Data Collection and Management Officer

The UNOPS Africa Regional Office, based in Nairobi, Kenya, oversees the delivery of over 250 projects across 40 countries, with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected settings. Supported by more than 1,000 personnel across five multi-country offices—spanning North, West, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Horn of Africa—the office advances national priorities through strategic initiatives in Climate Action, Health, Infrastructure, Peace and Security, Middle-Income Country Support, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The Regional Office provides strategic leadership, operational support, and oversight in key areas including Partnerships, Communications, Management and Oversight, Infrastructure and Project Management, Health and Safety, and Security. By promoting excellence in project delivery, fostering knowledge sharing, and driving continuous improvement, the office contributes to sustainable infrastructure, transparent resource management, and a better quality of life for communities across the continent.

Based in Addis Ababa, the Horn of Africa Multi-Country Office (HAMCO) delivers project management, procurement, and infrastructure services across Djibouti, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan, with a primary focus on health, agriculture, and economic development. Established in 2009, HAMCO partners with governments and development stakeholders to implement impactful, results-driven initiatives that contribute to sustainable development. Since 2024, new projects have been aimed at expanding access to healthcare, education, energy, and livelihoods, particularly in underserved and conflict-affected regions. HAMCO also provides human resource management services, supporting the effective implementation of development initiatives. Key efforts include equipping research facilities, strengthening education and health systems, building vaccine research capacity, and enhancing resilience in communities affected by crisis. Through these interventions, HAMCO contributes to inclusive growth, regional stability, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the Horn of Africa.

This position operates within a dynamic project environment, supporting data collection activities across various sectors in Ethiopia. The position requires travel to designated locations for fieldwork. The role is essential to ensuring accurate and timely data collection for project monitoring and evaluation, contributing to the effective implementation of UNOPS projects and initiatives.

Reporting to the M&E Specialist, the Data Collection and Management Officer will gather, clean, and aggregate data for reports and analysis in support of specialists and managers. The role involves applying fundamental concepts to support project design and making initial recommendations based on straightforward analysis. The duty station will be Addis Ababa (with travel to project locations).

1. Data Collection, Recording and Reporting

• Participate in mandatory training sessions on assessment methodology, data collection tools, ethical guidelines, and data quality assurance protocols.
• Assist in the pretesting of the data collection instruments
• Participate in data collection tool development, refinement and finalisation
• Understand and strictly adhere to the UNOPS ethical standards in data collection, including protocols, confidentiality, informed consent, and respondent safety.
• Travel to designated locations, including health facilities, schools, project sites, households, patients, students, officials and communities, as per the established work plan. 
• Conduct individual in-depth interviews, focus group discussions,key informant interviews and/or observations of procedures, activities, behavior with various respondents using pre-designed and standardized data collection tools.
• Accurately record all responses and observations in the designated format, whether paper-based or digital.
• As required documents observations with pictures, video or voice recordings.
• Transcribe qualitative data accurately and in a timely manner
• Document meticulously the data collection process and report experiences ( challenges, shortcomings, opportunities, …)  which may affect the data analysis process and final result.
• Summarise, analyse and write concise reports of collected data as required.
• Conduct site-level observations, checking the availability and status of infrastructure, equipment supplied, supplies installed, and services relevant to the sector being assessed.

2. Data Quality Assurance and Reporting

• Identify and report any challenges encountered during data collection, including inconsistencies, non-responses, or technical issues, to the Assessment Coordinator/Team Leader in a timely manner.
• As required ( assigned) supervise other data collectors diligence
• Participate in daily debriefing sessions with the assessment team to review progress and address any issues.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of all collected data and information related to the project.
• Adhere to all security and safety protocols established for fieldwork.
• Perform data cleaning on site and after collection
• Perform sample data verification

3. Deliverables

• Submit completed and quality-assured data collection forms/records for all assigned locations/respondents.
• Submit completed and quality-assured data collection forms/records for all assigned locations/respondents.
• Ensure timely submission of all collected data, as per the agreed schedule.
• Maintain regular communication with the Assessment Coordinator/Team Leader on progress and challenges.
• A comprehensive field level report detailing the data collection process followed, challenges encountered, lessons learned, and recommendations for future assessments.

Required

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a relevant field such as Public Health, Statistics, Education, Agriculture, Engineering, or a related discipline.

Required

• A minimum of 2 years relevant work experience in general data collection, field research, or similar activities

Desired

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.

• Experience using mobile data collection tools (e.g., KoboToolbox, ODK).

• Experience in collecting data for one or more of the following sectors: Health, Education, Agriculture, Infrastructure, WASH, Energy, Humanitarian, and Social Development/Disaster Reduction.

Languages

• Fluency in other local languages (e.g., Somali, Afaan Oromo, Tigrigna) relevant to the duty station is an asset.

  
  

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities. 
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.