Senior Assessment Officer for Somalia at IMPACT Initiatives

BACKGORUND 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 currently looking for a Senior Assessment Officer to support our Impact/REACH team.

Position: Senior Assessment Officer

Contract duration: 12 months, renewable

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Starting Date: ASAP

Country profile

REACH has been operational in Somalila/land since 2012, providing information management support to humanitarian actors in a complex environment through assessment capacity, GIS services and support to Cluster information management (IM) practices.

REACH Somalila/land is looking to expand information support to the humanitarian response in several key areas, including IDP settlement profiling and monitoring, multi-cluster needs assessments, durable solutions and improved remote data collection. Key strategic aims are to increase geographic and sectoral coverage and to enhance advocacy capacity through strengthened data collection and information targeting.

Position Profile

REACH Somalila/land is seeking a Senior Assessment Officer (SAO) to serve as the Joint Multi-Cluster Needs Assessment (JMNCA) focal point for the Somalila/land mission, within the Inter-Sectoral Unit. In this role, the SAO will be responsible for overseeing the JMCNA research cycle, including both technical and coordination aspects. Tasks will include indicator design, sampling strategy design, data collection tool and methodology design, data cleaning tool and methodology design, coordination of technical support during the implementation of data collection, output production and presentation of results, and supporting the incorporation of JMCNA findings into strategic planning documents.

Functions

The senior Assessment Officer responsibilities include:

1. COORDINATION
   1. Under the supervision of the REACH Inter-Sectoral Research Manager (RM), the SAO will be responsible for coordinating with all relevant stakeholders, to include the IM and Assessment Working Group, the humanitarian coordination structure, and relevant Cluster partners throughout all stages of the Research Cycle.
2. RESEARCH DESIGN
   1. Under the supervision of the REACH RM, and in collaboration with the Research Unit at IMPACT HQ (Geneva), and all relevant JMCNA stakeholders as outlined in Objective 1, the SAO will be responsible for ensuring that the Research Design for the project is comprehensive, and follows the best practices as defined by the global standards of REACH and IMPACT.
3. IMPLEMENTATION
   1. Under the supervision of the REACH RM, and in collaboration with the IMPACT Research Unit, and all relevant JMCNA stakeholders, the SAO will be responsible for supporting the implementation of all operational stages of the relevant data collection exercise(s), including tool and methodology design, coordination of data collection, data cleaning, and data analysis. The SAO will work cross-team with GIS and data colleagues within the Inter-Sectoral Unit and will be expected to coordinate closely to ensure all relevant team members are aware of their roles across the research cycle.
4. OUTPUT PRODUCTION
   1. Under the supervision of the REACH RM, and in collaboration with the IMPACT Reporting Unit and all relevant JMCNA stakeholders, the SAO will be responsible for producing and/or overseeing the production of all relevant outputs related to the aforementioned data collection exercise. These outputs may include cleaned datasets, factsheets, situation overviews, maps, reports, and online dashboards.
5. DATA CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROTECTION
   1. The Assessment Officer will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes, ensuring full compliance with IMPACT’s data protection policy and SOPs. He/she 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

• Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master degree in relevant discipline;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• At least 2 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian settings;
• Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting;
• Excellent team management skills;
• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
• Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment;
• Familiarity with the aid system, and understanding of donor and governmental requirements;
• Prior knowledge of the region an asset;
• Fluency in English required;
• Ability to operation Microsoft Word, Excel and Project Management Software;
• Ability to operate R or related statistical programming an asset;
• Ability to work independently.

CONDITIONS

• Salary defined by the IMPACT salary grid; educational level, expertise, hardship, security, and performance are considered for pay bonus
• Additional monthly living allowance
• Free food and lodging provided at the organisation’s guesthouse/or housing allowance (depending on contract length and country of assignment)
• Transportation costs covered, including additional return ticket + luggage allowance
• Provision of medical, life, and repatriation insurance + retirement package