Senior Assessment Officer Cross-Cutting Unit Support for Afghanistan , based in Geneva Switzerland

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 Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) 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, supporting and working within the framework of the humanitarian reform process. 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 organization manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis, GIS and remote sensing. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO with headquarters based in Paris and presence in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, which allows IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support in its fields of intervention.

We are currently looking for an Assessment Officer / Senior Officer to support cross-cutting research portfolios on Afghanistan, from HQ .

Position: Assessment Officer / Senior Officer (title contingent on level of experience)

Contract duration: 6 months with possibility of extension based on performance

Starting Date: November 2024

Location: Geneva, Switzerland, with the possibility to be delocalized in IMPACT country offices

COUNTRY PROFILE

IMPACT has been active in Afghanistan since 2016, launching its flagship REACH and AGORA initiatives in 2018. Working across all 34 provinces, including hard-to-reach areas, the Afghanistan team’s research supports and facilitates emergency response efforts immediately following conflict or natural disaster, inter-sectoral research that informs humanitarian planning and prioritization cycles, as well as more long-term oriented resilience and recovery activities with cross-cutting climate change research. IMPACT Afghanistan currently has three research portfolios that focus on programming in key response areas: one portfolio focuses on inter-sectoral research that feeds directly into emergency humanitarian planning and prioritization (including real-time monitoring), the second works closely with partners and coordinating bodies to improve and increase the sustainability of programs, and the third uses area-based assessments, advocacy, and strategic engagement to support longer-term durable solutions and resilience programming in Afghanistan.

IMPACT Afghanistan has established a strong presence as a key information actor across the Afghanistan response. The mission is looking to strengthen its current research portfolios by ensuring that additional assessment support is consistently available to teams to ensure high quality delivery of diverse programming.

POSITION PROFILE

The Assessment Officer / Senior Officer will be responsible for supporting a diverse portfolio of research including multi-sectoral and inter-sectoral research, real-time monitoring and emergency warning systems, climate change preparedness, area-based assessments for durable solutions and sustainability, cash and markets, and other key topics as they arise. The Officer / Senior Officer should have a solid understanding of different research cycles and methodologies and be able to quickly learn and apply these within the context of different topics, with guidance from IMPACT Afghanistan and IMPACT HQ colleagues. This profile should be able to write terms of reference and design research, input on tools, oversee data collection and analysis, and write up findings in factsheets and presentations. Depending on level of seniority, this profile may also take on external engagement with key stakeholders in clusters and working groups to gather subject matter expertise and share back key findings for decision making.

This position requires technical understanding of research, ability to quickly learn, creativity, independence, and an interest in the Afghanistan context. The position will be based in HQ and will fall under the supervision of a Senior Assessment Officer or Research Manager (depending on seniority). Candidate should have strong technical skills and be able to analyze and present key findings.

The Assessment Officer / Senior Officer responsibilities include:

1. Research Implementation

• Support or lead on the development of research cycle methodology, developing project ToRs in line with partner and IMPACT standards
• Support or lead on the design of assessment tools, coordinate with data team to operationalize the tool
• Support or lead in coordination of support teams for training, tool testing, sampling, data cleaning, data analysis, etc. by giving inputs and guidance as necessary
• Support or lead in the drafting of relevant outputs (e.g. factsheets, reports, briefs), for research cycles according to designated timeline and aligning with IMPACT standards
• Support or lead in drafting key findings presentations to stakeholders

2. Coordination

• Internally coordinate and actively participate in or lead coordination meetings between assessment, data, GIS, programs, field teams
• Actively update management on status of research
• Support management with relevant external actors such as working group and cluster coordinators and IMOs, donors, and other interested stakeholders from the humanitarian and basic needs communities
• Support or lead on presenting key findings to stakeholders in an engaging manner
• Must have high communication skills and an ability to communicate across cultures

3. Technical Skills

• Must have research experience and be able to think critically when drafting ToRs and other project design documents, have basic to intermediate understanding of sampling techniques, and be able to analyze data to identify key findings
• Knowledge of Kobo and InDesign a plus but an aptitude to learn new tools is critical

4. Learning and Communication

• Support Project Development team with contributing learning and reporting to monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual donor updates
• Support or lead in conducting lessons learned exercises
• Contribute to monitoring and evaluation exercises
• Support management with contributing key findings or summaries of research to newsletters for external dissemination

The Assessment Officer / Senior Officer will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes. 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’s degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline (e.g. international studies, development, humanitarian response, data science, political science, etc.);
• 2-4 years of relevant working experience in a humanitarian or development setting, such as assessments, monitoring and evaluation, research design and analysis, etc.;
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative research data analysis experience required;
• Excellent verbal and written communication and drafting skills for effective reporting required;
• Excellent ability to operate Microsoft Word and Excel required;
• Prior knowledge of the region preferred;
• Fluency in English required, Dara and / or Pashto an asset;
• Ability to operate Adobe suite an asset;
• Experience with quantitative analysis programs (R, SPSS, Stata, Python) an asset;
• Experience with qualitative analysis programs such as NVivo as asset;
• Prior experience with humanitarian coordination forums an asset;
• Prior experience in Afghanistan an asset;
• Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment and willingness to travel.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

· For this position, gross salary between 5’500 CHF and 5’700 CHF monthly (before income tax).

– NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education and experience of staff. A contribution to medical insurance of 520 CHF per month is already included in the salary figure.

· Insurance covering professional and non-professional accidents throughout the period of employment with IMPACT

· Health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance in case of field visits/temporary deployments

· Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.

· Applicants must hold a valid work permit for Switzerland or be EU/EFTA citizens

· Up to 40% of remote work on a weekly basis