Senior Assessment Officer (Cash and Markets) for Sudan, based in Kampala, Uganda At IMPACT Initiatives

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.

Missions

We are currently looking for an Senior Assessment Office to support our team in Sudan

Department:REACH

Position: Senior Assessment Officer (Cash and Markets)

Contract duration:12 months

Location: Kampala, Uganda

Starting Date: ASAP

Country profile

Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on 15 April 2023. Fighting has been concentrated in densely populated urban centres, starting in Khartoum but quickly spreading across the country. These clashes have triggered waves of forced displacement, both internally as well as to neighbouring countries, including Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Sudan. The operating environment for humanitarian actors has also been constrained due to insecurity.

This latest crisis comes amidst a complex and protracted humanitarian context in Sudan, with 15.8 million people estimated to be in need – the highest in a decade – prior to these events. The country faces persistent environmental risks, including recurrent flooding events, droughts, and locust invasions, in addition to widespread food insecurity and economic challenges. Prolonged internal displacement, high refugee caseloads, and continual pockets of inter-communal conflict further exacerbate needs and vulnerabilities.

Through its REACH initiative, IMPACT has been present in Sudan since 2020, providing humanitarian actors with up-to-date data and analysis on existing needs through a first country-wide Multi-sectoral Needs Assessment. Following the recent outbreak in violence between the SAF and RSF, IMPACT is mobilising an emergency response in Sudan and neighbouring countries, to provide decision makers with rapid analysis of conditions on the ground.

FUNCTIONS

Under the line management of the Research Manager, the Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for the implementation of IMPACT Sudan research cycles with a main focus on the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI), including the preparation, data collection, analysis, drafting, dissemination, and evaluation stages. Throughout the research cycle, the Assessment Officer engages with partners to promote their participation and maximize their impact. They also ensure an efficient and transparent use of resources required for project implementation.

This position requires strong research skills, an analytical mind, creativity, independence, and an interest in the regional context. Candidates should have strong data processing, analysis, and presentation skills and be able to communicate and coordinate clearly with various partners collecting data for the JMMI.

In his/her mission, the Senior Assessment Officer will be hosted by IMPACT’s global partner ACTED and will fall under the direct responsibility and management of ACTED’s Country Director and his/her delegates for all Administrative, Security, and relevant Logistics and Finance issues. S/he will therefore fully abide to ACTED’s Security, Administration, and relevant HR, Logistics and Finance rules and regulations.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Assessment Officer’s responsibilities include:

RESEARCH CYCLE MANAGEMENT

• Understanding research cycles with a focus on cash and market specific research, and how they contribute to strategic response objectives;
• Managing relevant research cycle, including oversight of research design, data collection, or analysis.

CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

• Keeping up to date with the shifting context in Sudan with a specific focus on the context of developments or markets.

RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Overseeing development and implementation of analytical workstreams, including use of existing

REACH data in thematic briefs, reports, presentations, etc;

• Leading the research cycle including research design, tool development, and management of data collection partners.

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);, as well as building the capacity of JMMI data collection partners.

Providing day-to-day direct and indirect management of the research team within their workstream.

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 related to analytical research findings as necessary. This includes but is not limited to the Cash Working Group (CWG) of Sudan.

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.

REQUIREMENTS

• Academic Excellent academic qualifications, preferably including a Master degree in relevant discipline;
• Research skills Masters and proven experience with complex research methods. Excellent analytical skills and capacity to contextualize and interpret the data. Familiarity with qualitative analysis is required for this position – either through the saturation grid system or with software;
• Program specific skills Experience conducting multi-sectoral or intersectoral research highly desired;
• Software skills Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Advanced skills in R, SPSS and/or STATA or other statistical analysis software are an advantage but not essential. However, this person must be familiar with statistical outputs and able to interpret them. Experience with InDesign / illustration software is an asset.
• Familiarity aid system Familiarity with the aid system is required;
• Years of work experience At least 3 years of relevant working experience;
• Management skills Proven team management experience and skills; ability to build assessment capacity of team through training and mentoring. The person chosen for this position will likely manage one junior Assessment Officer and will coordinate with the field team and data team.
• Communication/reporting skills Excellent written and verbal communication; the Senior Assessment Officer will be responsible to engage different stakeholders and partners during the research design, analysis and reporting. Excellent writing skills for effective reporting.
• Multi-tasking skills Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles;
• Level of independence Proven ability to work independently;
• Cross-cultural work environment Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility; the person shall be culturally aware and able to establish effective relationship with a multicultural team. Ability to work effectively in a consortium and ability to be flexible in working closely with external actors
• Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment;
• Experience in geographical region Past experience in Ethiopia and East Africa is desirable;
• Language skills Fluency in English

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

· For this position, salary between 2’520 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

· Accompanied status does not apply to this position*.*

· 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