Unit Manager – Humanitarian Planning & Prioritization for HQ

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 a Unit Manager of the Humanitarian Planning & Prioritization Unit to lead REACH programs related to Multi-Sector Needs Assessments (MSNAs), and support to global interagency planning & prioritization decision making.

Department:Global REACH

Position: Unit Manager – Humanitarian Planning & Prioritization

Contract duration:open-ended

Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Starting Date: ASAP

Position Profile

The Multi-Sector Needs Assessment (MSNA) is IMPACT’s flagship research programme for informing planning and prioritization decisions in humanitarian contexts. MSNAs provide a structured and consistent approach to measuring the needs of crisis-affected populations in more than 25 countries since the launch of workstream in 2016. As IMPACT’s largest research programme, the MSNA directly informs the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and the allocation of funding within and across crises. As such, MSNAs are pivotal to IMPACT’s global programming priorities.

IMPACT also works with coordination actors to strengthen needs analysis at all levels of the humanitarian system. It has been a key partner in the technical development and implementation of the Joint Intersectoral Analysis Framework (JIAF), which was launched in 2019 and updated in 2023 as a method for assessing the needs of crisis-affected populations in a joint, comprehensive, and rigorous way, in line with Grand Bargain commitments. The JIAF analytical framework is applied in most Humanitarian Programme Cycles (HPCs) globally.

The manager of the Humanitarian Planning & Prioritization Unit, under the supervision of the Director of Global Programmes, oversees IMPACT’s global work related to MSNAs and the JIAF. The unit manager position is based in Geneva and requires frequent travel to remote field locations across countries where IMPACT operates.

FUNCTIONS

Developing Programmatic Strategy:

• In collaboration with Global Programmes leadership, develop organisational programmatic strategy and vision for informing humanitarian planning & prioritization at all levels.
• Develop, implement, and monitor unit strategy and workplan to achieve the organisational programmatic strategy.
• Provide input into country teams’ unit strategies for intersectoral units, MSNA units, or as relevant.

Designing impactful programmes:

• Produce global programmatic guidelines on how to implement impactful, technically robust, and efficient programmes in line with the organisational programmatic strategy. Coordinate with relevant departments to ensure MSNA-specific guidance complements organisational guidelines.
• Oversee Research & Development into analytical approaches for MSNAs, building on country best practices and including rigorous testing of analytical approaches.
• Manage the development of tools/mechanisms to improve the efficiency of MSNA programming, including through overseeing the development of automation tools, and/or standardising processes where relevant.
• Contribute actively to the Global Programmes Department’s development of definitions and frameworks to measure the severity and magnitude of humanitarian need.

Overseeing cross-country programmatic implementation:

• Design, implement, and oversee training, learning, and country support systems to enable country teams to conduct high-quality MSNAs, and support country teams in the application of programmatic guidelines.
• Oversee the Community of Practice (COP) for teams implementing MSNAs, including conducting annual technical workshops, lessons-learned sessions, and webinars.
• Conduct knowledge management to track programme implementation and risk of key programmes globally, including the identification of cross-cutting risks.
• Monitor the implementation of JIAF across crises to identify country-specific or cross-crisis risks and best practices to inform discussions with JIAF global coordination.
• Mitigate identified programmatic risks through timely guidance, coordinating remote support, or surge (as relevant) to country teams.
• Update programmatic guidelines (See function 2) and guidance to mitigate structural issues identified through programmatic risk monitoring.

Building global programmatic partnerships:

• Expand and develop relationships with relevant UN agencies, donors, NGOs, etc. to facilitate country-level relationships and to promote evidence-based planning & prioritization decision making by global actors.
• Ensure active contribution of REACH to the Joint Intersectoral Analytical Framework (JIAF) development and roll-out, including coordination of REACH participation in all levels of decision-making including the Methodology Working Group (and sub-groups), Advisory Group, and Steering Committee.
• Maintain positive perception of REACH by external partners, donors, and coordination platforms.

1. Directly implementing global programmes:

• Oversee the analysis of MSNA data across crises to inform global decision-makers, ensuring that the analysis is high-quality, understandable, and mitigates risks.
• Identify new and innovative ways to produce global or regional information products targeted to different types of decision-makers.
• Ensure the dissemination of key messages from cross-crisis analysis of data to relevant global/regional actors including donors, UN Agencies, other NGOs, etc.

Fundraising and financial management:

• Oversee project proposal development, budget design, and negotiate proposals with donors.
• Forecast and monitor financial expenditures to ensure financial compliance.
• Meet narrative and financial reporting requirements, in coordination with Grants and Finance departments.

Team management and leadership:

• Provide leadership to the unit and the department through active participation in the Global Programmes Management Group.
• Support the HR Department in the recruitment and onboarding of new staff.
• Ensure regular performance appraisal and career management, including mentoring and coaching colleagues to build the capacity of the team.

REQUIREMENTS

• Master’s degree in relevant discipline (International Relations, Political Science, Social Research, Economics, Statistics, Data Science, Anthropology, Monitoring and Evaluation, or similar)
• At least 5 years of relevant work experience in humanitarian and/ or development settings including research, monitoring and evaluation, assessments. Experience with designing and implementing primary research, in particular large-scale quantitative surveys and/or humanitarian needs assessments strongly preferred.
• Strong familiarity with the humanitarian system and global humanitarian policy frameworks, in particular the Grand Bargain and the JIAF.
• Demonstrated experience driving organizational change and defining organizational level objectives.
• Demonstrated fund-raising experience and knowledge of donor objectives and priorities.
• Proven team management and human resources skills.
• Fluency in English required. Proficiency in French, Spanish, or another relevant language an asset.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• For this position, gross salary between 6’000 CHF and 6’450 CHF monthly (before income tax). NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education and experience of staff. A contribution to medical insurance of 450 CHF per month is already included in the salary figure.
• Insurance covering professional and non-professional accidents throughout the period of employment with IMPACT
• Health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance in case of field visits/temporary deployments
• Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.
• Up to 40% of remote work on a weekly basis