South Sudan: IMPACT Assessment Officer in South Sudan

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 whose headquarter is based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, which allows particularly IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support on its fields of intervention.

REACH was born in 2010 as a joint initiative of two International NGOs (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.

ACTED is a French humanitarian NGO, founded in 1993, which supports vulnerable populations, affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. ACTED provides continued support to vulnerable communities by ensuring the sustainability of post-crisis interventions and engaging long-term challenges facing our target populations, in order to break the poverty cycle, foster development and reduce vulnerability to disasters. Their interventions seek to cover the multiple aspects of humanitarian and development crises through a multidisciplinary approach which is both global and local, and adapted to each context. Their 3,300 staff is committed in to responding to emergencies worldwide, to supporting recovery and rehabilitation, towards sustainable development.

We are currently looking for aIMPACT Assessment Officer to supportour team inSouth Sudan.

Department: IMPACT

Position: IMPACT Assessment Officer

Contract duration: 6 months

Location: Juba, South Sudan but with minimum 50% of the time in field and deep field settings

Country profile

IMPACT, through its own activities, or through REACH, has been implementing programming in South Sudan since 2012. Responding to the Sudan Border Crisis, REACH initially engaged through coordinated information management support – in the form of refugee camp mapping and service provision analyses, thematic assessments, and multi-sectorial needs assessments – in Maban County, Upper Nile State and Pariang County, Unity State. IMPACT was engaged by DFID to provide a series of impact evaluations of their BRACE programming across Greater Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile States in 2013; a programme with run for two years, included 5 total assessments, and touched a total of more than 20,000 households. Immediately following the conflict of December 2013, REACH expanded its programming to include the IDP response, participating in Initial Rapid Needs Assessments of conflict affected areas, providing mapping and monthly service provision analyses for major IDP sites around the country, and running large-scale IDP return intentions assessments.

2016 has seen the expansions of both IMPACT and REACH programming to 9 of 10 states, spanning the refugee, IDP and development responses, and covering diverse activities such as cross-border port monitoring, assessments of hard to reach areas, flood mapping and vulnerability analysis, market monitoring and supply chain analysis, analysis of tensions and conflicts over access to natural resources, and third party monitoring of humanitarian and development programming.

In the coming year, IMPACT and REACH programming will focus on integrating ongoing assessments into a common data stream, expanding the geographic scale of activities, connecting information streams to surrounding countries that are impacted by events in South Sudan, and continuing to adopt a beneficiary-centric approach to data collection that puts that needs of affected populations, and the return of information to them, at the centre of our work.

The project:

IMPACT will be providing 6 months of Monitoring and Evaluation Support for DFID’s Essential Services Team’s Health Pooled Fund (HPF) and Girls Education in South Sudan (GESS) programmes, which have a total investment of GBP 330 million. The Assessment Officer will monitor and verify the health service and essential medicine delivery by HPF programme partners in 8 (former) states. They will also assess the efficiency of Cash transfer to girls and capitation grant to schools processes, accountability mechanisms and grants usage recipients. The project will require the implementation of traditional quantitative M+E methods, but will have considerable flexibility in the approach, allowing IMPACT to plan and execute an innovative qualitative component. This position will work closely with experienced national staff members and will require a considerable amount of time in field and deep-field locations.

Position profile

IMPACT is seeking an experienced candidate with recent experience implementing traditional qualitative M+E, but who also possesses a strong understanding of beneficiary-centric qualitative approaches. The candidate should be able to live and operate in very basic field conditions for long periods of time.

Functions

Under the supervision of, and in close coordination with, the IMPACT Country Coordinator and IMPACT HQ in Geneva, the IMPACT Assessment Officer is responsible for the management and implementation of all aspects of assessments in country, including assessment planning, data collection and analysis. He/she will also be responsible for related logistics, partner coordination, reporting and finance requirements and will be required to provide input to the strategic development of IMPACT in country and region.

Summary

The IMPACT Assessment Officer shall be responsible for:

· Design and Implement assessment methodology in coordination with the IMPACT Country Coordinator, Country Assessment and GIS team, and IMPACT HQ in Geneva

· Management of assessment field staff to ensure a smooth and timely implementation of activities;

· Ensuring that assessment strategies are implemented in a structured and coherent manner in line with project and strategic objectives;

· Coordinate and ensure timely data collection, analysis and, in partnership with GIS/DB team, mapping of datasets, ensure that all collected data are geo-referenced;

· Works closely with GIS/SB team in country.

· Ensure the writing of timely and accurate assessment reports and factsheets;

· Keep track of all projects and programmes assessment schedules and work with field staff to design and implement assessment procedures;

· Supporting the development/revision of assessment / programme strategies, reports or new proposals;

· In coordination with the Country Coordinator external representation of IMPACT with Donors, Partners and the wider Aid Community through clusters and sectoral working groups;

· Coordinate timely and accurate reporting to IMPACT Headquarters.

1. Assessment Management and Coordination

· Objective 2.1: Management of assessments process

The Assessment Officer is responsible for designing the methodology and tools associated with each assessment, according to IMPACT requirements and principles. He/she will manage the planning, implementation, and follow-up of all IMPACT and projects specific assessment activities conducted in country.

The Assessment Officer shall manage logistics, financial, administration and HR processes directly related to IMPACT and liaise accordingly with the relevant ACTED counterpart. He/she is directly responsible for the implementation of proper IMPACT and ACTED FLAT procedures in all IMPACT interventions.

· Objective 2.2: Implementation

The Assessment Officer is responsible for contributing to the implementation of assessment projects, providing support to the development of assessment, database and GIS tools with the IMPACT team. This will specifically include, with the GIS/DB team, designing of data collection tools (household surveys, focus groups, and more); development or review of databases; contributing to GIS data collection procedures and mapping thereof through ARC GIS and other ESRI products in particular; and analysis of spatial and other information to contribute to reports and the like.

· Objective 2.3: Coordination

The Assessment Officer is responsible for the timely and accurate preparation of narrative and financial reports related to IMPACT activities in country through close liaison with the Project Development and Finance departments.

The Assessment Officer shall liaise with other IMPACT Officers in the region and throughout IMPACT Initiatives’ and ACTED’s networks to provide and receive support in the expansion of IMPACT globally.

2. REACH Reporting

The Assessment Officer is responsible for consolidating all analyses and conclusions from each assessment into IMPACT products such as factsheets, reports and briefs using standard formats. He/she will liaise with Geneva and Regional GIS/DB Specialists in order to represent data in interactive web map or static map format, as relevant.

The Assessment Officer is responsible for following the designated timeline of reports to be submitted to project partners and donors. He/she must ensure the writing of timely and accurate assessment reports and factsheets, ensuring the quality and accuracy of technical information provided as well as the confidentiality and protection of collected information. He/she will ensure that assessment reports contribute to aid coordination and planning and add to the general base of field knowledge in the country for all organisations working in the areas.

He/she will also manage the drafting of narrative reports and contribute to the development of financial reports through regular budgetary follow-up.

The Assessment Officer will also store, organize and disseminate assessments, project documents and best practices among partners and potential partners. He/she will coordinate timely and accurate reporting to IMPACT.

3. HR Management

Staff Management

The Assessment Officer is responsible for day-to-day management of project and field staff both directly and remotely. He/she is expected to guide and direct IMPACT staff and prepare and follow up workplans with each staff member that directly reports to him/her. The Assessment Officer will be required to take the lead in the recruitment of IMPACT assessment staff in coordination with the ACTED HR Officer. This will include the preparation of ToRs, observation of recruitment procedures by planning recruitment needs in advance, and undertake interviews.

The Assessment Officer will ensure that all field teams are comprehensively briefed on the objective, expected outputs and that the overall implementation strategy of any given activity is clearly understood. He/she will ensure that project/field staff are given training and complete all the necessary documentation in line with program requirements set by IMPACT.

4. Representation

Representation of IMPACT in cluster and multi-sector meetings/ technical working groups in country and follow up on technical issues identified in cluster meetings in other parts of the country. This specifically will include liaising with external partners to identify potential for data sets to be integrated into existing databases and mapped to support the coordination of the broader humanitarian community.

The Assessment Officer will further represent IMPACT vis-a-vis current and potential donors and communicate relevant information to the IMPACT Country Coordinator. He/she will participate in inter-NGO meetings and those of UN agencies and any other relevant inter-governmental institutions at the national or provincial level.

More generally, the Assessment Officer is expected to contribute to the creation of a positive image and overall credibility of the organisation, notably through the application of IMPACT’s mandate, ethics, values and stand-point with regard to other actors.

Accountability to Communities and Beneficiaries

The staff member is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities we work are conducted in a respectful and consultative manner. Due attention must be paid to ensuring that communities are adequately consulted and informed about IMPACT programme objectives, activities, beneficiary selection criteria, and methodologies. This is the responsibility of every IMPACT staff member.

REQUIREMENTS

• Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master degree in relevant discipline;
• At least 1 year of relevant working experience in humanitarian settings;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting;
• Excellent team management skills;
• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
• Familiarity with the aid system, and understanding of donor and governmental requirements;
• Prior knowledge of the region an asset;
• Fluency in English required;
• Ability to operation Microsoft Word, Excel and Project Management Software;
• Ability to operate SPSS, related statistical programming, and/ or GIS an asset;
• High level of autonomy and willingness to spend time in deep field locations away from IMPACT/ ACTED support;
• A good sense of humour about bugs and bucket showers required;
• Ability to work independently.

Conditions

• Salary defined by the IMPACT salary grid; educational level, expertise, hardship, security, and performance are considered for pay bonus

• Additional monthly living allowance

• Free 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

Please send, in English, your cover letter, CV, and three references to jobs@impact-initiatives.org

Ref: 16/SSD/IMPACT/AO

Please indicate the reference in the subject line of your email.

For more information, visit us at http://www.impact-initiatives.org