AGORA Senior Assessment Officer for Afghanistan

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND AGORA

IMPACT Initiatives is a leading Geneva-based think-and-do tank which aims to improve the impact of humanitarian, stabilisation and development action through data, partnerships and capacity building programmes. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in coordination, data collection, management and analysis, GIS and remote-sensing.

The organisation manages several initiatives, including the AGORA Initiative. AGORA is a joint initiative of ACTED and IMPACT Initiatives founded in 2016. AGORA promotes efficient, inclusive and integrated local planning, aid response and service delivery in contexts of crisis by providing settlement-based processes and tools, in order to enable more effective and tailored aid responses. The AGORA approach is primarily intended to directly inform programmes aimed at providing recovery and stabilization of crisis-affected communities, contributing to meet their humanitarian needs, whilst promoting the re-establishment of local services and supporting local governance actors. AGORA promotes multi-sectoral, settlement-based aid planning and implementation, structured around partnerships between local, national and international stakeholders.

AGORA’s core activities include community mapping, multi-sector and area- based assessments, needs prioritisation and planning, as well as support to area-based coordination mechanisms and institutional cooperation, in order to inform humanitarian and development activities carried out by ACTED and other implementing NGOs.

IMPACT Afghanistan is looking for Senior Assessment Officer to lead on the AGORA research.

Department: AGORA

Position: Senior Assessment Officer

Contract Duration: 1 year

Location: Kabul initially, and Mazar-i-Sharif when possible, with frequent travels to Kabul and Faryab provinces

Start date: March 2023

COUNTRY PROFILE

Forty years of war, recurrent natural disasters, chronic poverty, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic have devastated the people of Afghanistan. At the same time, the recent economic upheaval and ruptures in basic services, financial systems and civil service are transpiring and exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation. Even prior to the events of 15 August, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan was one of the worst in the world. By the mid-year mark, nearly half of the population – some 18.4 million people – were already in need of humanitarian and protection assistance in 2021; more than 22 million are projected to be in need in 2022.

In light of the political turmoil and economic crisis facing Afghanistan after the events of 2021, the humanitarian response is implementing an unprecedented scale-up in implementation to meet such critical and rapidly worsening need across the country. As such, the needs for evidenced-based humanitarian aid and information on populations in both accessible and inaccessible areas is paramount to an effective, accountable, and coordinated response.

IMPACT has been present in Afghanistan since 2016, providing a growing evidence base for humanitarian response planning through sectoral, multi-sectoral and area-based assessments as well as information management services across the entire country, with bases in all regions of Afghanistan. The mission is structured around three units, each with key objectives to support different aspects of the response. This includes (1) supporting strategic planning and prioritization through the Inter-Sectoral Research Unit (ISRU), (2) emphasizing localization agendas through area-based early recovery and development through the Resilience and Recovery Unit (RRRU), and (3) providing programmatic and operational support to key actors and partners in the aid response to ensure effective, appropriate, transparent, and accountable delivery of assistance to the people of Afghanistan through the Programming and Accountability Research Unit (PARU).

POSITION PROFILE

IMPACT is seeking an established professional with knowledge and technical expertise in implementing area-based multi-sector assessments in a development context. The ideal candidate will be eager to work in a dynamic organization with opportunities to build coordination skills whilst overseeing multi-sector assessments which inform the a multi-year development project aimed at improving local governance, particularly around socio-economic development, access to public services, and government inclusivity.

As part of the Resilience and Recovery Research Unit (RRRU), AGORA activities have been implemented in Afghanistan since September 2018, providing an evidence base for local community leadership boundaries, stakeholders, and resource management in rural Afghanistan to inform a large, multi-year development project funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NoMFA). The project aims to identify and map local communities, understand how they are structured and led, and catalogue the available shared resources and economic activities, in order to provide an evidence base for locally-led development initiatives and facilitate peaceful and prosperous early recovery following decades of conflict. Resource and stakeholder mapping, detailed secondary data reviews, and multisector assessments are all activities conducted as part of AGORA to improve socioeconomic development, public service access, and local government inclusivity in communities in rural Afghanistan.

Under the supervision of the Country Coordinator in Afghanistan and IMPACT HQ in Geneva, the AGORA Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for the coordination and implementation of all assessments in Afghanistan falling under the AGORA project portfolio. He/she is also responsible for related coordination of logistics, partner engagement, information product drafting and project reporting.

The AGORA Senior Assessment Officer will be responsible, with the support of the IMPACT team in-country, for:

1. Research Cycle Implementation and Management
   • Oversight and implementation of all stages of the research cycle, including:
     • Research design: indicator drafting and review, assessment methodology and sampling strategy review, data collection tool development
     • Planning and coordination of data collection activities, in close collaboration with the in-country operations team
     • Oversight of data processing, including development of data cleaning and analysis plans, and conducting analysis, in close collaboration with the in-country data team
     • Output production and development, and presentation of findings
     • Conducting lessons learned workshops and compiling best practices for future assessments
   • Regular communication and collaboration with IMPACT HQ Data and Reporting Units to ensure implementation of global standards, guidelines, and best practices, for AGORA and other Area-Based Assessment Approaches and of REACH and IMPACT more generally
   • Ensuring that activities are planned and implemented in a structured and coherent manner, in line with project and program objectives, and assuring that deadlines are met.
   • Ensuring regular reporting on assessment progress and participating in internal coordination meetings.
   • Developing research TORs and tools, ensuring these are validated and approved by management and external partners, and making sure these are also understood and used by assessment staff and stakeholders, and updated as required.
   • Managing and coordinating data collection and processing whilst providing quality control to ensure data is clean and of acceptable standard.
   • Leading quantitative analyses with the support of the data unit, as well as providing technical input, guidance, and review of data analysis conducted by other team members.
   • Conducting and overseeing the writing of timely and accurate assessment reports and other outputs, which comply with HQ guidelines and meet global REACH standards.
2. Team, Project, and Grants Management
   • Managing national staff dedicated to the portfolio across assessment, data, and project/operations teams.
   • Participating in general project management including review of budgets, grants reporting, and project related logistics.
   • Supporting the Senior Management Team (SMT) with grants management, including donor reporting, proposal drafting, and project monitoring and evaluation.
3. External Engagement
   • Close coordination with all relevant external stakeholders within the humanitarian coordination structure, throughout the research cycle, and supporting the incorporation of findings into strategic planning, programmatic, and operational documents as relevant
   • Representing IMPACT as part of the AGORA relationship with ACTED in Afghanistan. This will include the presentation of key data products and policy documents produced by IMPACT to present the overall AGORA approach to donors and other external stakeholders in Afghanistan.
   • Providing technical and information management support to humanitarian stakeholders to inform strategic humanitarian planning and implementation.
4. Support to the SMT on Strategy Development and Implementation
   • Under the guidance of the Country Coordinator, contribute to the development of the Area-Based country strategy, engagement and involvement with various technical and coordination forums, particularly as relates to Area-Based programming
   • Liaise with key clusters and partner organizations and working groups to understand the various relevant information gaps within Afghanistan and identify how the ABR/AGORA team can fill these gaps.
   • Coordinating with IMPACT HQ, ACTED HQ, and ACTED Afghanistan on global and in country approaches to improving area-based programming

The Senior Assessment Officer will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes. He/she will actively take measures to prevent the unauthorized sharing of any information and data belonging to or collected during his/her assignment.

REQUIREMENTS

• Excellent academic qualifications, including a master’s degree in development economics, anthropology, political science or another relevant discipline
• At least 3 years of relevant working experience in development or transitional settings, through either research, evaluation, assessments, or programmes
• Good experience with quantitative and qualitative research and tool design, data collection, and data analysis required
• 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
• Past experience in conflict affected regions is desirable
• Fluency in English required, Persian/Dari language skills is an advantage
• Ability to operation Microsoft Word, Excel and Project Management Software
• Advanced skills in SPSS and/or R, STATA or other statistical analysis software an advantage
• Knowledge of qualitative assessments, methodologies, and analysis and related analytical software (e.g. NVivo) an asset
• Experience with GIS software is an asset.
• Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles
• Ability to work independently and manage people remotely
• Demonstrated ability to write analytical research reports including critical analysis of data
• Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment

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
• Past experience in managing large scale quantitative assessments desirable