Senior Assessment Officer

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 Humanitarian Planning & Prioritization Unit (HPPU) for the Sudan mission

Position:  Senior Assessment Officer

Contract duration: 12 months

Location: Kampala, Uganda

Starting Date: 1 January 2025

Deadline to apply: 19 December 2024

COUNTRY PROFILE

Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in Khartoum on 15 April 2023 and spread quickly across the country. Civilians have fled areas affected by fighting in large numbers, including to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. Prices of food, fuel and other basic goods have skyrocketed skyrocketing, making critical goods unaffordable for many people. Half of Sudan’s population are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the country is on the verge of a catastrophic hunger crisis. Humanitarian organizations are racing to respond to the most pressing needs wherever and whenever feasible, with access issues complicating the ability of actors to respond. In this fast-evolving context, IMPACT Initiatives is working to inform the emergency response to enable effective prioritization with scarce resources.

POSITION PROFILE

The Senior Assessment Officer (SAO) will be responsible for leading a research team, within the HPPU. Under the supervision of the Research Manager, the SAO will lead the development and timely implementation of the team’s research cycle (RC):

1.         Emergency Monitoring System (EMS) – led by OCHA (Assessment & Analysis Working Group) with technical support from Impact (ToR, analysis methodology, data collection supervision, data cleaning and analysis, output drafting and dissemination).

This position requires a profile that can be both analytical and managerial. Candidates should have strong research, analytical, writing and presentation skills and be able to clearly think through and articulate implications of research findings. The position will require the management of the research cycle, 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’s responsibilities include:

RESEARCH CYCLE MANAGEMENT

• Understanding the research cycle and how this research contributes to strategic response objectives.

• Managing the 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., as well as relevant secondary data.

• 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. The team currently consists of one (1) contracted staff.

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 external engagement within the Assessment & Analysis Working Group (AAWG) and the Monitoring Task Force related to development and implementation of the research cycle and analytical research findings.

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.

• 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. Knowledge of the humanitarian program cycle (HPC) and the humanitarian coordination structure is an asset.

• Thematic experience: Prior experience coordinating interagency assessments or monitoring activities 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 Microsoft Office Suite, including 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/supporting is desirable

• Language skills: Fluency in English required, competency in Arabic is an asset.

• For this position, salary between 2’440 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.