Assessment and Analysis Working Group Manager – based in Kabul, Afghanistan

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

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.

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 with headquarters based in Paris and presence in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, which allows IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support in its fields of intervention.

COUNTRY PROFILE

Afghanistan has endured 40 years of complex crisis, characterized by conflict, insecurity, regime change, and climate disasters. After the Taliban took over in 2021, the country was further affected by a collapsing economy and uncertainty about the future. The economic situation has stabilized in the years since but remains fragile – humanitarian assistance still provides much needed help for large population groups across the country.

IMPACT has been active in Afghanistan since 2016, launching its flagship REACH and AGORA initiatives in 2018. Working across all 34 provinces, the Afghanistan team’s research supports and facilitates emergency response efforts immediately following conflict or natural disaster as well as more long-term oriented humanitarian planning, prioritization, resilience and recovery activities. IMPACT Afghanistan has three main research portfolios that focus on programming in each of these areas: one portfolio focuses on inter-sectoral research that feeds directly into emergency humanitarian planning and prioritization, the second involves working closely with partners and coordinating bodies to improve and increase the sustainability of programs, and the third uses area-based assessments to support longer-term durable solutions in Afghanistan.

As one of the largest information management actors in Afghanistan, IMPACT co-chairs the Assessment and Analysis Working Group (AAWG). The AAWG is being relaunched and aims to:

1. Provide a forum for real-time outcome monitoring (including specific indicators of food security, nutrition, WASH, Health) which can provide decision-makers with sufficient information for prioritisation and “hotspot” identification, triggering either a rapid response, or, if needed, a more in-depth assessment.
2. Improve information-sharing and coordination of assessments among clusters and humanitarian partners to then inform prioritisation and planning across the response – including harmonizing and streamlining inter-cluster needs assessment processes;
3. Strengthen the needs assessment and analytical capacity of humanitarian partners;

As humanitarian funding continues to decline, strengthened analytical capacities and the prioritization work of the AAWG become more critical for actors looking to be more impactful with less resources, and the manager of the AAWG will be well placed to speak to many of the important prioritization exercises happening in the response in 2024.

IMPACT Afghanistan is looking for a dynamic Assessment and Analysis Working Group Manager with excellent coordination, research and communication skills to head the AAWG, managing both existing frameworks and driving its strategic direction.

We are currently looking for a Manager to lead our Assessment and Analysis Working Group in Afghanistan.

Department: IMPACT

Position: Assessment and Analysis Working Group (AAWG) Manager

Contract duration: 12 months

Starting Date: April 2024

Location: Kabul, Afghanistan

POSITION PROFILE

The Assessment and Analysis Working Group Manager will be responsible for overseeing the development, strategy, and management of the AAWG, in coordination with the co-chair, IMPACT’s Real-time Monitoring Team, the IMPACT Deputy Country Coordinator, the IMPACT Country Representative. The candidate should be comfortable to liaise with a range of senior external partners and representing the AAWG in coordination fora.

The role of the AAWG Manager is to drive the strategy and workstreams of the AAWG at a moment in Afghanistan where it is critical that prioritization exercises for limited funding are based on solid evidence. This position requires a profile that can be both analytical and strategic, as the WG Manager’s job on a daily basis can range from coordinating with external partners (whether data actor, humanitarian cluster, or donor) to analytical oversight of research products to providing strategic briefs.

The AAWG Manager responsibilities include:

1. Co-Facilitate the Working Group
   • Lead the strategic development of the AAWG by working with key stakeholders to understand critical system-wide information gaps and identify how the AAWG can effectively fill these gaps;
   • Develop, prepare and oversee the AAWG work plan;
   • Co-chair meetings, including convening meetings of AAWG members, drafting and distributing the agenda and minutes, preparing materials for distribution and facilitating the flow of communication;
   • Link the AAWG to other Coordination Structures (i.e., Information Management WG, Inter-Cluster Coordination Team), Task Teams (i.e., Population and Mobility Task Team), and process s in the response;
2. System Design and Dissemination
   • Design an effective system on how different frameworks and data sources can be jointly analyzed to inform response actors on hotspot areas of need on a near real-time basis;
   • Facilitate joint analysis workshops on a quarterly basis to build technical consensus on the evolution of needs in the country;
   • Translate technical analysis into actionable findings and disseminate those effectively to a wide variety of stakeholders;
   • Develop and implement dissemination strategies to strengthen the impact of the AAWG;
   • Provide contextual and technical support and guidance for stakeholders relating to inter-sectoral research as well as humanitarian planning and prioritization.
3. Research Design
   • Contribute to the Research Cycles of the IMPACT Real-time Monitoring Team, including reviewing methodology notes, tools, analysis and products, to ensure inputs from the AAWG are reflected;
   • Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in assessment design and planning;
4. Grants Management
   • Under the guidance of the (Deputy) Country Coordinator, manage grants, including initial discussions with donors, conceptualization of new projects, drafting proposals, regular reporting, and M&E;
   • Ensure that contractual obligations are met in terms of programs deliverables.
5. External Engagement
   • Represent the AAWG with donors, partners, and the wider humanitarian aid community in Afghanistan.
   • As the AAWG representative, attend the Inter-Cluster Coordination Team meetings, actively contribute AAWG findings to the cluster coordination system and stay up to date with conversations on the response to inform the IMPACT Senior Management Team.

The AAWG Manager 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 IMPACT and its partners, or collected during his/her assignment with IMPACT.

REQUIREMENTS

• Excellent academic qualifications, including a master’s degree in a relevant discipline;
• At least 4 years of relevant working experience in a humanitarian setting, such as coordination, evaluation and assessments;
• Excellent research and analytical skills highly desirable;
• Demonstrated coordination or management skills;
• Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting and dissemination;
• Demonstrated ability to engage with senior coordination-level partners, technical partners and donors;
• Prior experience with humanitarian coordination forums strongly preferred;
• Prior knowledge of the region an asset;
• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility and working independently;
• Ability to operate Microsoft Word, Excel required;
• Ability to operate Adobe Suite preferred;
• Skills in SPSS, R or related statistical software are considered an asset;
• Fluency in English required.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• Salary between 2’950 EUR and 3’100 EUR monthly (before income tax), depending on the level of education, security level, etc as well as a monthly living allowance of $300
• Accommodation and food provided in ACTED guesthouse
• Pension, health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance (& unemployment insurance for EU citizens)
• This is not a family duty station
• Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered
• R&R after 2 months in country (flight ticket up to 500$ + 200$ of living allowance)
• Contribution to the luggage transportation: between 23kg and 100kg, depending on the length of the contract
• Annual leave of 36 days per year
• Predeparture induction – 3 days at IMPACT Initiatives’s HQ in Geneva + one week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ in Paris, including a 4-days in situ security training Tax advice (free 30-minute call with a tax consultant)
• Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.