Senior Research Manager for Ethiopia At IMPACT Initiatives

BACKGROUD 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 field intervention.

We are currently looking for aSenior Research Manager to support our team in Ethiopia.

Department:REACH

Position: Senior Research Manager

Contract duration:6 months

Location: Addis Ababa with frequent travel

Starting Date: August 2022

FUNCTIONS

The Senior Research Manager will play a pivotal role in the Senior Management Team supporting REACH’s interventions across Ethiopia, which covers a range of thematic topics including the coordination and analysis of multi-sectoral approaches, thematic monitoring assessments on markets, food security, water and sanitation, and nutrition, and other innovative methodologies or analyses to support the wide humanitarian programme cycle. S/he will be responsible for overall team management, external representation, cross-activity analysis, dissemination.

RESPONSIBILITIES

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION

Context analysis: With attention on his/her Unit’s technical, programmatic and institutional focus, and in coordination with the Country Coordinator, the SRM will ensure that the full team has an up to date understanding of:
- The country’s socio-economic situation, the impact of crisis and the humanitarian situation;
- The aid/humanitarian coordination and response mechanisms, as well as key stakeholders.
- Key areas of humanitarian planning, prioritization, and needs analysis facing gaps affecting humanitarian action
Develop and oversee the implementation of a Unit Strategy in alignment with country and global priorities, and fully integrated into country strategy; including:
- Consolidate and strengthen ongoing programming and operations within Unit;
- Ensure Unit’s activities are relevant and have a measurable impact on the response;
- Identify new programs and approaches in which the Unit can add value to the response;
Ensure team members within the Unit are aware of the Unit strategy (as well as country and global) and their contribution and role within it.

TEAM MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

Provide leadership their unit as well as within the country Senior Management Team;
Promote team building, productivity and staff welfare;
Facilitate internal communication within the team and information sharing for a positive working environment;
Mentor and support the Unit team to build capacities, and improve efficiency and performance;
Support the transparent and timely identification and recruitment of staff working for the Unit;
Provide day-to-day management of Officers and/or Specialists, including the development of work plans and performance indicators, and development and implementation of capacity training plans to improve efficiency and performance;
Conduct regular check-ins with staff within the unit, and promote team building, productivity and staff welfare as the main pastoral focal point for staff;
Be available to provide regular assessment support and technical backstopping;
Take on additional work streams and management responsibilities as well as advise in strategic mission decision-making as a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), in coordination with the other research managers.

RESEARCH PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION

Ensure that all research is planned in line with relevant project and program objectives and with the Unit/Country strategy
Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in assessment design and planning.
Ensure that all research complies with IMPACT’s HQ Research Department and other relevant guidelines including proper documentation of all research steps;
Ensure that required secondary data analysis has been conducted in preparation of an assessment;
Keep track of progress and delays of all assigned assessment throughout the research cycle. Ensure that delays or identified challenges for specific assessments are reported to the CC and HQ research department in a timely manner
Management and support to the cross-disciplinary team undertaking the implementation of the research
Ensure that meaningful techniques are used to analyze the data collected;

KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND LEARNING PROCESS

Ensure the development and application of a M&E system/plan for each program within Unit, in line with IMPACT’s M&E guidelines;
Lead on internal and external program evaluations as necessary and ensure the execution of baseline, periodic, and final evaluations as necessary;
Ensure learning by the Unit from relevant best practice internally and externally both nationally and globally and make learning available for other programs; organize a program review workshop and document lessons learnt at the end of each program.
Share and consolidate knowledge at unit level, with country SMT and (as relevant) with Global Units and Communities of Practice
Deliver and participates in inter-agency, multi-stakeholders knowledge sharing / lessons learned exercise.

PROJECT CYCLE MANAGEMENT

Monitor output achievement, cash burn rates and ensure a time completion of projects through review of BFUs, Project factsheet, and project reports;
Ensure contractual monitoring and evaluation indicators are identified and tracked in a timely manner;
Anticipate financial risks and gaps in funding;
Ensure accurate budget expenditure tracking and forecasting, and control project budgets within Units to avoid under/over spending, in conjunction with CC and finance support teams;
Ensure accurate and timely narrative and financial reporting, in conjunction with CC and finance support teams;

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

In coordination with the Country Coordinator, ensure that relevant partners are consulted and involved at all stages of research cycle: the preparation of the assessment; data collection; data analysis; review of research products; product dissemination; and lessons learnt; ensure that partner engagement is documented;
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 for each Research Cycle;
Senior external engagement and output dissemination with key stakeholders, as well as coordination of external engagement by all Unit staff
Under the guidance of the CC, leads the development of content and information for country level advocacy
Support the IMPACT Country Coordinator in external engagement in relation to IMPACT strategy or (when requested and with focal point) to fundraising and grants management.
Develop proposals, concept notes, and budget in close coordination with the IMPACT Country Coordinator, in line with the Unit and Country Strategies.

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

Academic Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (International Relations, Political Sciences, Social Research, Economics, Development Studies, or similar)
Management experience Previous experience in a management role in a INGO at field level. Proven track record in successful management of international and national teams in humanitarian contexts
Familiarity aid system At least 5 years of direct experience working in emergency humanitarian contexts;
Communication/reporting skills Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting, including proven experience in contributing to high level presentations/briefings.
Years of work experience At least 5 years of relevant and progressively increasing working experience in applied social research, early warning analysis, food and nutrition analysis, and/or development economics research activities;
Research skills: Excellent research and analytical skills an asset, including in mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) research, design and evaluation, particularly in the areas of food security, cash transfers, social safety net programs, demographic and health surveys, impact evaluations;
Software skills: Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Familiarity with R, SPSS and/or STATA or other statistical analysis software an asset
Multi-tasking skills Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles in complex environment;
Level of independence A self-starter with a proven ability to work independently;
Cross-cultural work environment Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
Experience in geographical region Past experience in the East Africa region is desirable;
Language skills Fluency in English required, competency in Amharic, Somali, Tigrigna, Afan Oromo an asset;
Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment

CONDITIONS

Salary defined by the IMPACT salary grid; educational level, expertise, hardship, security, and performance are considered for pay bonus
Additional monthly living allowance provided in country by IMPACT’s partner ACTED
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