Assessment Officer – JMMI for Sudan, based in Kampala Full Time NEW

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT

Created in 2010, IMPACT is a Geneva-based NGO and the largest independent data provider in contexts of crisis. IMPACT aims to support a range of stakeholders in making better, more informed decisions in humanitarian, stabilization, and development settings. Through our team of assessment, data, geospatial, and thematic specialists, IMPACT promotes the design of people-centred research and set standards for collecting and analysing rigorous, high quality data in complex environments. Over the past 15 years, IMPACT has been growing in size and geographic reach to become one of the largest humanitarian research agencies in the humanitarian sector.

IMPACT’s teams implement assessment, monitoring, evaluation, and organisational capacity-building programmes in direct partnership with aid actors. IMPACT’s team is composed of over 200 full-time international experts as well as a roster of consultants, who are currently implementing over 50 programmes in over 30 countries across Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Central and South-east Asia, and Eastern Europe.

We are currently looking for an Assessment Officer to support our team in Sudan, based in Kampala, Uganda

Position: Assessment Officer

Contract duration: 8 months

Starting Date: October 6

Location: Kampala, Uganda

COUNTRY PROFILE

Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in Khartoum on 15 April 2023 and spread quickly across the country. Civilians have fled areas affected by fighting in large numbers, including to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. Prices of food, fuel and other basic goods have skyrocketed skyrocketing, making critical goods unaffordable for many people. Half of Sudan’s population are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the country is on the verge of a catastrophic hunger crisis. Humanitarian organizations are racing to respond to the most pressing needs wherever and whenever feasible, with access issues complicating the ability of actors to respond. In this fast-evolving context, IMPACT Initiatives is working to inform the emergency response to enable effective prioritization with scarce resources.

Background on Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI)

The JMMI provides technical support to the Cash Working Group and Minimum Expenditure Basket Task Force (MEB TF) in Sudan, coordinating data collection, monitoring and analysis of prices of key commodities across localities. The JMMI seeks to reduce duplication of price monitoring assessments by coordinating between national and international NGOs and improve evidence-based recommendation to inform the planification and implementation of cash & voucher assistance (CVA) and multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) activities.

POSITION PROFILE

Under the line management of the IMPACT Inter-cluster Unit (ICU) Research Manager (RM), the Assessment Officer (AO) is responsible for the implementation of the JMMI research cycle in Sudan, including drafting terms of references (ToRs) that clearly articulate research objectives, data analysis plans (DAPs), and coding kobo tools for data collection. The AO will also assist with training enumerators prior to data collection, will supervise data collection and data cleaning and analysis, ensuring implementation is in line with set timelines and IMPACT quality standards; will draft, publish and disseminate research outputs, including price monitoring reports and presentations to coordination bodies such as the national Cash Working Group. Throughout the JMMI workstream, the AO engages with a wide range of partners, including national and international NGOs, to promote their participation and maximize their impact. They also ensure efficient and transparent use of resources required for project implementation.

This position requires strong research skills, an analytical mind, creativity, independence, and an interest in the regional context. Candidates should have strong writing and presentation skills and be able to clearly think through and articulate implications of research findings. The position will regularly require looking at data, pulling out relevant findings, writing engaging briefs and factsheets, presenting findings to external audiences with varying amounts of data literacy, and guiding colleagues in how to think more analytically about their own research.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Assessment Officer’s responsibilities include:

RESEARCH CYCLE MANAGEMENT

• Understanding key research cycles and context-appropriate research design and how this research contributes to strategic response objectives aligned with JMMI-level activities.
• Assist in all phases of research, including research design, data collection, processing, analysis and output production.

CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

• Keeping up to date with the shifting context in Sudan both at national and sub-national levels.
• Maintaining an understanding of the contextual and humanitarian research landscape, particularly in relation to official administrative approval procedures in various states and localities, and partnerships for data collection with local and international NGOs.

RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Supporting the development and implementation of analytical workstreams, including use of existing IMPACT data in thematic briefs, reports, presentations, etc.
• Contributing to research cycles including research design, tool development, and data collection.
• Producing clear and well-structured research outputs under supervision, primarily in English.

COORDINATION

INTERNAL COORDINATION

• Autonomously interacting with HQ departments and Units.
• Supporting the coordination with research units and teams to move forward or improve aspects of the research cycles.
• Coordinate internally with other workstream focal points to gather relevant information, foster collaboration, and streamline processes aimed at optimizing JMMI workflows, enhancing research output quality, and expanding dissemination reach.

EXTERNAL COORDINATION

• Support the RM on external engagement related to analytical research findings as necessary.
• Coordinate and interact with national and international NGOs, to optimize the implementation of JMMI and promote expansion.

ANY OTHER TASKS NEEDED TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF THE IMPACT SUDAN TEAM

This position may involve being called upon to work on other IMPACT programmes as needed.

The 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 their assignment with IMPACT.

REQUIREMENTS

• Years of work experience: 3 years of relevant working experience in a humanitarian setting, such as assessments, monitoring and evaluation, research design and analysis, etc.
• Research skills: Quantitative and qualitative research data analysis experience required.
• Familiarity with aid system: An understanding of the aid system and the research community is an advantage. Prior experience with humanitarian coordination forums preferred.
• Thematic experience: Prior experience with Cash and Market sector and with JMMI is an asset.
• Communication/reporting skills: Excellent verbal and written communication and drafting skills for effective reporting required.
• Academic qualifications: Excellent academic qualifications, including a master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline (e.g. international studies, development, humanitarian response, data science, political science, etc.).
• Software skills: Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Familiarity with R, SPSS and/or STATA or other statistical analysis software is an asset.
• Security environment: Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.
• Experience in geographical region: Experience in the region is desirable.
• Language skills: Fluency in English required, competency in Arabic is an asset.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• For this position, salary between 2’160 CHF and 2’280 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 the guesthouse.
• Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swisslife – approx. 9.975% of staff gross salary), health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance.
• 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;
• 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.

Tagged as: Impact Initiatives, Uganda