Assessment Officer – Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment

We are currently looking for an Assessment Officer (AO) to support our Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA) Team in Ukraine.

Department:REACH

Position:Assessment Officer

Contract duration:6 months

Location: Kyiv

Starting Date: ASAP

COUNTRY PROFILE

Following the invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, military hostilities have caused widespread damage to infrastructure and houses, hundreds of civilian deaths, disrupted markets and essential services, and precipitated massive displacement within Ukraine and into neighbouring countries. Present in Ukraine since 2014, IMPACT is working across the country to provide humanitarian actors with rigorous data and in-depth analysis to ensure aid interventions are timely, appropriate, and relevant. The Humanitarian Needs MonitoringUnit (HMNU) gathers information on the severity and type of humanitarian needs across Ukraine to support ongoing humanitarian planning, and to enable effective prioritization of aid efforts. The Unit includes the Multi-sectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA) and Humanitarian Situation Monitoring (HSM). The Unit is currently comprised of 12 staff with expertise in Assessments, Data and GIS, and works closely with the large Field Team to collect and analyse country-wide data.

FUNCTIONS

IMPACT is seeking a candidate who has previous experience in conducting primary data collection and/or producing analytical outputs, to support the MSNA Team in Ukraine. The MSNA is a high visibility and high impact assessment, which is coordinated with a range of stakeholders across the response to provide a rigorous evidence base for yearly humanitarian prioritisation. The AO will be a critical member of the team responsible for managing the data collection and output production for the 2023 assessment.

Under the supervision of the MSNA SAO, and as member of the HMNU Unit, the AO will support the roll out of the 2023 MSNA. The AO will support the SAO to engage with key external actors, including stakeholders in the humanitarian coordination system, technical working groups and various NGO fora and information management groups, to ensure the data collected is relevant and fills identified information gaps. The AO will be expected to produce analytical outputs to inform the response, and will also regularly present findings and engage externally with senior staff from the UN, NNGOs, and INGOs to ensure findings are received and understood by key stakeholders.

The position is based in Kyiv, with regular travel across Ukraine, conducted in close coordination with the ACTED Country Security Manager and Ukraine Country Security Team.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The AO’s responsibilities include the following:

ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION

Objective 1.1: Management of assessment process

• Ensure that the MSNA is planned in line with the country strategy, relevant research and project objectives and with IMPACT’s research cycle and other relevant guidelines;
• In close coordination with GIS and Data teams, compose and construct qualitative and quantitative data collection tools using Kobo Collect and Open Data Kit (ODK);
• Prepare MSNA ToRs and ensure their validation by HQ before any data collection begins.

Objective 1.2: Implementation

• In close liaison with Field Officers, ensure that enumerators are well-trained for primary data collection;
• In close liaison with Field Officers and Data Officers, monitor MSNA data collection, ensuring its correct implementation in line with agreed ToRs;
• Ensure regular situation updates on data collection are produced and circulated to line manager, relevant colleagues and external counterparts. Provide support and follow up on identified challenges during the data collection process;
• In close liaison with the Data Officer, ensure that data is revised and cleaned, and that all revisions are recorded;
• Ensure that all data and analysis are validated by IMPACT HQ before the product drafting stage;

DRAFTING OF RESEARCH PRODUCTS

• Draft timely and accurate outputs that consolidate the analyses from the MSNA into outputs, including factsheets, reports, and presentations;
• Ensure that products accurately reflect the information collected and that information is conveyed in a way that maximize the ability to influence the humanitarian response;
• Maintain regular communication with Country Management and IMPACT HQ on progress and deadlines for written products;
• Ensure that all written products are validated by IMPACT HQ before external release.

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

• Ensure that all relevant partners are consulted and involved at all stages of research cycle, specifically OCHA, Humanitarian Clusters, and other partners such as WFP-RAM and IOM-DTM;
• After validation by the line manager, represent IMPACT in relevant meetings/ working groups, such as Cluster meetings; NGO Platform meetings, or the Assessment and Analysis Working Group;
• Follow up on relevant issues identified by partners or during meetings/working groups;
• After validation by line manager, present research findings to relevant third parties in order to enhance their use and impact.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO COMMUNITIES AND BENEFICIARIES

The AO is responsible for ensuring that all interactions with Ukrainian communities 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.

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);
• Familiarity aid system Familiarity with the aid system an asset;
• Communication/reporting skills Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting, including proven experience in contributing to analytical reports;
• Years of work experience 1- 2 years of relevant working experience;
• Research skills: Excellent research and analytical skills. Experience in assessments, M&E, field research, or 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 Ukraine or the region an asset;
• Language skills Fluency in English is required, competency in Ukrainian or Russian is an asset;
• Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.