Back REACH Senior Assessment Officer for Somalia

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.

We are currently looking for a REACH Senior Assessment Officer to support our REACH Somalia team.

Department: REACH

Position: Senior Assessment Officer

Contract duration: 1 year

Location: Hargeisa, Somaliland

Starting Date: ASAP

COUNTRY PROFILE

REACH has been operational in Somalia since 2012, providing information management support to humanitarian actors in a complex environment through assessment capacity, GIS services and support to Cluster IM practices. Projects have included tri-cluster assessments in support of the WASH, Shelter and Education Clusters, support to Food Security response analysis, and development of a Shelter Cluster M&E Framework. REACH Somalia 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 Somalia is seeking a Senior Assessment Officer (SAO) to serve as the Joint Multi-Cluster Needs Assessment (JMNCA) focal point for the Somalia 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

Implementation of JMCNA

Objective 1.1: Coordination 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.

Objective 1.2: Research Design 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.

Objective 1.3: Implementation 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.

Objective 1.4: Output Production 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.

REQUIREMENTS

• Excellent academic qualifications, including a master’s degree in relevant discipline (international studies, development, humanitarian response, monitoring and evaluation, etc;
• Proven coordination skills;
• Knowledge of the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC);
• Knowledge of the humanitarian coordination structure.
• At least 3 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian settings;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Written and spoken fluency in English required;
• Previous experience in survey tool design and implementation;
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative analytical skills – ability to situate findings within a wider context;
• Excellent communication and drafting skills in English for effective reporting and coordination;
• Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Knowledge and experience in R or other statistical analysis software, and GIS software desired.
• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
• 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 provided in country by IMPACT’s partner ACTED.
• Food and lodging provided at the organization’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