REACH Global Data Specialist (Multi-Sector Needs Assessments) for Switzerland

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, 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 a Data Specialist to join the Global Inter-Sector Unit in HQ.

Title: Data Specialist (DS)

Location: Geneva with possibility of up to 20% travel

Contract duration: Open-ended

Start date: ASAP

POSITION PROFILE

The Data Specialist will be part of the REACH Global Inter-Sector Unit (ISU) based in IMPACT HQ, supporting the Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) Workstream under the supervision of the global MSNA Manager. Specifically, the Data Specialist will (1) conduct research & development activities relating to automation/process improvement; (2) provide dedicated quantitative analysis support to REACH country teams implementing MSNAs.

CORE TASKS

Research & Development around automation (80%) – 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

Country support (up to 20%) – 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

REQUIREMENTS

Required

• Qualifications & Experience
  • Good academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree or higher in relevant discipline (e.g. Data Science, Economics, Econometrics, Statistics, etc.);
  • At least 4 years of relevant work experience in a data scientist, data analytics, information management, or similar role, ideally in humanitarian / development contexts (e.g. needs assessments, monitoring and evaluation, etc.);
  • At least 4 years of field experience in humanitarian crises;
  • Experience designing and implementing automation tools and processes for humanitarian / development research preferably using R;
  • Prior experience with and good understanding of quantitative data processing and analysis methods, including descriptive and inferential statistics;
  • Good understanding of statistics and statistical analysis;
  • Advanced working knowledge of R software;
  • Extensive experience working with at least one analysis software package/ language (Python, R, SPSS, STATA, etc.).
• Soft skills
  • Attention to detail and commitment to producing high quality work;
  • Openness to feedback and willingness to learn;
  • Ability to manage time effectively and thrive in a fast paced, results-oriented working environment;
  • Ability to work independently, with initiative, while taking a proactive, solutions-oriented approach;
  • Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, including in remote work settings.

Desired

• 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;
• Working knowledge of Arabic, French, Spanish, or another relevant language;
• Familiarity with the humanitarian aid system.

Please apply at the following link: REACH Global Data Specialist (Multi-Sector Needs Assessments) | Impact (impact-initiatives.org)