Crisis Analysis Team Lead – Ukraine

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

MC Country Program Summary

Mercy Corps’ Ukraine response meets the humanitarian needs of people affected by the war in Ukraine. Since the escalation of the war in 2022, Mercy Corps has supported more than 750,000 conflict-affected people in Ukraine and neighboring countries. In response to humanitarian needs, Mercy Corps has provided cash assistance, food and hygiene kits, and psychosocial support for people in emergency situations.

At the same time, Mercy Corps acknowledges that together with addressing humanitarian needs, it is also important to engage in recovery activities leading to resilience of communities. Therefore, alongside ongoing emergency activities, Mercy Corps is implementing a resilience program, that contributes to stabilization of livelihoods and improved resilience for IDPs and conflict-affected individuals. In line with direct investments to support self-employment opportunities, small to medium enterprise (SMEs) and agriculture sectors, this resilience program works as an adaptive response mechanism and will adjust programming according to ongoing analysis of the context and potentially changing needs. Notably, nearly all our programming is delivered in partnership with Ukrainian civil society organizations matching humanitarian and resiliency action with capacity strengthening and a real commitment to localization.

About Ukraine Crisis Analysis Team

Mercy Corps’ Crisis Analysis teams aggregate and analyze data to improve decision making and access in complex crises. These analysis teams support Mercy Corps programming in Syria, Lebanon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and other locations. The teams directly contribute to evidence-driven decision making by layering information from primary sources, open sources and responders’ programmatic data, where it is analyzed by subject matter experts and data scientists. This analysis is grounded in Mercy Corps’ status as an operational NGO, keeping products timely and relevant.

In response to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine as well as the regional implications of this crisis, Mercy Corps established an in-house analysis and early warning capacity to inform better program design and program implementation. Since then, Ukraine Crisis Analysis team (UACAT) has expanded its reach as a broker for analyses relevant at the operational, strategic, and programmatic level. The role of UACAT is one of guiding and influencing 1) decisionmakers at policy and advocacy levels, and 2) those within the development, peacebuilding, and humanitarian sectors who are implementing programs on the ground.

Typical products and services range from regular context briefings, scenario reports, thematic deep-dives, etc. The outputs range in themes from conflict and humanitarian needs to market systems and governance – all in line with programmatic needs and Mercy Corps strategy in Ukraine.

The Position

The Team Lead is responsible for driving the vision and strategy of the Ukraine CAT with the delivery of complex analytical products that inform stronger and more effective programming for MC’s Ukraine Response, in line with the country strategy. The Team Lead ensures relevant contextual nuances are part of MC Ukraine’s high-level advocacy messaging. Ultimately, they provide the MC Ukraine Response senior management with a comprehensive picture of local trends, identifying CAT products to help MC program’s prepositioning for new funding.

The Team Lead will ensure the alignment of products and services with internal and external stakeholder priorities, through the development of strong partnerships with the country program, donors, and other external stakeholders. They will work towards a stakeholder engagement strategy to funnel financial resources for UACAT to achieve a sustainable business model.

The Team Lead will manage the Ukraine CAT on a day-to-day basis and is therefore responsible for the overall quality of the outputs. The Team Lead will need sufficient understanding of relevant technical skills in research and analysis, primary data collection, fieldwork in complex contexts, leveraging technologies and GIS, and tailoring complex information for different audiences working in a rapid pace environment. They will also need knowledge in at least one of the following areas: economy, energy, agriculture, conflict, humanitarian response, and/or civil society engagement. It is important to have the ability to leverage this knowledge and combine it with other relevant information to identify trends and issues for the team to monitor and analyze in a holistic way.

They are also the main focal point for country-level efforts such as the Country Office’s Annual Implementation Plan, alignment with Mercy Corps’ Global Pathway to Possibility Strategy, etc.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY AND VISION

• Articulate and continuously refine the Ukraine CAT strategy, in line with the Ukraine Response strategy, ensuring relevance and added value of crisis analysis within the Mercy Corps Ukraine portfolio.
• Ensure strategic buy-in from key internal stakeholders, including Mercy Corps Ukraine Senior Management, Program team, as well as HQ and Regional Technical Units, Global Crisis Analysis, and Policy and Advocacy teams.
• Contribute to the Ukraine country team overall strategy and where relevant, to the regional strategy.
• Develop, measure and analyze key performance indicators to ensure the UACAT’s value add enhances and informs strategic decision making.
• Work with other Crisis Analysis teams and the Global Crisis Analysis team to support the development and articulation of Mercy Corps’ agencywide Crisis Analysis strategy.

PROGRAMMING AND OPERATIONS

• Monitor current events and trends relevant to the Ukraine response, including on conflict, security and access; social, political, economic and environmental trends; and humanitarian needs and response.
• Align Mercy Corps information priorities on rapid response, security and access, resilience, and contextual and thematic topics with analytical output design and field-based research.
• Refine UACAT products and services regularly based on the evolution of the Ukrainian context and leveraging stakeholder information gaps
• Guarantee all analytical products are of the highest technical quality and appropriately convey key messages to stakeholders.
• Ensure effective, compliant use of Ukraine CAT resources in line with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures.

INFLUENCE AND REPRESENTATION

• Strategically position Mercy Corps as a go-to organization on the effects of the war in Ukraine through regular contribution of analysis and reports.
• Proactively work with country and regional leadership and Policy and Advocacy colleagues to prepare brief statements to describe MC’s position on Ukraine, the humanitarian situation and relevant elements of context to tie to policy points and communications.
• Manage and maintain an active network of key interlocutors, including but not limited to other NGOs/INGOs, UN, diplomatic and donor representatives, the Ukraine government, national and international think tanks, universities, private sector and other local stakeholders.
• Represent Mercy Corps with donors to promote and fund UACAT analysis work as well as relevant local and regional institutions for strategic partnerships where Mercy Corps Ukraine analysis is valued and influential.

MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION

• Coordinate team workflows and deadlines, ensuring ongoing delivery of priorities and ability to meet ad-hoc or urgent information requirements.
• Lead recruitment and onboarding of new team members as relevant.
• Build strong communication channels, management tools, and processes to ensure an efficient work dynamic between team members working from multiple locations.
• Provide avenues for team member’s capacity building in areas relevant to data analysis, humanitarian research, GIS / IM tools, etc.
• Ensure that the team develops and maintains an awareness of Mercy Corps’ culture and values.
• Implementation and management of the UACAT budget, as well as exploring options for fundraising and future growth.
• Coordinate with programs and business development teams to ensure UACAT activities are factored in all new program proposals as an analytical/information broker component to strengthen program efficiency.
• Represent UACAT in regular cross-CA leadership and community of practice initiatives across the Crisis Analysis network.

SECURITY

• Ensure personal and team compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by the response team and Global Security.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
• Ensure compliance with and implementation of Mercy Corps safeguarding measures.

Supervisory Responsibility: UACAT Senior Analysts (2), GIS Senior Officer, Editor, Consultants

Reports Directly To: Deputy Country Director

Works Directly With: Ukraine Response Senior Management, Program Leads/Managers, Security and Safety Team, Policy and Advocacy Advisor, Communications Manager, Global Crisis Analysis team, Regional MENA/Europe team, specifically Regional Crisis Analysis Advisor and Quantitative Analyst, Technical Units, Global Communications team.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

Any skills you have gained through education, volunteer, work, or life experience that are relevant for the position will be considered. Be sure to fully explain transferable skills and success factors and how they apply to this position in your cover letter.

• Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• At least seven years of experience in a management role, prioritizing team’s workstreams.
• At least three years of experience working in Ukraine, preferably with work experience in humanitarian/conflict/economic analysis.
• Excellent written analytical skills, with experience drafting high-quality external publications.
• Excellent presentation skills, with experience conducting briefings for high-level internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience in developing and managing relationships with external stakeholders such as NGOs, donors, private sector, government and academic institutions.
• Highly developed interpersonal, communication and team management skills.
• Competency in Microsoft Office systems including Word, Excel, PowerPoint; competency with analysis and visualization software is an asset.
• Fluency in English is required; competency in Ukrainian or Russian is a mandatory requirement for this position.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will manage a small, fast-growing team where curiosity, critical thinking and the ability to see beyond the surface level are highly valuable. A professional attitude, demonstration of integrity, discretion and excellent work ethic are key aspects to the success of this position. Innovation and initiative to manage strategy and team development are essential. Strong management, organizational skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment are essential. Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills are imperative to developing positive team relationships, including with team members based remotely.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Kyiv, Ukraine where Mercy Corps has an office. This position requires travel (up to 40%) for coordination with Program teams, field visits, and external stakeholder engagement.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis