas is not only useful to understanding the needs faced by populations in Sudan but is also expected to help actors responding in neighbouring countries better anticipate the flow of and needs faced by future arrivals. For this reason, IMPACT has been implementing needs assessments in hard-to-reach areas of Sudan since June 2023, with the aim of improving the relevance of humanitarian assistance to the greatest needs of populations affected by the crisis in Sudan.

The needs assessments in hard-to-reach areas of Sudan are conducted using IMPACT's Area of Knowledge (AoK) approach. Based on this approach, Key informants (KIs), who have recent knowledge of conflict-affected and hard-to-reach areas of interest, are interviewed about the situation in their area of knowledge. Data is typically collected in accessible locations which are expected to receive large numbers of people travelling from areas of interest, through humanitarian partners having operational presence in the area.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Assessment Officer's responsibilities include:

RESEARCH CYCLE MANAGEMENT

• Understanding key research cycles and how this research contributes to strategic response objectives.
• Managing relevant research cycle, including oversight of research design, data collection, or analysis.

CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

• Keeping up to date with the shifting Sudanese context.

RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Overseeing development and implementation of analytical workstreams, including use of existing REACH data in thematic briefs, reports, presentations, etc.
• Leading the research cycle including research design, tool development, and data collection.

STAFF MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING

• Promoting capacity building across the IMPACT Sudan mission related to deepening analytical capacities using existing research (capacity building portfolio will depend on level of experience).
• Providing day-to-day direct and indirect management of the research team within their unit/workstream.

COORDINATION

1. 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.

2. External Coordination

• Leading on coordination with organizations supporting data collection for the needs assessments in hard-to-reach areas.
• 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 or 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;
• Thematic experience Prior experience with evaluation or programming activities in conflict-affected or hard-to-reach areas is an asset; Prior experience in sectors related to public health (food security and livelihoods, nutrition, WASH and/or health) is an asset. Knowledge of good practices related to conflict-sensitivity is an asset.
• 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
• 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 required, competency in Arabic is an asset.

CONDITIONS

• For this position, salary between 2'400 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 the guesthouse.
• 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.

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