Senior Assessment Officer for Ethiopia

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

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, GIS and remote sensing. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO with headquarters based in Paris and presence in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, which allows IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support in its fields of intervention.

We are currently looking for a Senior Assessment Officer to support our team in Ethiopia

Department:REACH

Position: Senior Assessment Officer

Contract duration:6 months with possibility of renewal

Location: Kampala, with frequent travel to Addis Ababa

Starting Date: April 1st 2024

COUNTRY PROFILE

Since 2018, Ethiopia has witnessed an escalation in unrest including large-scale displacement, killings, and destruction of property following domestic political changes. Such unrest has exacerbated the impact of climate-related crises, including the most devastating desert locust infestation in 25 years, which has damaged crops and fostered food insecurity. In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic infiltrated Ethiopia leading to lockdowns and transport bans in many regions that restricted access to markets. Then in November 2020, conflict erupted in the northern Tigray region, displacing many Ethiopians, and contributing to an approximate 1.1 million additional people needing assistance in Amhara, Afar and Tigray regions. In August 2023, conflict in Amhara resulted in a state of emergency declaration and restricted movement for citizens across the region. All of these events have severely disrupted livelihoods, affected the availability of staple market commodities, and threatened to sharply escalate humanitarian need for vulnerable populations across the country.

POSITION PROFILE

Under the line management of the IMPACT Research Manager or his/her delegates in Ethiopia, the Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for the implementation of IMPACT’s research cycles in country, including the preparation, data collection, analysis, drafting, dissemination and evaluation stages. Throughout research cycles, the Senior Assessment Officer engages with partners to promote their participation and maximize their impact. He/she also ensures an efficient and transparent use of resources required for project implementation. This can include the direct supervision of assessment teams.

In his/her mission, the Senior 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.

In her/his mission, the Senior Assessment Officer will support the implementation of the service capabilities assessment in Ethiopia. This assessment will take place in multiple regions and will be the primary project in the Senior Assessment Officer’s portfolio for the first 6 months of their contract. This project will require in-depth external engagement stakeholders and internal coordination with all units operating within the Ethiopia team. This project is a multi-phase project, focusing on WASH, Health, Nutrition and Education services in hotspot areas nationwide.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Assessment Officer’s responsibilities include:

RESEARCH CYCLE 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.

CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

• Keeping up to date with the shifting Ethiopian context.

RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

• 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.

STAFF MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING

• Promoting capacity building across the IMPACT Ethiopia 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.

COORDINATION

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.

External Coordination

• Leading on external engagement related to analytical research findings as necessary.
• 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 IMPACT.

REQUIREMENTS

• Academic Excellent academic qualifications, preferably including a Master degree in relevant discipline;
• Research skills Masters and proven experience with complex research methods. Excellent analytical skills and capacity to contextualize and interpret the data. Familiarity with qualitative analysis is required for this position – either through the saturation grid system or with software;
• Program specific skills Experience conducting intersectoral or multi-sectoral research highly desired; experience working in WASH, Health, Nutrition and/or Education sectors an asset;
• Software skills Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Advanced skills in R, SPSS and/or STATA or other statistical analysis software are an advantage but not essential. However, this person must be familiar with statistical outputs and able to interpret them. Experience with InDesign / illustration software is an asset.
• Familiarity aid system Familiarity with the aid system is required;
• Years of work experience At least 3 years of relevant working experience;
• Management skills Proven team management experience and skills; ability to build assessment capacity of team through training and mentoring. The person chosen for this position will likely manage one junior Assessment Officer and will coordinate with the field team and data team.
• Communication/reporting skills Excellent written and verbal communication; the Senior Assessment Officer will be responsible to engage different stakeholders and partners during the research design, analysis and reporting. Excellent writing skills for effective reporting.
• Multi-tasking skills Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles;
• Level of independence Proven ability to work independently;
• Cross-cultural work environment Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility; the person shall be culturally aware and able to establish effective relationship with a multicultural team. Ability to work effectively in a consortium and ability to be flexible in working closely with external actors
• Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment;
• Experience in geographical region Past experience in Ethiopia and East Africa is desirable;
• Language skills Fluency in English

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

· For this position, salary between 2’520 CHF and 2’640 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

· Accompanied status does not apply to this position*.*

· Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered (in-country travel costs and professional expenses are fully covered)

· 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

How to apply

Please click on the link to apply: Senior Assessment Officer for Ethiopia, based in Kampala, Uganda | Impact (impact-initiatives.org)