Senior Assessment Officer

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 REACH Assessment Officer to support our REACH Yemen team.

Department:                 REACH

Position:                        Senior Assessment Officer – Displacement and Durable Solutions

Contract duration:    12 months

Location:                      Amman, Jordan (with potential travel to Yemen)

Starting Date:             ASAP – preferably starting on the 1st of August 2024

Nine years since the escalation of the current conflict, high humanitarian needs are reported in Yemen with 18.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

Severe deterioration of economic conditions, extensive damaged civilian infrastructure and the collapse of basic services are key drivers of large-scale vulnerabilities and needs countrywide. Approximately 17.6 million people in Yemen are likely to be severely food insecure in 2024, not necessarily because food is unavailable, but because they cannot afford to purchase it. 15% of Yemen's population are displaced, most of whom have been displaced multiple times over a number of years, with about 1.5 Mil IDPs living across 2,400+ IDP sites.

Overall, 80% of the population live below the poverty line. 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.

REACH has supported the humanitarian response to the Yemen crisis since October 2016, working extensively with the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster, the Cash and Markets Working Group (CMWG), as well as the Information Management and Assessment and Working Group (IMAWG) and Shelter Cluster. The REACH team – based remotely in Amman – provides systemic assessment and IM support to the response through indicator review, tool design, coordination of national and localized 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.

REACH Yemen is seeking a Senior Assessment Officer (AO) to support our work focused on displacement and durable solutions in Yemen.

Under the supervision of the Research Manager, the SAO will support all research cycles related to displacement and durable solutions, including the research design, preparation, data collection, analysis, output drafting, dissemination, and evaluation stages. This support will be provided for several assessments and monitoring exercises, as determined through close collaboration with the CCCM Cluster and other relevant displacement  and durable solutions actors.

In addition, the SAO will support representing REACH Yemen with relevant external stakeholders, including among others the CCCM Cluster and Durable Solutions Working groups, participating in methodological and programmatic discussions, and collaborating with relevant partners in data collection.

Research Planning

The SAO will contribute to Research Planning by developing comprehensive research designs, including the design of research approaches and methodologies, ToRs and tools according to IMPACT’s requirements and principles as well as partners’ information needs. In addition, the SAO will

•        Ensure that all research cycles are planned in line with the country strategy, relevant research and project objectives and with IMPACT’s research cycle and other relevant guidelines

•        Compose and construct, in close coordination with GIS and data teams, qualitative and quantitative data collection tools and anlaysis

•        Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in research design and planning

Research Implementation

The SAO will be responsible for supporting the implementation of all operational stages of relevant data collection exercise(s), including tool and methodology design, coordination of data collection, data cleaning, and data analysis.

•        In close liaison with partner, identifying assessment areas, train enumerators, monitor assessments and data collection, manage assessment logistics, facilitate design workshops and joint analysis workshops

•        In close liaison with partners, ensure that data is revised, cleaned, analysed and stored according to IMPACT’s Data Management Guidelines

•        Generate and document robust lessons learned and ensure knowledge and learning processes are shared with other REACH and IMPACT teams as well as external partners

Drafting of Research Products

The SAO will be responsible for producing and/or overseeing the production of all relevant outputs related to the Displacement and Durable Solutions portfolio.

•        Ensure the drafting of timely, accurate and impactful outputs that consolidate the analyses from each research cycle into relevant products such as factsheets, reports, briefs, presentations, and online dashboards which comply with IMPACT’s guidelines and quality standards.

•        Liaise with relevant GIS colleagues to ensure effective spatial representation of research findings in maps or interactive web-portals, as relevant.

External engagement

The SAO will support communication and coordination with external partners throughout all stages of the Research Cycle.

•        Ensure that relevant partners are consulted and involved at all stages of research cycle

•        Represent REACH in relevant meetings/working groups and present research findings to relevant third parties in order to enhance their use and impact

•        Promote an active use of datasets and research findings by partners and the broader humanitarian community for their decision making

•        More generally, contribute to the creation of a positive image and overall credibility of the organization, notably through the application of IMPACT’s mandate, ethics, values and stand-point with regard to other actors.

Team Management & Capacity Building

The SAO will be responsible to line manage three national staff (Assessment Officer/Assistant) being part of the Displacement and Durable solutions team, as well as ensure that all GIS and data teams are briefed about the assessments.

•        Ensure that project staff are given required induction and training and resources to achieve their tasks in line with IMPACT and project requirements

•        For all activities, ensure that all GIS and data teams are comprehensively briefed on objectives, expected outputs and that the overall implementation strategy is clearly understood

•        In close consultation with line manager, conduct of appraisals, provision of regular feedback, and participation in career management of the AO/AA

•        Be available to provide regular support and technical backstopping; regularly debrief team members to receive feedback on the progress of an activity

Internal Coordination

The SAO will be responsible to enable effective internal coordination within the REACH Yemen team, including:

•        Actively participate in regular team meetings

•        Ensure regular coordination and exchange with relevant colleagues

•         Engage in the development and implementation of IMPACT’s strategy

•        Provide inputs to proposal development and reporting where relevant

REQUIREMENTS

Essential

• Academic experience: Excellent academic qualifications, including a degree in relevant discipline (international studies, development, humanitarian response, monitoring and evaluation, etc.)

• Research & analytical skills: Proficiency and proven experience with research methods, including in research and tool design and implementation of data collection. Excellent analytical skills and ability to situate findings within a wider context.

• Years of work experience: At least 2-3 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian and/or research settings..

• Software skills: Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Strong knowledge of Excel functionality in relation to conducting data analysis.

• Language skills: Written and spoken fluency in English required.

• v Communication/reporting skills: Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting and coordination.

• v Cross-cultural work environment: Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility.

• Multi-tasking & organisational skills: Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles. Excellent organisational skills and ability to prioritize.

• Level of independence: Proven ability to work independently.

Desired

• Familiarity with aid system: Knowledge of the humanitarian program cycle (HPC) and the humanitarian coordination structure.

• Thematic expertise: Expertise and knowledge on CCCM / Displacement / Refugee & Migrant programs and/or research is highly desirable and an advantage

• Management skills: Team management experience and skills is highly desirable.

• Software skills: Knowledge of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite (i.e., InDesign) is an advantage. Knowledge and experience in R or other statistical analysis software, and GIS software is an asset.

• Language skills: Written and spoken fluency in Arabic is an advantage.

• Experience in geographical region: Past work experience in Yemen or Middle East is desired.

·       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.