Senior Assessment Officer – Training Learning and Country support (TLC) 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 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.

BACKGROUND On Multi-sector needs assessment (MSNA)

REACH has supported the facilitation of independent, crisis-wide Multi-sectoral Needs Assessments (MSNAs) since 2016 to provide impartial, unbiased, comprehensive, context-sensitive, timely and up to date data to inform humanitarian decision-making. MSNAs promote a shift in how humanitarian needs are measured and how response is planned, contributing to a change in the approach to planning, prioritization and decision making, by promoting needs-based, evidence-based and people-cantered decision making. As the largest research cycle conducted by IMPACT Initiatives, the MSNA is a high visibility assessment, which is coordinated with humanitarian coordination structures and a range of stakeholders across responses to provide an evidence based for yearly humanitarian prioritization and planning.

We are currently looking for a (Senior) Assessment Officer to join the Global Humanitarian Planning and Prioritization Unit in HQ.

Title: (Senior) Assessment Officer

Location: Geneva with travel (up to 20% field deployment)

Contract duration: Open-ended

Start date: 01 May 2024

POSITION PROFILE

Under the supervision of the Training Learning & Country support (TLC) Associate Research Manager (ARM) , the (Senior) Assessment Officer (S.AO) will support and contribute to the design and implementation of REACH MSNA research cycles globally. The positions plays a critical function in providing strategic, programmatic and technical support to REACH counterparts – both at country level and at HQ – to a high profile and impactful IMPACT workstream.

Functions and responsibilities

The REACH S.AO will support the below core areas of work:

Training, learning & capacity building

– Contribute to the development and iterative improvement of online training courses and training materials.

– Design and implement ad-hoc learning materials (training sessions, guidelines, case studies, etc.), to equip and empower country teams to consistently improve the quality and effectiveness of their MSNAs.

– Promote the uptake of the training materials developed and provide capacity-building of REACH assessment teams (and where relevant external audiences) implementing MSNAs through in-country deployments or remote support.

– Identify gaps in the MSNA cycle to support the creation of a learning environment to ensure requested tools for an adequate MSNA roll-out are available, accessible and user-friendly.

– Support MSNA focal points in the identifying and documenting lessons learned, identifying areas for improvement and best practices at country-level and global level (that includes supporting an eventual REACH MSNA CoP / workshops).

Country support and engagement

– Actively support MSNA Focal Points throughout the full MSNA research cycle, ensuring they have the resources needed to produce high-quality data and analysis. That support can take various shapes and will vary between countries.

– Conduct systematic knowledge management of MSNA implementation globally to ensure alignment with IMPACT and relevant global standards. This includes promoting the interoperability of MSNAs with other Global Programmes initiatives and the needs of the HPC/IPC or other planning and prioritization processes.

– Review country outputs to ensure quality and alignment with MSNA strategic objectives.

– Support HPPU engagement with the Communication and Advocacy Department around improving communication and dissemination efforts at country and global level around MSNA, including website articles, social media engagement, webinars, and other relevant activities.

– Provide support to MSNA country-teams through in-country deployment.

Informing global decision makers

– Support HPPU engagement with sectoral focal points within the Global Programmes unit to continuously improve and refine methodologies and tools used in specific sectors.

– Support HPPU strategic engagement with OCHA regarding JIAF implementation at country and global level.

– Engage directly with key stakeholders like donors and other IMPACT partners to build strong relationships, secure resources, and foster program-wide collaboration.

REQUIREMENT

• Excellent academic qualifications, including Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. development, humanitarian studies, international relations, research methods, social sciences).
• At least 2 years of experience in the humanitarian sector and/or field-based roles in fragile or development contexts.
• Experience with designing and implementing primary research, in particular large-scale quantitative surveys and/or humanitarian needs assessments. Experience in leading multi-sectoral assessments is an asset.
• Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting.
• Strong interpersonal skills, include good external engagement and coordination skills.
• Familiarity with the humanitarian system and global humanitarian policy frameworks, in particular the Grand Bargain and the JIAF.
• Willingness to engage in short term field deployments, including to complex and challenging security environments.
• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility.
• A self-starter with proven ability to work independently.
• Fluency in English required; proficiency in French, Spanish, Arabic, or another relevant language an asset.
• Prior experience leading the design or implementation of MSNAs an asset.
• Ability to operate InDesign, a strong plus.
• Ability to operate R, or a related statistical programming an asset.

Compensation and Benefits

· For this position, gross salary between 5’500 CHF and 5’770 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 450 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