Assessment Specialist at IMPACT Initiatives

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

IMPACT Initiatives is humanitarian think tank, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including REACH Initiative, which was created in 2010 to facilitate the development of information tools and products that enhance the capacity of aid actors to make evidence-based decisions in emergency, recovery and development contexts. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis, GIS and remote-sensing. For more information visit: www.reach-initiative.org.

We are currently looking for an Assessment Specialist to support our team in Jordan.

Position: Assessment Specialist

Location: Amman

Duration: 6 months

Start Date: ASAP

Under the supervision of the WSC Development Team Lead, the Assessment Specialist will support the development of an “IPC-style” system for classifying the severity of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions – the WASH Severity Classification (WSC). The Assessment Specialist will co-lead the implementation sub-team of the WSC Development Team, in partnership with a second Assessment Specialist. The role will also include supporting the wider WSC Development team of Assessment, Data, WASH, Public Health, and IPC Specialists on the research and development aspects of the WSC, by providing inputs for the analytical tools and protocols used to classify the severity of WASH needs.

The WASH Severity Classification (WSC) is a set of tools and protocols designed to classify the severity and drivers of WASH needs and vulnerabilities based on recognized standards. The WSC uses a five-phase approach to quantify the number of people in need by severity level, while assessing likely situational changes and monitoring key risk factors. The WSC combines an array of data from different sources coupled with contextual expertise of practitioners on the ground to guide and validate the process. Through this approach, it allows for the classification of geographic areas, estimates the population in each severity phase and provides a comparison of findings over time and across countries.

Currently the project is in Phase One, focused on the development of the alpha version of the WSC. The role of the Assessment Specialist is to manage the implementations of the WSC alpha version in Phase Two, which will include full implementations (in-country workshops following full WSC process) in five countries and light implementations (desk-based exercise by a pool of remote analyst) in fifteen countries.

LEAD THE PHASE 2 IMPLEMENTATIONS

· Act as focal point for full WSC implementations in five countries and light WSC implementations in 15 countries.

For both full and light implementations:

· Liaise with REACH teams in-country and other key data providers to identify and collate data sources needed to conduct the analysis

· Lead in coordination with GIS / Data Specialist on pre-processing and preparation of data

· Produce WSC outputs, including findings reports and lessons learned documents

· Support administration, finance, HR, grant management and fundraising activities linked with the project in compliance with IMPACT procedures.

For full implementations:

· Liaise with key WASH stakeholders at country-level – including WASH Cluster Coordinators, WASH cluster SAG members, Chief of WASH, and government counterparts – to raise awareness around the WSC, organize training and analysis workshops, identify workshop lead analysts, identify workshop participants, and collate datasets

· Prepare for and deliver Training of Trainer (ToTs) sessions with key partners in country to form group of lead analysts

· Prepare training and analysis workshop materials, including facilitator guides, workshop schedules, presentations, exercises, group work, certificates, and feedback materials

· Deliver WSC training and analysis workshops in-person (and online when not possible)

· Lead WSC workshop feedback sessions and feed findings into WSC monitoring and evaluation and development processes

For light implementations:

· Conduct desk-based analysis in-line with IPC protocols to produce preliminary severity classifications

· Liaise with key WASH stakeholders in-country to contextualize, verify, and validate findings of analysis

DEVELOPMENT OF BETA VERSION OF THE WSC

· Support with the development of the core components of the WSC, including:

• Analytical framework (conceptual basis that provides the rationale for what data to include in the analysis and how to organize and structure the data in the analysis process)
• Severity scale (description of five phases of WASH severity and the characteristics experienced in each)
• Calculation model (the computational method for combining different pieces of quantitative and qualitative data to assign household and areas into different severity phases)
• Analysis protocols (step-by-step guide for how full analysis is conducted and what to do in different circumstances)

· Coordinate with other staff working on the WSC – including the GIS/Data specialist, Public Health Assessment Specialist, IPC Specialist, and WSC consultant, as well as the WSC research and development team – to ensure harmonisation across research and development and implementation activities

· Provide recommendations based on workshop lessons learned and feedback, in both the operational and theoretical aspects of the WSC, to ensure the model is constantly refined and improved according to practical experiences

SUPPORT THE GLOBAL CLUSTER SUPPORT UNIT

· Contribute to the development and review of other global assessment toolkits and guidance.

· Provide remote support to REACH missions implementing sector-specific assessments.

· Deploy globally to support assessment activities in the event of sudden onset crises or during key HPC milestones.

REQUIREMENTS

Required:

· Master’s degree in a relevant field (economics, statistics, data science, sociology, development / humanitarian studies, etc).

· Minimum 3 years (5 preferred) of experience in assessment, information management, monitoring and evaluation, or operational research.

· Minimum 3 years (5 preferred) of field experience in complex humanitarian crises.

· Fluency in English and good command of another language (French, Spanish or Arabic).

· Proven track record of successful implementation of humanitarian assessments.

· Familiarity with the humanitarian coordination architecture and mechanisms.

· Experience in liaison with a broad range of stakeholders, ability to build relationships and networks with international donors, UN agencies and INGOs, national authorities, national/local partner agencies and affected communities.

· Familiarity with WASH in Emergency and the IPC system.

· Excellent leadership and supervisory skills, ability to motivate and empower colleagues.

· Willingness to travel up to 40% of the time and with very short (72 hours) notice to crisis affected areas.

· Resilience to stress and ability to work under difficult conditions.

· Computer skills, including Powerpoint, Excel and InDesign

Desired:

· A good understanding of the humanitarian policy environment.

· Experience in coordinating and leading joint analysis workshops with multiple stakeholders

· Computer skills, including R and STATA.