Niger: Assessment Manager

Assessment /IM Manager- Information Management /
Support to Rapid Response Mechanism - Niger

(Reference: 19/NER/AM-IM&RRM01)

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 organization 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.
REACH has been present in Niger since 2012, where it has contributed to humanitarian coordination and strategic planning through the mapping of socio-economic infrastructure, sectoral, and multi-sectoral assessments, particularly in the Diffa region. Moreover, REACH provides information management support to a wide range of humanitarian actors in Niger in the form of mapping, trainings and targeted advice. REACH works closely together with humanitarian coordination structures and plays an active role in the UNOCHA-led Information Management Working Group and provides support to information management for the Rapid Response Mechanism in the country.

We are currently looking for an IMPACT Assessment Manager to support our IMPACT team in Niger.

Department: IMPACT- Information management / Rapid Response Mechanism

Position: IMPACT Assessment / IM Manager

Contract duration: 6 months

Location: Niamey, Niger

Starting Date: ASAP

POSITION PROFILE

Under the supervision of the IMPACT Country Focal Point in Niger, the IMPACT Information Management (IM) Manager will be responsible to supervise the IM projects implemented by REACH Initiative in the Sahel region. Activities will include:

• Co-leading the Information Management Working Group (IMWG) with OCHA, supporting IM needs of the humanitarian community in Niger and helping to define the IM strategy in the country
• Supporting IM needs in the context of the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) in Niger, including the revision of IM tools, providing trainings and responding to GIS needs
• External engagement to identify and respond to IM needs of humanitarian actors, including the development of assessment tools, trainings and GIS support.
• Guiding REACH IM activities in the Sahel and managing of the IM team in Niger

The IM Manager will have the opportunity to support the development of the IM strategy and IM activities of the humanitarian community in Niger by working with key humanitarian coordination mechanisms, including the IMWG, the RRM, clusters, working groups and other humanitarian actors. In addition, s/he will manage the dynamic IM team in Niger and help shape the REACH IM strategy in the Sahel, providing remote support to those working in Mali and Burkina Faso on IM activities.

FUNCTIONS

Under the functional supervision of the IMPACT Country Focal Point in Niger, the IM Manager is responsible for the management of REACH IM support activities, in particular in relation to the IMWG and the RRM in Niger, including implementation, resource mobilization and management, partnership framework, dissemination and evaluation. He/she directly supervises all Assessment staff and plays a key role in the development and implementation of all Sahel (Niger / Mali / Burkina) REACH IM /RRM strategy.

In his/her mission, the IM Manager will be hosted by ACTED and will fall under the direct responsibility and management of ACTED’s Country Director and his/her delegates for all Administrative, Security, Logistics and Finance issues. S/he will therefore fully abide to ACTED’s Security, HR, Administration and Logistics rules and regulations.

The IM Manager will interact on regular basis with the RRM Coordinator and will work closely with the RRM partners and IMPACT HQ. These relations will also extend to ACTED country staff including Project Development, AMEU and Area Coordinators.

Externally, the IM Manager will be expected to liaise with OCHA, the cluster IM and coordinators, national and international partners, notably IM focal points in NGOs, UN agencies and clusters.

RESPONSIBILITIES

In coordination with the Country Focal Point, the IM Manager is responsible for (1) the overall management of Niger REACH IM activities, (2) for the management of the IM team, and plays a key role in (3) external relations and (4) the development and implementation of the REACH IM strategy in Sahel (Niger / Mali / Burkina). More specifically:

1. Management of all Information Management activities

1.1 Assessment Preparation and Planning:

• Ensuring that all IM activities are planned in line with relevant project and program objectives and with REACH IM /RRM’s approach and other relevant standards and guidelines;
• Ensure that required secondary data analysis has been conducted in preparation of an assessment;
• Review each activity with the Country Focal Point and prepare ToRs, where relevant, before any activity begins
• Ensure engagement with GIS teams on GIS requirements of IM activities;
• Keep track of progress and delays of all confirmed activities from their conception until their closure. Ensure that delays or identified challenges for specific activities are reported in writing and orally in a timely manner;
• Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in activities’ design and planning.

1.2 Data collection and management

• Ensure that Country Focal Point is alerted to any issues that prevents full implementation of the activities; ensure that all changes are documented throughout implementation;
• Ensure logistics, financial, administration, security and HR processes directly related to REACH have been appropriately implemented and coordinated with the relevant ACTED departments.
• Ensure that all collected data is stored in line with IMPACT’s Data Management Guidelines
• Ensure that meaningful techniques are used for data analysis;
• Ensure that data and its analysis are validated by IMPACT HQ before product drafting stage;
• Ensure that data and its analysis do not contain personal information and are validated by IMPACT HQ before sharing to external parties

1.3 Product drafting

• Maintain regular communication with IMPACT HQ on progress and deadlines for outputs;
• Ensure the drafting of timely and accurate assessment outputs (i.e. reports, factsheets, etc.), which comply with IMPACT’s guidelines and quality standards;
• Review all products before they are sent to IMPACT HQ for validation;
• Ensure that all written products are validated by IMPACT HQ before external release.

1.4 Product dissemination and evaluation

• Under the direction of the Country Focal Point, engage in the dissemination of research products, including through articles, IMPACT social media contents, targeted e-mails, presentations, meetings, etc, in line with IMPACT Dissemination and External Communication Guidelines and Research ToRs;
• Under supervision of IMPACT HQ, ensure that research products are uploaded in relevant data portals, as specified in Research ToRs;
• Ensure that lessons learned are gathered and documented at the end of each research cycle;
• Support the Country Focal Point to conduct monitoring and evaluation as specified in the research ToRs and in line with IMPACT Guidelines.

2. Management of Assessment Team

• Conduct regular meetings with all unit members to assess progress in all activities;
• Bilateral management of international and senior national assessment team members, including (in consultation with Country Focal Point) the conduct of appraisals, as well as participation in staff career management;
• In coordination with Country Focal Point, conduct induction for new staff members, including training in basic technical competencies for assessment design, implementation and analysis;
• Support to the IMPACT Country Focal Point in the development and implementation of capacity training plans for REACH assessment and field team member;
• Be available to provide regular support and technical backstopping;
• When relevant, support/ lead staff appraisal and recruitment process in collaboration with Country Focal Point.

3. External relations

• In coordination with the Country Focal Point, ensure that relevant partners are consulted and involved at all stages of IM activities
• In coordination with the Country Focal Point, present research findings to relevant third parties, to enhance their use and impact;
• Ensure that external communications with partners and key stakeholders, including relevant UN agencies, local and national government, and NGOs has been conducted and documented as appropriate;
• In coordination with the Country Focal Point, represent REACH/IMPACT in technical external engagements beyond regular meetings of the IMWG and the RRM;
• Support the IMPACT Country Focal Point in external engagement in relation to REACH/IMPACT strategy or (when requested and with focal point) to fundraising and grants management.

4. Strategy Development and Implementation. In support to the Country focal Point, the Assessment Manager will actively contribute to the development of the REACH IM /RRM strategy in Sahel (Niger / Mali / Burkina). In particular s/he will support in identifying and concretising:

• The need for IM activities, in line with humanitarian priorities
• Synergies with other assessment and knowledge management actors
• Strategic partnerships with key humanitarian stakeholders and decision makers
• Key events / milestones that should be informed
• Advocacy and dissemination strategies to strengthen the impact of our work
• Support in the preparation and follow up of country level internal strategic workshops and plans
• Engagement with IMPACT HQ in global level strategic priorities

5. Others

• Support the Country Focal Point in drafting of relevant project narrative and financial reports;
• Maintain an oversight of budget availability and expenditure for assessment activities for which s/he is responsible;
• Other tasks as requested by supervisors

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

• Institutional engagement in research process

• # and type of actors participating in various steps of IM activities

• Reported level of satisfaction by IMWG and RRM members, as well as other humanitarian actors involved in the activities

• Use of IM products and activity outputs to inform aid response:

• # and type of actors accessing and using drafted research products

• Reported level of satisfaction by actors using IM outputs

• # of key events/ milestones influenced by REACH IM support

• Human Resource management

• Retention rate among supervised national and international staff

• Progression in performance of supervised staff

ACCOUNTABILITY TO COMMUNITIES AND BENEFICIARIES

The staff member is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities IMPACT and partners work are conducted in a respectful and consultative manner. Due attention must be paid to ensuring that communities are adequately consulted and informed about IMPACT programme objectives, activities, beneficiary selection criteria, and methodologies. This is the responsibility of every IMPACT staff member.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

The IM 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 degree in relevant discipline;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• At least 4 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian settings such as research, evaluation, assessments and programmes;
• Field/humanitarian experiences needed, in monitoring and evaluation, NGOs, or other similar relevant sector;
• Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting;
• Excellent team management skills;
• Experience with stakeholder engagement;
• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
• Familiarity with the aid system, and understanding of donor and governmental requirements;
• Prior knowledge of the region an asset
• Fluency in French required, English is an asset
• Ability to operate Microsoft Word, Excel and Project Management Software.
• Ability to operate Kobo, SPSS or related statistical programming, coding and GIS software is an asset
• Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles;
• Ability to work independently and manage people remotely.

CONDITIONS

• Salary defined by the IMPACT salary grid; educational level, expertise, hardship, security, and performance are considered for pay bonus
• Additional monthly living allowance provided in country by IMPACT’s partner ACTED
• 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

Please use the following link to apply:

https://www.impact-initiatives.org/work-with-us/vacancies/assessment-manager/