REACH RAPID NEEDS ASSESSMENT OFFICER – MOGADISHU; SOMALIA

Position: REACH Rapid Needs Assessment Officer

Department: REACH

Location: Mogadishu

Contract Duration: 6 months

Direct Hierarchy: REACH Research Manager

Starting date: May 2023

Background on ACTED

Created in 1993, ACTED is an international non-governmental organization pursuing a dual mandate of emergency response and development interventions in 40 of some of the world’s most vulnerable countries affected by conflicts, disasters, or socio-economic hardship. With a team of 7,000 national staff and 400 international staff, ACTED implements 500 projects a year to support more than 20 million beneficiaries, notably in hard-to-reach areas.

ACTED goes to the last mile through programs and approaches that look beyond the immediate emergency towards opportunities for longer term livelihood reconstruction and sustainable development. Guided by the motto “Think Local, Act Global” and its 3Zero –Zero Exclusion, Zero Carbon, and Zero Poverty – strategy, ACTED puts local territories at the centre and provides a tailored support to local needs.

REACH was born in 2010 as a joint initiative of two INGOs (IMPACT Initiatives and ACTED) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) 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, supporting, and working within the framework of the humanitarian reform process. 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.

COUNTRY PROFILE

REACH has been operating in Somalia since 2012 and has multiple research cycles including two large-scale national assessments (Joint Multi-Cluster Needs Assessment and Detailed Site Assessment) as well as several other smaller assessments all aimed at providing intersectoral analysis of the response. In addition, there is a cash and markets team, which provide third party monitoring to the largest cash consortium in Somalia and Joint Market monitoring for the Shelter, NFI and WASH clusters.

REACH is looking for professionally confident, self-motivated, experienced, and committed team player to fill the position REACH Rapid Needs Assessment Officer, Mogadishu, Somalia.

Position Profile:

Under the line management of the Public Health Unit Research Manager the Rapid Needs Assessment Officer is responsible for the implementation of research cycles in emergency contexts of Somalia and where relevant Kenya as well, including the preparation, data collection, analysis, drafting, dissemination, and evaluation stages. Throughout research cycles, the Rapid Needs 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 Rapid Needs 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.

The Rapid Needs Assessment Officer is responsible for overseeing the planning, implementation and follow up of research cycles to strengthen real time monitoring and key gathering data especially in hard-to-reach locations, in close coordination with other team members and with relevant external partners. In doing so, the Rapid Needs Assessment Officer will ensure an effective management of related projects and resources.

More specifically the Rapid Needs Assessment Officer is responsible for the following:

FUNCTIONS

Research Planning:

• Anticipate knowledge gaps prior to the execution of a Research Cycle;
• Ensure that required secondary data review and/or analysis has been conducted in preparation of an assessment;
• Ensure that all research cycles are planned in line with the country strategy, relevant research and project objectives and with research cycle and other relevant guidelines;
• Design research approaches and methodologies according to requirements and principles as well as partners’ information needs;
• Compose and construct, in close coordination with GIS and data teams, qualitative and quantitative data collection tools;
• For each research cycle, prepare ToRs and ensure their validation by HQ before any data collection begins;
• Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in research design and planning.

Research Implementation

• In close liaison with field officer(s), ensure that required enumerators are identified and trained for primary data collection;
• In close liaison with field officer (s), Monitor data collection, ensuring its correct implementation in line with agreed TORs;
• In close liaison with field officer (s), Manage assessment logistics, including with partner organizations, identifying assessment areas, facilitating design workshops, managing joint data collection processes, and facilitating joint analysis workshops;
• In close liaison with field officer (s), Ensure regular situation updates on data collection are produced and circulated to line manager, relevant colleagues, and external counterparts. Provide support and follow up on identified challenges during the data collection process;
• Ensure that the line manager and HQ research department are alerted to any issues that prevents full implementation of the methodology agreed in the approved TORs. Ensure that all changes to the methodology are documented throughout implementation, and that any change is formally validated by HQ;
• Keep track of progress and delays of all assigned assessments throughout the research cycle. Ensure that delays or identified challenges for specific assessments are reported in writing and orally in a timely manner;
• In close liaison with field officer (s), Ensure logistics, financial, administration, security and HR processes directly related to ongoing and upcoming assessments are appropriately planned, implemented and coordinated with the relevant ACTED departments;
• Ensure that all collected data is stored in line with Data Management Guidelines and with the ToRs;
• In close liaison with field officer (s), Ensure that data is revised and cleaned, and that all revisions are recorded;
• In close liaison with data colleagues Provide data analysis on primary and/or secondary data as per ToRs, ensuring that meaningful techniques are used to analyze the data collected;
• Ensure that data and its analysis are validated by HQ before product drafting stage;
• Ensure that data and its analysis do not contain personal information and are validated by HQ before sharing to external parties.

Drafting of Research Products

• Ensure the drafting of timely and accurate outputs that consolidate the analyses from each research cycle into relevant products such as factsheets, reports, briefs, presentations, etc which comply with guidelines and quality standards;
• Ensure that products accurately reflect the information collected and that information is conveyed in a way that maximizes their impact in line with their intended use;
• Liaise with relevant GIS colleagues to ensure effective spatial representation of research findings in maps or interactive web-portals, as relevant;
• Follow the designated timeline of reports to be submitted to project partners and donors. Ensure that delays or identified challenges for specific assessments are reported in writing and orally in a timely manner;
• Maintain regular communication with country Management and HQ on progress and deadlines for written products;
• Ensure that all written products are validated by HQ before external release.

External Engagement

• Ensure that relevant partners are consulted and involved at all stages of research cycle: assessment preparation; data collection; data analysis; review of research products; product dissemination; and lessons learnt;
• After validation by the line manager, represent in relevant meetings/ working groups; Follow up on issues identified by partners or during meetings / working groups;
• Promote an active use of datasets and research findings by partners and the broader humanitarian community for their decision making;
• After validation by line manager, present research findings to relevant third parties in order to enhance their use and impact;
• Ensure that all partner engagement and all external relations are clearly documented and communicated with the line manager and relevant colleagues
• More generally, contribute to the creation of a positive image and overall credibility of the organization, notably through the application of mandate, ethics, values and stand-point with regard to other actors.

Knowledge sharing and learning processes

• In coordination with country management, support the conduct of monitoring and evaluation for each Research Cycle, as specified in the research ToRs and in line with Guidelines;
• Generate and document robust lessons learned at the end of each Research Cycle;
• Ensure knowledge and learning processes are shared with other Units and teams within mission, and with HQ;
• When required, provide feedback to appropriate global organizational knowledge learning tools.

Project Cycle Management

• For relevant projects, ensure compliance to project cycle management requirements and guidelines at all phases;
• Before project start, ensure the organization of a kick off meeting and the availability of key project management documentations to plan the efficient use of assets, financial and human resources;
• In close coordination with line management, finance and grants colleagues, monitor and regularly update the use of assets, financial and human resources, in full compliance with guidelines; this includes maintaining an oversight of budget availability and expenditure for assessment activities;
• Ensure that project deliverables and requirements are tracked, met and complied to;
• Ensure that any issue in relation to project implementation is reported to the line manager, finance and grants colleagues, and HQ;
• Ensure that a project completion meeting is held and documented for all relevant projects;
• Support the line manager, finance and grants colleagues in drafting of relevant project narrative and financial reports;
• Other tasks as requested by supervisors.

Internal Coordination

• Actively participate in regular team meetings;
• Ensure regular coordination and exchange with relevant colleagues;
• Engage in the development and implementation of strategy in (country).
• Conduct regular meetings with relevant national and international assessment staff members to assess progress in relevant research cycles and to review work plan;
• For all activities, ensure that all assessment and field teams are comprehensively briefed on objectives, expected outputs and that the overall implementation strategy is clearly understood;
• Ensure that project/field staff are given required training and resources to achieve their tasks in line with and project requirements;
• Be available to provide regular support and technical backstopping; regularly debrief team members to receive feedback on the progress of an activity;
• In coordination with line manager, contribute to conduct induction for new staff members, including training in basic technical competencies for research design, implementation and analysis;
• Support to the line managers and specialists in the development and implementation of capacity training plans for team members.

Data Confidentiality and Protection

The Rapid Needs Assessment Officer will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes, ensuring full compliance with data protection policy and SOPs. He/she will actively take measures to prevent the unauthorized sharing of any information and data belonging to and its partners, or collected during his/her assignment.

Technical skills

• Human qualities
  • Organizational value alignment
  • Thinking outside of the box
  • Adaptation to different work situations
  • Dedication and self-commitment
  • Autonomy and self-direction
• Management skills
  • Leadership – inspire and encourage others within the team;
  • Decision making and problem solving
  • Achieving results
  • Teamwork and team leadership
• Process skills
  • Transparency and Accountability;
  • Planning and organizing;
  • Operationalizing – concrete actions with measurable outputs
  • Effective communication