Research Intern

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian think tank, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative, which was created in 2010 to facilitate the development of information tools and products that enhance the capacity of aid actors to make evidence-based decisions in emergency, recovery and development contexts. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in research design; data collection, management and analysis; GIS and remote-sensing. For more information visit: www.impact-initiatives.org and www.reach-initiative.org.

We are currently looking for a Research Intern to join the IMPACT Initiatives team in Geneva, Switzerland.

Position: Research Intern

Department: Research

Supervisor: TBD (depending on profile)

Duration: 6 months

Remuneration: 1’300 CHF gross per month

Start date: January 2023

Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Overview

The Research Intern will be part of the IMPACT Research department, working on different stages of the research cycle. Based on these terms of reference and initial briefings, the selected candidate will develop upon the start of the internship a specific set of objectives and a work-plan, which will be reviewed at regular intervals during the internship period and will serve as a basis for evaluation upon completion of the internship. The focus of day to day tasks of the internship will be determined based on the intern profile. Potential intern profiles could be candidates with a background in data science, mathematics, statistics or similar; candidates with background in international relations, development studies, political science or similar; or candidates with a background in social research, anthropology, monitoring & evaluation or similar. Regardless of daily task focus, the role includes exposure to all stages of the research cycle: research design, data processing and analysis, reporting results.

Please note that the internship would require validation from your current university in the form of a three-party internship agreement.

INTERNSHIP OBJECTIVES

• Develop capacity for the planning and implementation of a primary research project, with a specific focus on research design, data processing and analysis, or reporting of research findings
• Gain exposure to research design, including various research methodologies and tools
• Gain exposure to data processing and analysis as well as good practices in analytical writing and data visualization (including maps)
• Develop thematic knowledge in specific thematic or geographical areas of interest (for e.g. food security analysis, migration related research, humanitarian research in the Middle East region, etc.) within the humanitarian and international development sector
• Gain practical experience in the international humanitarian coordination system, and develop in-depth understanding of today’s major humanitarian crises, their main drivers and consequences, and resulting humanitarian needs
• Develop capacity to move to a full time field-based position to conduct primary research within the humanitarian and international development sector

Tasks

The Research Intern shall:

• Support with the review of research outputs and documents from IMPACT country teams (for e.g. research reports, research terms of reference, data collection tools, data analysis tools, maps, etc.)
• Track documents and tools, keeping databases up to date at all times
• Participate in and contribute to meetings, including taking minutes
• Support with the development of tools and guidance materials
• Support preparation of presentations and trainings
• Provide other support to IMPACT Departments/ Units as directed

Requirements

Required:

• Good academic qualifications, preferably a Master degree in relevant discipline (International Relations, Political Sciences, Social Research, Economics, Anthropology, Assessment, Monitoring & Evaluation or similar)
• Strong motivation and interest in working with research in the humanitarian and development sector
• Fluency in oral and written English
• Fluency in oral and written French or Spanish
• Good working knowledge in Microsoft Office, especially Excel
• Attention to detail and commitment to producing high quality work
• Openness to feedback and willingness to learn
• Ability to manage time effectively and work in a fast paced, results oriented working environment.
• Ability to work independently, with initiative, and strong capacity to work in intercultural team

Desirable:

• Interest in an extended career of research within the humanitarian and development sector, especially the desire to move to a field-based position upon thesuccessfulcompletion of the internship
• Experience with primary research, especially in an international context.
• Experience with data analysis software packages (R, SPSS, STATA, NVivo, etc.)
• Familiarity with the humanitarian aid system
• Experience with mobile data collection platforms.
• Experience with programs under Adobe Creative Suite package (InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop).
• Experience with GIS software (e.g. ESRI)