REACH Senior GIS / Data Officer for Ethiopia At IMPACT Initiatives

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis and GIS, and manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative. 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.

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). The 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 Senior GIS and Data Officer to support our REACH team in northern Ethiopia.

PositionSenior GIS and Data Officer

Unit: Humanitarian Situation Monitoring (HSM) Unit – Tigray

Contract duration: 6 months

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Starting Date: ASAP

COUNTRY PROFILE

The humanitarian access situation in Tigray remains volatile, with active hostilities reported across the region. The presence of multiple armed groups further complicates movement of humanitarian convoys and personnel. Access to rural areas remains particularly limited or in some case impossible, preventing the expansion of humanitarian interventions to the so-far unreached areas and preventing accurate assessment of needs.

Overall, food security has deteriorated across the region, especially since the conflict erupted during the harvest season. The interim Regional Administration has estimated that 5.2 million people are now in need of food assistance. Further deterioration is expected as the conflict continues through the typical ‘lean season’ months for the region, while simultaneously disrupting the next planting season. Nutrition partners have expressed concern that the significant number of moderately malnourished cases identified so far will become severely malnourished unless the food and nutrition responses are urgently scaled up. Of the 117,035 children screened from February until mid-April, more than 25,647 moderately malnourished (MAM) and over 3,458 severely malnourished (SAM) cases have been identified. This lack of operational access has made real-time monitoring of food security and establishing representative samples at cluster level extremely difficult. These barriers have led to critical information gaps in terms of the food security on the Tigray population overall.

REACH is planning on running a dual assessment approach that aims to provide multisectoral analysis with a food security and nutrition focus on both inaccessible and accessible areas. This is designed to provide as comprehensive coverage of the region as possible considering the current access constraints.

POSITION PROFILE

FUNCTIONS

IMPACT is seeking an experienced candidate to support REACH in its technical functions throughout the research cycles including research design, data collection, data analysis and spatial analysis, and output production. Under the supervision of the Research Manager, the Senior GIS and Data Officer will be responsible for managing all processes and outputs related to GIS and data processes for the Tigray portfolio and will be responsible for training and mentoring others within the technical unit. S/he/they will ensure regular communication with REACH Assessment and Field teams in-country. Specific responsibilities can be found below:

1. TECHNICAL BACKSTOPPING OF DATA, DATABASE FUNCTIONS, AND GIS, WITHIN RESEARCH CYCLES

1.1 Assessment Preparation and Planning:

· The Senior GIS and Data Officer must ensure all planned IMPACT research assessment cycles are meeting / exceeding IMPACT’s research standards, wider academic standards, and overall research ethics in the research methods, data processing and analysis, and GIS practices being used in country.

· Identification of available data to inform secondary data review in coordination with the assessment team, with an aim of actively proposing spatial analysis and/or remote sensing activities that can provide additional information to enrich the assessments;

· For each assessment, ensure contribution to and review of draft ToRs with a specific focus on the analysis plan, as well as data management plan, and related mapping to ensure that all stages of the assessment cycle are planned in line with project and program objectives;

· Support project teams to co-construct qualitative and quantitative data collection tools and mapping tools, ensuring data and GIS requirements of research cycle/assessment are met and all required geo-reference data will be collected to allow for accurate analysis and visualization of findings;

· Develop sampling frames through geo-spatial analysis of assessment areas and subsequently develop statistically representative samples. Related support to operations teams in developing maps and reference guides for daily assessment plans and field movement plans;

1.2 Data Collection

· When relevant, and in coordination with the operations team, ensure that support is provided by the data analysis and/or GIS teams for the identification and training of enumerators for primary data collection;

· In close collaboration with field teams, oversee data collection daily checks including spatial verification and validation with two-way feedback between internal departments;

· Keep track of progress and delays of all data, information-management, and GIS tasks throughout the research cycle. Ensure that delays or identified problems are reported by writing and orally in a timely manner.

1.3 Data Management, Cleaning & Analysis

· Develop advanced data cleaning scripts and ensure all relevant staff are trained in their use and interpretation;

· Establish coordination and technical systems to ensure all incoming data, across all research cycles, is revised and cleaned, and that all revisions are recorded;

· Ensure that all collected Data is stored in line with IMPACT’s Data Management Guidelines upholding principles of data protection and data privacy;

· Establish systems to ensure that all data and its analysis, included spatial analysis, are technically sound, linked to the validated methodology, and checked validated by internal teams before sharing to external parties and product drafting stage;

· Ensure the quality and accuracy of technical information provided as well as accurate linkages between spatial databases and assessment data;

1.4 Product dissemination and evaluation

· Identify the best visualization technique for each project, such as figures, graphs, static/dynamic maps or interactive dashboards, that helps to understand the data and facilitate its distribution, taking into account the purpose of each project;

· Ensure the drafting of timely and accurate GIS products which meet the requirements of IMPACT and concerned partners;

· In coordination with IMPACT HQ, ensure that data and GIS products are uploaded on relevant portals, as specified in Research ToRs;

· In coordination with IMPACT’s Country Coordinator, Senior Management Team, and senior data and GIS team, and with the assessment team, ensure that lessons learned are gathered and documented at the end of each research cycle.

2. INTERNAL COORDINATION

· The Senior GIS and Data Officer will be responsible for day-to-day management of Data and GIS Officers and/or Assistants working within the portfolio. S/he/they are expected to guide and direct IMPACT staff and prepare and follow up workplans with each staff member that directly reports to him/her. This will include the preparation of ToRs, observation of recruitment procedures by planning recruitment needs in advance, and undertake interviews.

· The Senior Officer is also responsible for cross-team learning and sharing for cross-disciplinary team members beyond those under their direct management. S/he/they will therefore be expected to actively contribute to informal technical sharing for the Field and Assessment teams.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO COMMUNITIES AND BENEFICIARIES

The staff member is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities we 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. This is the responsibility of every IMPACT staff member.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

All IMPACT / REACH staff are expected to maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes. S/he/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

  • At least 3 years of relevant working experience working in data analytics, data management, geo- spatial visualization, information management, or a related field;
  • Excellent academic qualifications, including a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Geography, Statistics, Economics, or a relevant discipline;
  • Proven experience in data processing and statistical analysis
  • Proven experience in use of software such as ArcGIS and R;
  • Advanced MS Excel skills (Advanced usage of formulas, Pivot tables, Lookup functions);
  • Strong understanding of sampling methodologies and statistical analysis
  • Considerable experience using ODK/KOBO for quantitative data collection (questionnaire coding and dataset structures);
  • Familiarity with PowerBI, Shiny, or other interactive dashboard software an asset;
  • Ability to think creatively in terms of tool and process development;
  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills;
  • Good organizational, communication and interpersonal skills with proven ability to lead cross-team learning initiatives;
  • Positive attitude and a willingness to learn;
  • High level of autonomy and ability to work independently.
  • Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
  • Prior knowledge of the region an asset;
  • Fluency in English required

How to apply

Kindly submit to the following link: REACH Senior GIS and Data Officer | Impact (impact-initiatives.org)

In case you encounter challenges using the application form, please contact us via jobs@impact-initiatives.org

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