BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND 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 works to promote and facilitate the development of information products that enhance the humanitarian communityโs 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 ACTEDโs operational support on its fields of intervention.
We are currently looking for a Data Specialist to support our team in the Global Humanitarian Planning & Prioritization Unit in our Geneva Headquarters office..
Department:REACH
Position: Data Specialist
Contract duration:Open-ended
Location: Geneva, Switzerland (with possibility of up to 20% travel)
Starting Date: ASAP
POSITION PROFILE
The Data Specialist will be part of the REACH Humanitarian Planning & Prioritization Unit based in IMPACT HQ, supporting the Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) Workstream under the supervision of the unit Manager. Specifically, the Data Officer will (1) conduct research & development activities relating to automation/process improvement; (2) provide dedicated quantitative analysis support to REACH country teams implementing MSNAs.
FUNCTIONS
The REACH Data Specialist will fulfill the following functions:
Research & Development around automation โ piloting methods to produce robust analysis within and between crises, using standardised/automated analytical processes.
- Conduct a scoping activity and document (a) global automation tools for data analysis of humanitarian/ development assessment tools; (b) current data analysis practices in IMPACT country missions.
- Identify and provide recommendations about workstreams that would benefit from automation/standardisation.
- Test various statistical analysis techniques to identify the most reliable automation/standardisation approaches.
- Design and test purpose-built automation tools in close collaboration with MSNA in-country and global programmes teams.
- Build the capacity of country teams to use, adapt, and operationalise MSNA automation/standardisation tools.
- Ensure the above tasks are conducted in accordance with IMPACT data protection standards and policies.
Internal Knowledge sharing, Learning and Capacity Building
- Identify capacity gaps, and resolve to bridge these through targeted capacity building, training, performance monitoring, and backstopping where needed.
- Support to the development and implementation of capacity training plans for data, assessment and other team members on efficiency and automation tools.
- Contribute to generating and documenting robust lessons learned at the end of relevant Research Cycle.
- Ensure knowledge and learning processes are shared across country missions.
- Continuously seek to innovate around efficiency for IMPACT assessments, information products and processes.
- Work closely with other specialists in HQ to develop, implement and monitor a multi-disciplinary training and learning plan for IMPACT teams.
- More generally, contributes to creating a culture of rigour, innovation and learning within IMPACTโs operations.
Country support (up to 20%) โ dedicated data support to REACH country teams.
- Provided dedicated data cleaning, processing, and analysis surge support to REACH country teams implementing inter-sectoral research programs.
- This support will be ad hoc in nature but anticipated to focus primarily around supporting with MSNA quantitative analysis during the peak analysis period (1-2 months) each year, to ensure critical in-country milestones are met.
- This support may be provided remotely and/or through a field deployment, depending on the extent of support required and the specific needs of the country team.
Data Confidentiality and Protection
- The Data Specialist 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
Required qualifications.
- Academic Excellent academic qualifications, preferably including a masterโs degree in relevant discipline.
- Years of work experience At least 4 years of relevant working experience
- Research skills Excellent research and analytical skills required, including a sound understanding of sampling frameworks and their application, an ability to analyse large data sets, as well as conduct temporal or spatial trend analysis. Demonstrable experience of data science. Excellent data analysis skills. Prior experience with and good understanding of quantitative data processing and analysis methods, including descriptive and inferential statistics.
- Software skills Advanced knowledge of R, STATA, Python or equivalent statistical software (R preferred). Proven knowledge of Microsoft office including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Knowledge of ArcGIS an advantage.
- Training skills Proven experience in conducting training and capacity building for teams and partners on assessment methods, including ability to mentor.
Desired qualifications
- Experience in needs assessments, monitoring & evaluations, information management in field research settings in an international context.
- Experience in coding data collection tools for mobile data collection platforms.
- A self-starter with a proven ability to work independently.
- Working knowledge of Arabic, French, Spanish, or another relevant language.
- Familiarity with the humanitarian aid system.
Compensation and Benefits
- For this position, gross salary between 5โ800 CHF and 6โ150 CHF monthly (before income tax).
- NB - IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education and experience of staff. A contribution to medical insurance of 450 CHF per month is already included in the salary figure.
- Insurance covering professional and non-professional accidents throughout the period of employment with IMPACT
- Health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance in case of field visits/temporary deployments
- Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.
- Applicants must hold a valid work permit for Switzerland or be EU/EFTA citizens
- Up to 40% of remote work on a weekly basis