REACH Assessment Officer –Needs Analysis Working Group for South Sudan, based in Juba

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 seeking an Assessment Officer to provide information management support to the NGO forum and contribute to REACH’s work with the Needs Analysis Working Group (NAWG) in South Sudan.

Department:                 REACH

Contract duration:        Six months

Location:                     Juba, South Sudan

Starting Date:               December 2024

 

 

Country profile

IMPACT, through REACH, has been implementing programming in South Sudan since 2012 supporting humanitarian decision-making with assessments and information management activities focusing on the needs of displaced, returnees, and conflict-affected populations. Today, data collected and disseminated by REACH aims to provide a baseline for ongoing response planning efforts across South Sudan as well as highlight areas of highest need and concern as crises emerge. Broadly, REACH South Sudan implements assessments across three core pillars:

 

·        Providing data to prioritise emergency assistance to areas at risk of excess mortality through quarterly assessments covering over 2,000 settlements in South Sudan; the development of a robust real-time monitoring of needs severity across the country as well as the mobilisation of REACH rapid need assessment team to quickly assess needs after specific shocks.

·        Contributing to a detailed understanding of public health challenges to support key actors in responding to emergency situations and structural problems through rapid PH assessments, nutrition surveys, in-depth food security analysis, and active joint analysis such as the IPC.

·        Mainstreaming Accountability to Affected Populations, Resilience, and Climate Change dynamics, including through standalone assessments on community priorities relating to humanitarian needs and perceptions of assistance, contextual analysis of the impact of climate change on community needs, and leading in-depth assessments on cross-cutting topics such as local governance or protection.

 

Position profile

Technical lead on the Needs Analysis Working Group

IMPACT has co-chaired the Needs Analysis Working Group (NAWG) alongside OCHA since its inception in 2018. It is the key coordination body for analysing current and upcoming needs, undertaking country-level needs analysis to flag locations experiencing or at risk of extreme needs to the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) and other stakeholders to inform decision-making around emergency prioritisation.

Through the technical support of an Assessment Officer, REACH ensures rigorous contextualised analysis, mainly by conducting monthly updates of the NAWG analysis, which consolidates standardised and reliable data sources on vulnerabilities, shocks and outcomes throughout the country. Based on this framework, the NAWG produces monthly classifications of counties based on the severity of needs, enabling comparative analysis between counties and across time. Findings are available through datasets and maps displaying the severity of needs across the country. NAWG findings are disseminated with key decision-making bodies, including the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group and Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), to inform prioritisation nationwide. As implemented in 2023, IMPACT is also planning to publish an annual trend analysis based on the NAWG monthly severity scores to provide humanitarian stakeholders with a longer-term analysis of evolving needs.

Technical support to the NGO forum

The NGO Forum of South Sudan is a key coordination body for the 114 INGOs and 247 NNGOs registered, acting on behalf of all NGOs to support the delivery of aid assistance. It provides a platform through which NGOs, the Government of South Sudan, the UN, donors, and other external stakeholders can exchange information, share expertise, and establish guidelines for a more networked, efficient and effective use of aid resources. In line with its mission, the NGO Forum aims to facilitate information sharing as it receives extensive data from all its members.

The Information Management (IM) function is crucial for ensuring that the NGO Forum effectively fulfils its mandate of sharing information with its members and other stakeholders. This involves implementing systems, tools, and processes to manage data and facilitate efficient information flow within the organization's membership and external stakeholders, such as donors, government, the UN, and media. This function involves managing data, including processing, analysis, and visualization.

To ensure IMPACT’s and its partner data are being effectively used, IMPACT is looking for an Assessment Officer whose work will be split between support to the NGO Forum and to REACH. Support to the NGO Forum aims to enhance the existing information management capacity of the structure through a wide range of tasks that may encompass analysis of existing datasets to generate a common understanding of the NGO forum needs through the production of presence/response maps, response analysis documents, such as trend analysis; dissemination of information to humanitarian actors, the government and the public; improvements to information flows between Juba and the field within the NGO Forum, in connection with the States Coordinators; and supporting advocacy efforts together with the NGO Forum Communications and Advocacy Manager.

Functions

Under the line management of the Deputy Country Coordinator and the technical management of the Humanitarian Advisor of the NGO forum, the Assessment Officer is responsible for managing all REACH research cycles relating to his/her portfolio. He/she works closely with Assessment Officers, GIS/Data Officers, and Field Officers on the content of analysis / information products, ensuring high quality analysis, as well as with the NGO forum. In addition, the AO will technically lead the monthly analysis required for the Needs Analysis Working Group in coordination with OCHA, Data Officers and the DCC.

Summary

In close coordination with the REACH South Sudan team and the NGO forum, the Assessment Officer is responsible for:

·        Compiling and analysing available data related to the project and producing secondary data reviews, assessment reports, situation overviews, and factsheets, on a timely basis and of quality. 

·        Working in close collaboration with project partners in the design, implementation, data cleaning and analysis survey.

• Communicating with members and other stakeholders to gather data (assessments, reporting, etc.) and complete products that outline coverage and gaps.

• Introducing or overseeing the design and development or improvement of data collection tools, databases, and systems required for data management and information dissemination.

• Coordinating timely data collection from NGO forum members, and other sources, when needed to support gap analysis, evidence-based advocacies and collective visibility of NGO activities.

• Writing timely and accurate assessment reports and factsheets from collaborative assessments

• Supporting the development/revision of assessment/programme strategies, reports or new proposals;

• Supporting in external representation of REACH and the NGO forum with coordination bodies, NGO forum members, partners and the wider aid community through coordination mechanisms and sectoral working groups (if necessary);

1. Management of Research Cycles

1.1 Analysis Preparation and Planning:

·        Ensure that all analysis are planned in line with relevant project and program objectives and with IMPACT’s research cycle and other relevant guidelines;

·        Keep abreast of significant developments in humanitarian coordination and information management / joint analysis within the South Sudan context and staying informed of the programs and strategies of pertinent stakeholders;

·        Ensure that required secondary data review has been conducted in preparation of an analysis;

·        Ensure that ToRs are understood and used by assessment staff and stakeholders, and updated as required

·        Compose and construct, in close coordination with GIS and data management team, qualitative and quantitative data collection tools; ensure engagement with GIS teams on GIS requirements of research cycle/assessment;

·        Track progress and delays of all assigned assessments throughout the research cycle. Ensure that delays or identified challenges for specific assessments are reported in writing and orally in a timely manner to the Field Manager, Senior Assessment Officer, and other relevant staff;

·        Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in assessment design and planning.

1.2   Data collection and management

·        Monitor NGO forum and REACH data collection, ensuring its correct implementation in line with agreed TORs;

·        Ensure that the IMPACT Country Representative / Deputy Country Coordinator and the NGO forum is alerted to any issues that prevents full implementation of the methodology in line with the agreed ToRs; ensure that all changes to the methodology are documented throughout implementation;

·        Ensure logistics, financial, administration, security and HR processes directly related to IMPACT have been appropriately implemented and coordinated with the relevant ACTED departments.

·        Ensure regular situation updates on data collection have been produced and circulated to relevant IMPACT, NGO forum, and external counterparts. Provide support and follow up on identified challenges during the data collection process;

·        Ensure that all collected data is stored in line with IMPACT’s Data Management Guidelines, and with the ToRs (data management plan Annex);

·        Ensure that data is revised and cleaned, and that all revisions are recorded;

·        Oversee analysis on collected data as per ToRs;

·        Manage the Forum's survey platform and when needed, other tools that facilitate data collection and analysis such as the KoBoToolbox.

1.3   Product drafting

·        Maintain regular communication with IMPACT HQ on progress and deadlines for specific written products;

·        Ensure drafting of timely and accurate assessment outputs (i.e. reports, factsheets, etc.), which comply with IMPACT’s guidelines and quality standards;

• Utilise available data analysis and visualisation tools, including GIS, Indesign and Adobe Creative tools, to design and produce infographics, maps and other information products when needed.

1.4   Product dissemination and evaluation

·        Under the direction of the IMPACT Deputy Country Coordinator and the NGO humanitarian advisor, engage in the dissemination of research products, including through articles, IMPACT social media contents, targeted e-mails, presentations, meetings, etc., in line with IMPACT Dissemination and External Communication Guidelines and Research ToRs;

·        Under supervision of IMPACT HQ, ensure that specific research products are uploaded in relevant data portals, as specified in Research ToRs;

·        Ensure that lessons learned are gathered and documented at the end of each research cycle;

·        Support the IMPACT Country Representative and the NGO forum to conduct monitoring and evaluation as specified in the research ToRs and in line with IMPACT guidelines

• Using the Forum's brand guidelines, periodically revise or develop standardised tools and reporting templates including but not limited to letterhead, meeting notes, presentation slides, etc. to support daily activities of the Forum.

2. External relations and communication

·        Ensure that relevant partners are consulted and involved at all stages of research cycle as necessary: the preparation of the assessment; data collection; data analysis; review of research products; product dissemination; and lessons learnt; ensure that partner engagement is documented;

·        Present research findings to relevant third parties, to enhance their use and impact;

·        Ensure that external communications with partners and key stakeholders, including relevant UN agencies, local and national government, and NGOs has been conducted and documented as appropriate;

·        Represent the technical lead at the NAWG and in technical external engagements related to assessments or other tasks requested by IMPACT or the NGO forum.

• Review, improve and manage brand identity for the Forum, including guidelines for application of the Forum's identity on internal and external communication products. Ensure that the brand guidelines are uniformly and consistently followed by the team and stakeholders.

• Train IMPACT / NGO forum staff and members on the use of existing platforms, tools and templates, as well as assist in planning information management activities

3. Confidentiality and Data Protection

The  Assessment Officer will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes, based on IMPACT protocols and NDPR/GDPR guidelines. He/she will actively take measures to prevent the unauthorized sharing of any information and data belonging to IMPACT, the NGO forum and its partners, or collected during his/her assignment with IMPACT.

4. Accountability to Communities and Beneficiaries

The staff member is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities IMPACT and partners work are conducted in a respectful and consultative manner. Due attention must be paid to ensuring that communities are adequately consulted and informed about IMPACT programme objectives, activities, beneficiary selection criteria, and methodologies.

REQUIREMENTS

·        Excellent academic qualifications, including a degree in any relevant discipline;

·        At least 1-2 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian or development settings, previous experience in other IMPACT/REACH missions is preferred;

·        Experience coordinating interagency assessments or monitoring activities;

·        Excellent analytical skills;

·        Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting;

·        Excellent team management skills;

·        Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;

·        Fluency in English required;

·        Ability to operate Microsoft Word, Excel and Adobe Creative Suite Products is required;

·        Ability to operate SPSS, Python, R, or related statistical programming is an asset;

·        Ability to work independently and manage team members remotely.

Desired

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

·        Presentation skills: Public speaking and presentation experience and skills are 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.

·        Experience in geographical region: Past work experience in South Sudan or East Africa is desired.

 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

·        For this position, salary between 2’400 CHF and 2’520 CHF monthly (before income tax), etc as well as a monthly living allowance of 300 USD

o   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. 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

·        This base is not a family duty

·        Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered (in-country travel costs and professional expenses are fully covered)

·        R&R after 3 months (flight ticket up to 500$ + 200$ of living allowance) if duty station allows 

·        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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