Research Manager – Emergency

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 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. 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 and GIS. 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, enabling IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support on its fields of intervention.

We are currently looking for an Emergency Research Manager in Ukraine.

Department:REACH

Position: Research Manager – Emergency

Contract duration:12 months

Location: Dnipro, Ukraine (with frequent travel)

Starting Date: ASAP

Country profile

Following the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, military hostilities have caused widespread damage to infrastructure and houses, hundreds of civilian deaths, disrupted markets and essential services, and precipitated massive displacement within Ukraine and into neighbouring countries. Present in Ukraine since 2014, IMPACT is working across the country to provide humanitarian actors with rigorous data and in-depth analysis to ensure aid interventions are timely, appropriate, and relevant. The REACH Emergency Team (ET) conducts semi-regular and ad hoc data collection cycles to assess the humanitarian needs of frontline populations in Ukraine, focusing specifically on hard-to-reach and high-risk areas, or populations affected by sudden onset crises. The ET supports humanitarian partners in their operational planning, and to enable effective prioritization of aid efforts. The Emergency Research Manager (ERM) will lead a team of assessment, data, and GIS officers in coordinating data collection, producing analysis to better understand fluctuating needs, and ensuring this information is disseminated to operational partners via impactful products.

FUNCTIONS

IMPACT is seeking an ERM to lead a small operational team of assessment and field staff in conducting multi-sectoral rapid needs assessments in hard-to-reach and high security areas of Ukraine. The ERM will be responsible for positioning the ET and its work within the humanitarian structure, ensuring its products continue to inform operational decision-making by partners. The ideal candidate should be proactive, creative and strategic, interested in further leading the development of the ET. The candidate should also have, or have the capacity to rapidly develop, a comprehensive understanding of the Ukraine context, enabling them to continuously identify new information gaps and develop innovative approaches to addressing these. The ERM will be responsible for overseeing the development of research design, the planning of frontline missions, and the quality of analytical outputs. They will also ensure findings reach key emergency stakeholders in time to inform decisions around assistance provision and prioritisation. The ERM also ensures research projects are implemented, and all deliverables met according to contractual budgets and timelines.

This position is based in Dnipro, Ukraine, with regular travel throughout the South and East of the country. When in Dnipro, the candidate operates as the senior representative of IMPACT in the East, and serves as the focal point for junior international staff in the base. The ideal candidate will be someone who has previous experience operating in high-security contexts and has a high-degree of demonstrated autonomy and decision-making. Competency in Ukrainian and/or Russian would be a strong advantage.

This is a senior position within IMPACT Ukraine, and the Emergency Team Lead will sit on the Ukraine Senior Management Team (SMT).

RESPONSIBILITIES

The ERM’s responsibilities include the following:

Staff Management

• Direct management of international and national team members, including recruitment and staff career management. The ET currently consists of 6 HR contracted staff. The team may expand depending on need.
• Development and implementation of capacity training plans for team members;
• Day-to-day management of team members, including the development of work plans and performance indicators;
• Act as the SMT focal point in the East and provide guidance and support to junior staff members in the base.

Project/Research Cycle Management

• Ensure all ET assessments and analysis are implemented in a timely and coherent manner, in line with strategic objectives, and global REACH guidelines;
• Oversee all ET Research Cycles, including reviewing ToRs, methodology notes, tools, products and dissemination strategies.
• Ensure the writing and production of timely, accurate and analytically rigorous reports, assessments, and factsheets;
• Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in ET activities and outputs.
• Monitor output achievement, project expenditure and ensure timely completion of all projects and grants.
• Pro-actively improve the quality of REACH ET products, pursuing collaboration and common methodologies, tools and analysis frameworks with different units in the Ukraine mission where relevant.

Grants Management

• Under the guidance of the Deputy Country Coordinator, manage grants in the ET, including conceptualisation of new activities and projects, drafting proposals, regular reporting, and M&E;
• Under the guidance of the Deputy Country Coordinator, oversee the financial management of all grants covering ET projects, including oversight of budget and expenditure;
• Ensure that contractual obligations are met in terms of programs deliverables.

External Engagement

• Represent REACH and the ET with key emergency actors in the East and South of the country, including the Humanitarian Operations and Planning Cell (HOPC), the Access Working Group (AWG), ICRC, INGO Area East Managers platform and others.
• Continue to position the ET as a key information partner in frontline areas and sudden onset disasters, and regularly engage with key parts of the humanitarian infrastructure such as sub-national clusters and the inter-cluster coordination group.
• Manage and build partnerships with the aforementioned key stakeholders, donors, and other information actors.

Strategy Development and Implementation

• Under the guidance of the Deputy Country Coordinator, implement and develop the ET strategy, engagement and involvement with various technical and coordination forums;
• Work with key clusters and partner organizations and working groups to understand the various relevant information gaps within Ukraine and identify how the ET can fill these gaps;
• As a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT), contribute to the development and implementation of the REACH Ukraine country strategy;
• Develop and implement dissemination strategies to strengthen the impact of the ET activities;
• Work closely with IMPACT HQ to develop research designs, coordination, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to support relevant IMPACT Global Community of Practices (CoPs).

Data Confidentiality and Protection

The ERM will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes, ensuring full compliance with IMPACT’s data protection policy and SOPs. 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

• Academic Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (International Relations, Policial Sciences, Social Research, Economics, Development Studies, or similar);
• Research skills Proven experience with complex research methods. Excellent analytical skills, including the ability to synthesise information, draw conclusions, and relate research back to the broader humanitarian response;
• Software skills Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.; Experience with InDesign an asset.
• Familiarity aid system Strong knowledge of the humanitarian aid system is required;
• Years of work experience At least 3 years of relevant working experience;
• Experience in multi-sectoral work Experience conducting multi-sectoral research in complex political and security environments an asset;
• Management skills Proven team management experience and skills; ability to build assessment capacity of team through training and mentoring;
• Communication/reporting skills Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting;
• Multi-tasking skills Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles;
• Level of independence Proven ability to work independently;
• Cross-cultural work environment Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
• Experience in geographical region Past experience in Ukraine is desirable;
• Language skills Fluency in English required, competency in Ukrainian and Russian an asset;
• Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.

Conditions

• For this position, salary between 3’300 CHF and 3’360 CHF monthly (before income tax), etc as well as a monthly living allowance of 300 USD NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education of staff. A location-dependent security and/or isolation adjustment is then applied as a recognition that some staff are required to work in difficult places where living and working conditions are much more difficult than elsewhere.
• Accommodation and food provided in the guesthouse.
• Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swisslife – approx. 9.975% of staff gross salary), health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance.
• Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered (in-country travel costs and professional expenses are fully covered).
• R&R after 2-3 months (flight ticket up to 500$ + 200$ of living allowance) if duty station allows
• Contribution to the luggage transportation: between 20 and 100 kgs, depending on the length of the contract (+ luggage and personal property insurance)
• Annual leave of 36 days per year. Public holidays of the country of assignment. Family/compassionate leave when applicable.
• 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;
• IMPACT prioritizes the psychological safety of its staff and the health insurance provided covers, among others, up to 1000 € per year of psychosocial counselling fees.