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 an Associate Research Manager- HAPT to support our team in Ethiopia 

Department:                       REACH

Position:                              Associate Research Manager- HAPT

Contract duration:              6 months with possibility of renewal

Location:                              Kampala, with frequent travel to Addis Ababa

Starting Date:                       ASAP.

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. More recently, conflicts in neighbouring countries such as Sudan and South Sudan have led to spillover effects in Ethiopia, and are compounded by regional tensions across all countries in the Horn of Africa. 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 Associate Research Manager 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 Associate Research Manager engages with relevant 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 may include the direct supervision of assessment teams.

In his/her mission, the Associate Research Manager 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 Associate Research Manager will support the setup and implementation of the newly designed Humanitarian Analysis and Prioritization Team (HAPT) in Ethiopia. This project will involve building a robust and interconnected analysis structure across Ethiopia to enable identification and flagging of sudden and slow onset emergencies and acute needs, and to support country wide analysis and prioritization to inform strategic level decision making. This will incorporate IMPACT’s Acute Needs Analysis workstream and technical and assessment management support to the Ethiopia HSM and Rapid Response Mechanism (ET-RRM). The HAPT team under the leadership of the Associate Research Manager will review and synthesize data, conduct structured analysis using IMPACT’s global analytical guidance/frameworks and other robust approaches to produce high impact outputs based on the context and audience. Consolidated outputs will be geared towards informing humanitarian prioritization decisions, including—but not limited to—the Humanitarian Programme Cycle (HPC), HNRPs, and donor resource allocation. This project will require in-depth external engagement stakeholders and strong internal coordination with all units operating within the Ethiopia team, as well as the capacity to handle and manage highly confidential data and assessment processes.

BACKGROUND ON HUMANITARIAN ANALYSIS AND PRIORITIZATION TEAM (HAPT)

In response to the shifting humanitarian landscape, IMPACT is placing greater emphasis on producing light, consistent, and decision-oriented analysis products, which summarize available data and inform key decision-making processes. The IMPACT Ethiopia Humanitarian Analysis and Prioritization Team (HAPT) was developed in alignment with this global strategic orientation and in response to complex context characterised by;

An increasingly shrinking independent data and assessment landscape in Ethiopia

Significant humanitarian access and operational constraints

Major gaps in robust situations and needs prioritization analysis.

HAPT will review and synthesize data and conduct structured analysis using REACH data sources, joint data systems and credible secondary data sources to produce;

Trend analysis and crisis zoom-ins (in coordination with other research cycles in the wider Ethiopia team)

Acute Needs Analysis- New flagship analytical output that provides a concise, actionable understanding of acute humanitarian needs across geographies and population groups within a crisis.

Facilitation, Technical support and assessment management of Rapid Needs Assessments for the Ethiopia Rapid Response Mechanism (ET-RRM)

Prioritization analysis and support to strategic actors (donors, OCHA, key humanitarian groups/partners.)

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Associate Research Manager’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 Ethiopian 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 Associate Research Manager 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, including a Master degree in relevant discipline;
• Research skills Masters and proven experience with complex research methods and analytical frameworks. 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 multi-sectoral or intersectoral research highly desired;
• 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 a Senior Analyst/Assessment Officer and IM Officer/Analyst and will coordinate with the field team and data team.
• Communication/reporting skills Excellent written and verbal communication; the Associate Research Manager will be responsible for engaging 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 an 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 2’940 CHF and 3’000 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’ HQ in Geneva + one week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ in Paris, including a 4-day 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

Submit your application using the form below. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.