Senior Research Officer – MSNA – Global, based in Dakar full-time

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT & 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)
Over the past 10 years, REACH has established itself as a leader in the delivery of independent, crisis-wide Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessments (MSNAs). MSNAs respond directly to Grand Bargain commitments by providing impartial, unbiased, comprehensive, context-sensitive, and timely data to inform humanitarian decision-making. In doing so, MSNAs promote a shift in how humanitarian needs are measured and how response planning and prioritization decisions are made. MSNA data enables and promotes needs-based, evidence-based and people-centred decision making when it comes to aid. MSNAs are delivered on an annual cycle aligned with the Humanitarian Planning Cycle (HPC). IMPACT delivers approximately 20 MSNAs each year across some of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. In 2026, IMPACT embarked on an exciting but ambitious journey to expand and improve the MSNA programme. The ultimate goal is to improve the resilience of the data, information and analysis system underpinning humanitarian aid policy by streamlining delivery of MSNAs, making them easier, faster and cheaper the deliver by 2028. Delivering on this agenda requires a scale-up of the Global MSNA Team, close coordination with country teams and partners involved in delivering MSNAs. This position is therefore based in our Regional Office in Dakar.

We are currently looking for a Senior Research Officer to join the Global MSNA Team of the Research Systems Unit (RSU).
Title: Senior Research Officer – Training, Learning and Country Support (MSNA)

Location: Dakar, Senegal, with travel (up to 30% deployment to HQ & MSNA countries / regional locations)

Line management: Reports to the MSNA Training, Learning and Country Support (TLC) Specialist; administratively hosted by the IMPACT/ACTED office in Dakar

Contract duration: 12 months

Start date: ASAP.

POSITION PROFILE
This position is situated within the Research Systems Unit (RSU) of the Global Programmes Section. Under the overall guidance of the Research Manager, the RSU supports the delivery of core, multi-sectoral research across IMPACT’s countries of operation. Reporting directly to the Training, Learning and Country support (TLC) Specialist, the Senior Research Officer (SRO) will support and contribute to the design and implementation of REACH MSNA research cycles globally, with a primary focus on the MSNA Training and Certification Programme (TCP) and on direct support to a portfolio of MSNA country teams. Approximately 70% of the role is dedicated to the training and certification programme and 30% to country support and quality assurance.

The position is based in Dakar in order to bring training, certification and country support capacity closer to the responses it serves, and to anchor partner engagement and regional training delivery in West and Central Africa. The position plays a critical function in providing strategic, programmatic and technical support to REACH counterparts – at country, regional and global level – on a high profile and impactful IMPACT workstream.

FUNCTION & RESPONSIBILITIES
The SAO will support the below core areas of work:

Training and Certification Programme (approx. 70%)

Map existing MSNA guidance and lesson material against the full research cycle, identify gaps, and prioritise the resources most needed by country teams.
At the direction of the TLC Specialist, develop and maintain the missing training and implementation resources and consolidate these, alongside the existing toolkit, into an externally available MSNA Practitioner’s Manual.
Support the TLC Specialist with the development of the MSNA Practitioner’s Manual and the MSNA training curriculum across certification tiers.
Work with the TLC Specialist and other HQ departments to coordinate the development and iterative improvement of MSNA online courses, including the foundational course and new courses on sampling and indicator selection, field data collection and team operations, and MSNI analysis.
Coordinate with country teams to map and engage certification partners in the region of assignment, building relationships with national and regional actors that can deliver, or benefit from, MSNA training and certification.
Design and co-deliver MSNA training and lessons learned workshops, including the annual lessons learned exercises & Global MSNA workshop.
Contribute to the maintenance of the certification matrix and the MSNA Certification Registry.
Support the team in maintaining the MSNA training calendar, identify ad-hoc training needs and deliver sessions remotely.
Support the publication of MSNA guidance and toolkit resources for external audiences, including on the MSNA webpage.
Country support and quality assurance (approx. 30%)

Act as primary focal point for several MSNA countries according to the MSNA team split per MSNA Cycle. This will involve monthly check-ins, ad-hoc support throughout the full research cycle ensuring country teams have the resources needed to produce high-quality data and analysis, document reviews, reporting progress and challenges through the MSNA Info Tracker & HQ MSNA meetings, and proactively flagging issues to the wider MSNA team.
Support in facilitation of the MSNA CoP and maintaining of the MSNA FAQ and intranet hub.
Review country outputs against the MSNA minimum requirements at each phase of the cycle – ToRs, DAPs, KoBo tools, clean datasets, analysis, MSNI frameworks and bulletins – in coordination with the research quality assurance and sectoral units.
Provide surge support to MSNA country teams in the region through in-country deployment at critical points of the cycle.
Key deliverables in the first 12 months

3 x MSNA online courses developed and live.
1 x lessons learned workshop on implementing MSNAs in partnership with local actors
25 x certification partners mapped and engaged in the region of assignment.
1 x external toolkit with identified toolkit gaps filled
Minimum requirement reviews completed for the assigned country portfolio across all phases of the 2027 cycle.
Monthly check-ins delivered and logged in the Info Tracker for assigned MSNA countries.
REQUIREMENTS
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.
Demonstrated experience designing and delivering training or capacity-building for adult professionals, including remote and online delivery considered a strong asset.
Experience developing e-learning content (e.g. Didask, Moodle or comparable platforms) an asset.
Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting.
Strong interpersonal skills, including good external engagement and coordination skills, and the ability to build partnerships with regional and national actors.
Familiarity with the humanitarian system and global humanitarian policy frameworks, in particular the Grand Bargain, the HPC and the JIAF.
Willingness and ability for short term deployments, including to complex and challenging security environments.
Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility.
Fluency in English and French required, given the regional remit of the position; Arabic, Spanish or Portuguese an asset.
Prior experience leading the design or implementation of MSNAs an asset.
Prior experience working in West and/or Central Africa an asset.
Ability to operate InDesign, a strong plus.
Ability to operate R, or a related statistical programming language, an asset.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
For this position, salary between 2’460 CHF and 2’520 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.
How to apply
Please apply directly on the website via the following link: Senior Research Officer – MSNA – Global, based in Dakar (Link For External Applicants) | Impact