Assessment Officer – Humanitarian Situation Monitoring Unit (HSM) based in Ukraine, Dnipro

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 an Assessment Officer to support our Humanitarian Situation Monitoring team in Ukraine. 

Department:                 REACH

Position:                      Assessment Officer

Contract duration:        6 months

Location:                      Dnipro, Ukraine

Starting Date:               ASAP

Country profile

Following the escalation of the conflict in 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 Situation Monitoring (HSM) Unit conducts regular data collection cycles to monitor the humanitarian needs of populations across Ukraine, to support ongoing humanitarian planning, and to enable effective prioritization of aid efforts. Assessment Officers support these aims, by coordinating data collection, producing analysis to better understand fluctuating needs, and ensuring this information is disseminated to operational partners via impactful and academically rigorous products.

In his/her mission, the HSM Assessment Officer will be hosted by IMPACT’s global partner ACTED and will fall under the direct responsibility and management of ACTED’s Country Director and his/her delegates for all Administrative, Security, and relevant Logistics and Finance issues. S/he will therefore fully abide to ACTED’s Security, Administration, and relevant HR, Logistics and Finance rules and regulations.

FUNCTIONS

IMPACT is seeking a candidate who has previous experience conducting primary data collection and producing analytical outputs in a humanitarian setting, to work in the Humanitarian Situation Monitoring team in Ukraine. The Assessment Officer (AO) will be responsible for overseeing the data collection and output production for a specific geographic region of Ukraine and should be comfortable analysing both quantitative and qualitative data, and drafting reports to tight deadlines. The AO will also be tasked with disseminating and presenting findings to the wider humanitarian community.

The HSM team regularly engages with both internal and external assessment teams, technical agencies, and key analysis forums to identify information gaps and provide technical support as needed. The AO will represent REACH findings to key external actors, including stakeholders in the humanitarian coordination system, technical working groups and various NGO fora and information management groups.

The position is based in Dnipro, Ukraine. In addition, the position will require travel across Ukraine, all conducted in close coordination with the ACTED Country Security Manager and Ukraine Country Security Team.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Assessment Officer is responsible for overseeing the planning, implementation and follow up of the HSM research to which s/he is assigned, in close coordination with other team members and with relevant external partners. In doing so, the Assessment Officer will ensure an effective management of related projects and resources.

More specifically the Assessment Officer is responsible for the following:

1) ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION

Objective 1.1: Research Planning 

• Ensure that all research cycles are planned in line with the country strategy, relevant research and project objectives and with IMPACT’s research cycle and other relevant guidelines.
• Design the research approaches, methodology and tools associated with each assessment, according to IMPACT requirements and principles.
• Compose and construct, in close coordination with GIS and data teams, qualitative and quantitative data collection tools.
• For each research cycle, prepare ToRs and ensure their validation by HQ before any data collection begins.
• Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in research design and planning.

Objective 1.2: Implementation 

• In close liaison with field officer(s), ensure that required enumerators are identified and trained for primary data collection.
• In close liaison with field officer(s), monitor data collection, ensuring its correct implementation in line with agreed TORs.
• Ensure the timely production of regular situation updates on data collection, promptly notify the line manager of any issues hindering the full implementation of agreed methodologies, and track and report the progress and delays of all assigned assessments.
• In close liaison with field officer(s), ensure that data is revised and cleaned, and that all revisions are recorded.
• In close liaison with data colleagues, provide data analysis on primary and/or secondary data as per ToRs, ensuring that meaningful techniques are used to analyze the data collected.
• Ensure that data and its analysis are validated by IMPACT HQ before product drafting stage.

DRAFTING OF RESEARCH PRODUCTS

• Ensure the drafting of timely and accurate outputs that consolidate the analyses from each research cycle into relevant products such as factsheets, brief, and presentations, which comply with IMPACT’s guidelines and quality standards.
• Ensure that products accurately reflect the information collected and that information is conveyed in a way that maximizes their impact in line with their intended use.
• Follow the designated timeline of reports to be submitted to project partners and donors. Ensure that delays or identified challenges for specific assessments are reported in writing and orally in a timely manner.
• Ensure that assessment reports contribute to aid coordination and planning and add to the general base of field knowledge in the country for all organisations working in the areas.
• Ensure that all written products are validated by IMPACT HQ before external release.

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

• Represent IMPACT in relevant external meetings / working groups in country and following up on questions and issues identified in meetings.
• Promote active use of datasets and research findings by partners and the broader humanitarian community for their decision making.
• After validation by line manager, present research findings to relevant third parties in order to enhance their use and impact.
• Contribute to the creation of a positive image and overall credibility of the organisation, notably through the application of IMPACT’s mandate, ethics, values and stand-point with regard to other actors.

TEAM MANAGEMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING

• As relevant, line management of national and international assessment team members.
• For all activities, ensure that all assessment and field teams are comprehensively briefed on objectives, expected outputs and that the overall implementation strategy is clearly understood.

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.

REQUIREMEnTS

OFFICER

• Academic Excellent academic qualifications, preferably including a Master degree in 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
  • 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.

conditions AND BENEFITS

• For this position, salary between 2’400 CHF and 2’520 CHF monthly (before income tax), etc as well as a monthly living allowance of 300 USD
  • NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education of staff. A location-dependent security and/or isolation adjustment is then applied as a recognition that some staff are required to work in difficult places where living and working conditions are much more difficult than elsewhere.
• Accommodation and food provided in a guesthouse. Depending on the country situation, a contribution to a housing allowance of up to 75% of country-specific benchmark can be considered instead. NB – IMPACT is hosted by ACTED in this country
• Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swisslife – approx. 9.975% of staff gross salary), health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance
• This base is not a family duty station
• Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered (in-country travel costs and professional expenses are fully covered)
• R&R after 2-3 months (flight ticket up to 500$ + 200$ of living allowance) if duty station allows
• Contribution to the luggage transportation: between 20 and 100 kgs, depending on the length of the contract (+ luggage and personal property insurance)
• Annual leave of 36 days per year. Public holidays of the country of assignment. Family/compassionate leave when applicable.
• Predeparture induction – 3 days at IMPACT Initiatives’s HQ in Geneva + one week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ in Paris, including a 4-days in situ security training;
• Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.
• IMPACT prioritizes the psychological safety of its staff and the health insurance provided covers, among others, up to 1000 € per year of psychosocial counselling fees

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