REACH Senior Assessment Officer

About Acted

“We go the last mile. Founded in Afghanistan, against the backdrop of a forgotten crisis, Acted’s mission is to save lives and support people in meeting their needs in hard-to-reach areas. Millions of vulnerable people around the world need humanitarian assistance today, and hundreds of millions will need it tomorrow, in the face of the growing threat of climate change. We believe that our assistance must be conceptualized and delivered within the framework of people’s natural environments, and the territories on which they depend. Therefore, Acted pursues a triple mandate as a humanitarian, environmental and development aid actor, contributing to the relief, stabilization, and recovery of crisis-affected people in fragile areas. This vision is guided by the motto “Think Local – Act Global” - reflecting the need to rely on a deep understanding of local territories and contexts to develop and implement actions based on local knowledge, structures and capacities. This local thinking contributes to a global response - running through all Acted programming and operations - as we work together towards the building of a 3ZERO world: a world with Zero Exclusion, Zero Carbon, and Zero Poverty”.

Greening strategy:

Acted’s greening strategy aims to tackle environmental degradation and climate change while meeting the needs of the most vulnerable who are often those most affected by the deepening environmental crisis. Each Acted employee will adhere to these principles through key green programming responsibilities:

• Contribute towards the adherence and development of the greening strategy plan.

• Explore innovative green programming opportunities and/or solutions within your realm of responsibilities and roles

• Encouraging and promoting environmental safeguarding processes and environmental programming standards in accordance with SOPs and technical guideline notes

Acted PSEAH Policy:

The REACH Senior Assessment Officer has the responsibility to adhere to the PSEAH Policy (Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment). REACH Senior Assessment Officer has the obligation to complete all mandatory training courses related to the Code of Conduct and the PSEA policy and report any safeguarding concern such as breaches of organizational policies or codes of conduct according to Acted’s procedures. REACH Senior Assessment Officer carries out work duties in a way that does not harm children, vulnerable adults or other staff or volunteers.

Location: Damascus

Job Purpose

REACH seeks to conduct innovative, timely and well-targeted research aimed at informing decision-making within humanitarian emergency and early recovery planning. REACH assessments often draw on qualitative, statistical, and geospatial analysis to provide a clear picture of the situation related to the needs, preferences and opinions of affected populations, the functionality of systems supporting affected communities, and cross-cutting factors (such as the impact of climate on humanitarian crisis).

To support these endeavors, REACH Syria is seeking to hire an enthusiastic and experienced Senior Researcher to support and lead on humanitarian research, possibly including climate, livelihoods, humanitarian situation monitoring, camps and displacement, and area-based approaches (ABAs).

Under the management of Research Manager (RM), the Research Officer will be responsible for independently:

• designing and implementing research projects based on existing guidance,
• engaging with a diverse set of stakeholders,
• supporting the operationalization of the research design,
• crafting targeted briefs and analytical products,

leading dissemination of findings.

Objectives

• Lead the development of technically robust research design and assessment plans that respond to information needs and position REACH as a trusted information provider.
• Draft descriptive and/or interpretive analytical products responding to the research questions and targeted to the information needs / analytical capabilities on the intended audience.
• Engage actively in the dissemination of research findings to external partners.
• Ensure smooth collaboration with GIS, Data, Field teams and external partners during all phases of the research.
• Increase the skill of Assessment Officers under their management and contribute to the innovative practices within the team.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Research Manager, the Senior Research Officer will lead on various research cycles focusing on climate, livelihoods, humanitarian situation monitoring, camps and displacement, and area-based approaches. The SRO's responsibilities will include:

The Senior Research Officer’s responsibilities include:

RESEARCH CYCLE DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT

• Understanding key research cycles and how this research contributes to strategic response objectives.
  • Managing relevant research cycle, including oversight of research design, data collection, or analysis.
  • Overseeing development and implementation of analytical workstreams, including use of existing REACH data in thematic briefs, reports, presentations, etc.
  • Leading the research cycle including research design, tool development, and data collection.
  • Keeping up to date with the shifting Syria context.

DISSEMINATION, ENGAGEMENT AND PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT

• Supporting the development of REACH’s profolio of assessment via engagements with external stakeholders and support to the CR and RM in donor engagement.
  • Lead on dissemination of key findings in various format to key stakeholders.

STAFF MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING

• Promoting capacity building across the IMPACT Syria mission related to deepening analytical capacities using existing research (capacity building portfolio will depend on level of experience).
  • Providing day-to-day direct and indirect management of the research team within their unit/workstream.

INTERNAL COORDINATION

• Interacting autonomously with HQ departments and may serve as mission focal point for particular themes or technical areas;
  • Coordinating with research units and teams to move forward or improve aspects of the research cycle;
  • Supporting senior management with designing, planning, and implementing strategies, and objectives.

The Senior Assessment Officer will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes. They 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 REACH.

QUALIFICATIONS

required

• Education: University degree, preferably a Masters but an Undergraduate is acceptable.
• Years of work experience: At least three years of experience working humanitarian or development contexts, ideally involving research or assessment activities.
• Previous work experience in the field of Research and a high degree of independence.
• Research skills: Demonstrated experience conducting research or working with data.
• Analytical skills: Strong analytical capabilities to identify key trends and contextualize findings.
• Software skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel.
• Languages: Fluency in English and Arabic; excellent writing and communication skills.
• Teamwork: Ability to operate independently and within a multicultural team environment.
• Technical skills in any of the following:
  • Proficiency with data analysis software such as R, SPSS, STATA.
  • Experience with mobile data collection tools (ODK, ONA, KoBo).
  • Experience in data cleaning and analysis.
  • Skills in data visualization tools (PowerBI or similar).
  • Knowledge of the Adobe Suite, especially InDesign.
• External engagement Experience or strong interest in external coordination and partner engagement.
• Understanding of the humanitarian context in Syria.

Desired

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely and quality delivery of assigned research tasks.
• Positive internal and external feedback on the quality and relevance of outputs.
• Effective collaboration and clear communication among Field, Data, and GIS teams.
• Active participation in discussions aimed at improving assessment practices and methodologies.
• Constructive contributions to external engagement efforts and presentations of research findings.

How to apply

1-Interested and qualified applicants should apply by filling out the application form through this link:

https://forms.office.com/e/bFFy6t92eb

2- You are requested to upload your updated CV & evidence of professional work report on the following link:

https://ee-eu.kobotoolbox.org/x/gsYC8V9L

Only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

By applying for this position, you certify that all the details of your current application, are true to the best of your background and knowledge. You accept the legal mentions of www.acted.org and authorize the automated processing of your personal data by ACTED for recruitment, HR management and administrative compliance control purposes, in accordance with European regulations for the protection of personal data.(http://www.acted.org/)

ACTED is committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse in the framework of its programs in Syria. The successful candidate will be required to adhere to ACTED Code of conduct and ACTED Global Policies, especially regarding the protection of children and the protection against sexual exploitation and abuse. A rigorous reference and background checks will be undertaken, and information will be requested from previous employers about any disciplinary action of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

ACTED is committed to gender equity and to have a balanced and diverse workforce. ACTED strongly encourages qualified women, persons with disabilities, and persons from under-represented groups to apply for the position.

ACTED offers a variety of arrangements that enable women to excel in their careers, including flexible working hours for work-life balance, maternity leave, and career coaching.

ACTED never uses external recruitment agencies and recruitment is always free of charge.

The necessity of ensuring the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity, with proper attention to promoting diversity, is the most important concern in the recruitment and employment of staff at ACTED.

Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision, or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided.

ACTED reserves the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.