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.
We are currently looking for a REACH Senior
Assessment Officer to support our REACH Syria team.
Department: REACH
Position: Resilience & Livelihoods Assessment Officer
Contract duration: 6 months
Location: Amman, Jordan
Starting Date: ASAP
COUNTRY PROFILE
Into its ninth year of conflict, conditions in Syria remain highly volatile and marked by intense violence and limited
humanitarian access. The scale, complexity, and severity of humanitarian needs in Syria extends the necessity for up to date, timely, and accurate information. Evidence-based planning and programming remains paramount to ensure that the response adequately meets the needs of the most vulnerable people and is tailored to different realities across communities and over time. However, informing operational and
strategic planning remains highly challenging, as accessibility and
security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security issues impede systematic data collection. A lack of predictable and consistent data undermines the ability of humanitarian actors to review their approach in light of the dynamic context. REACH has been conducting assessments on the humanitarian situation in Syria since 2013 and has over the years grown significantly both in size and in influence as an actor in the Syria response. REACH works in opposition-controlled parts of Syria and coordinates closely with OCHA, nearly all clusters, key working groups (IM and technical) within the Syria
coordination system, and various NGO fora in order to identify, address, and raise awareness of key information gaps, as well as to uphold the quality of data used to inform the response.
Through these engagements, REACH has identified that the following key challenges remain: (1) the lack of a needs tracking system that brings together and shares timely and regular information on changes in needs from a variety of sources; (2) the ability to conduct coordinated large scale data collection on a more regular basis – particularly critical in the highly volatile context, and during key humanitarian milestones such as the HNO; (3) the lack information from harder to reach areas with some of the most acute needs (4) lack of ability to quickly mobilise data collection in areas experiencing sudden escalations in conflict, due to accessibility, operational and security constraints; (5) the lack of more granular and detailed information on needs and response capacity on specific newly accessible geographic areas. Broadly speaking, REACH Syria implements assessments within four key streams:
· Monitoring of the humanitarian situation in Syria, through monthly assessments covering over 1,600 communities in Syria, market monitoring to track prices of goods as per the survival minimum expenditure basket (SMEB), and ad hoc rapid assessments in times of sudden escalations in conflict or
natural disasters.
· Displacement tracking, through tracking the movement of IDPs and Returnees down to a 24-48 hourly basis, as well as monitoring the humanitarian situation inside IDP camps and informal settlements.
· Area-Based Assessments to support humanitarian actors in the coordination to identify key response gaps by comparing humanitarian needs data with response data, in a set locality – often one that has recently become accessible and/or that is recovering for instance from besiegement.
·
Technical support to clusters, for example in the form of coordination and implementation of sector and multisector assessments to inform the HNO, production of thematic assessments, presentations of findings, and
capacity building.
For an example of REACH Syria information products, please see below:
· REACH: Syria Market Monitoring, September 2020 Northwest factsheet
· REACH: Market Network Analysis, November 2020 Northeast factsheet and Northwest factsheet
POSITION PROFILE
REACH Syria is seeking an Assessment Officer (AO) to lead the Cash & Markets Unit’s resilience and livelihood assessments. In this role, the AO will be responsible for leading all resilience and livelihood assessments conducted within the unit. The AO will work closely with the Cash Working Group (CWG),
Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL) cluster and working group,
Early Recovery and Livelihoods (ERL) cluster and working group, key resilience and livelihood programming actors, and other relevant sectoral actors on matters related to resilience and livelihood information needs and REACH assessments. Tasks will include the
design of assessments, assessment implementation, assessment output production, external engagement, and responding to ad-hoc analysis and information requests from external partners.
FUNCTIONS
Objective 1: Research Design
Under the supervision of the Cash & Markets Research Manager (RM), and in collaboration with CWG, FSL, and ERL sectors, REACH field teams, and the Data and Research Units at IMPACT HQ, the AO will be responsible for ensuring that the Research Design for resilience and livelihoods assessments is
comprehensive, follows the best practices as defined by the global standards of REACH and IMPACT, and closely fits the most up-to-date information needs of relevant clusters and working groups.
Objective 2: Implementation
Under the supervision of the Cash & Markets Research Manager (RM), and in consultation with CWG, FSL, and ERL sectors, and the Data and Research Units at IMPACT HQ, the AO will be responsible for implementing all operational stages of resilience and livelihood assessments. This includes the indicator design, the maintenance and revision of the assessment kobo tool and other technical tools, coordination of data collection with field teams, data cleaning, and
data analysis.
Objective 3: Output Production
Under the supervision of the Cash & Markets RM, and in collaboration with CWG, FSL, ERL sectors, and the IMPACT Reporting Unit, the AO will be responsible for producing all relevant outputs related to resilience and livelihoods assessments. These outputs may include cleaned excel datasets, InDesign factsheets, situation overviews, reports, and online dashboards.
Objective 4: Coordination and External Engagement
Under the supervision of the Cash & Markets RM, the AO will be responsible for coordinating with CWG, FSL, ERL and other relevant stakeholders throughout all stages of the Research Cycle to ensure their contribution is included in the eventual assessment output. The AO will also be responsible for managing all related external engagement associated with disseminating and communicating the assessment, primarily through development and presentation of key assessment messages and presentations for external audiences.
Objective 5: Ad-Hoc Analysis and Information Requests
Under the supervision of the Cash & Markets RM and in collaboration with other members of the Cash & Markets Unit or other REACH Syria units, the AO may be asked to carry out ad-hoc analysis of existing data at the request of cluster or working group partners. This may include more targeted analysis of REACH resilience and livelihoods assessment data or may include supporting in targeted or trends analysis of data from other related assessments.
REQUIREMENTS
· Excellent academic qualifications, including a master’s degree in a relevant discipline (international studies, development,
humanitarian response, economics,
monitoring and evaluation, etc) or a bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline with relevant work experience;
· At least 2 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian settings;
· Previous experience in resilience and/or livelihoods;
· Previous experience in survey tool design and implementation;
· Proven excellent analytical skills;
· Proven coordination and external engagement skills;
· Proficiency of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
· Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting in English;
· Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
DESIRABLE
· Previous experience in research on economics, and cash and markets;
· Ability to operate SPSS, STATA, R or related statistical software;
· Knowledge of the Adobe Suite, particularly Illustrator and InDesign;
· Knowledge of the humanitarian coordination structure;
· Knowledge of the Syrian context;
· Previous work experience in MENA region
CONDITIONS
· Salary defined by the IMPACT salary grid; educational level, expertise, hardship, security, and performance are considered for pay bonus.
· Additional monthly living allowance provided in country by IMPACT’s partner ACTED.
· Food and lodging provided at the organisation’s guesthouse/or housing allowance (depending on contract length and country of assignment).
· Transportation costs covered, including additional return ticket + luggage allowance.
Provision of medical, life, and repatriation insurance + retirement package
