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 an exciting, joint initiative of ACTED and IMPACT Initiatives founded in 2016 to promote more local planning around aid response. As part of AGORA, IMPACT maps and profiles communities, then works with these communities to develop response plans based on what the community wants. ACTED is then able to respond outside of the typical sectoral, siloed response to help communities get the assistance that they have identified they need for their area. AGORA is a bottom-up, holistic, area-based approach to aid delivery.

Mission

IMPACT Afghanistan is looking for Senior Assessment Officer to lead on AGORA research, as of September 2024.

Department: AGORA

Position: Senior Assessment Officer

Contract Duration: 1 year

Location: Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan with travel to Kabul and Faryab

Start date: September 2024

Country Profile

Years of conflict, recurrent natural disasters, chronic poverty, and drought have made life in Afghanistan difficult. After the events of 15 August 2021, a challenging political environment characterized by economic upheaval and ruptures in basic services, financial systems, and the civil service exacerbated an already challenging humanitarian situation. Despite these difficulties, the Afghan people have demonstrated resilience through multiple routes of adaptation and in 2024 the humanitarian situation was projected to stabilize and improve for the first time in years. Conversations in the assistance community have begun to include to a greater degree language around long-term projects and the need for durable solutions and climate change preparedness.

IMPACT has been present in Afghanistan since 2016, providing a growing evidence base for humanitarian and basic needs 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. These objectives include (1) supporting strategic planning and prioritization, (2) emphasizing localization agendas through area-based early recovery and development, 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. IMPACT has a growing portfolio looking at the interaction of humanitarian and basic needs efforts with a focus on long-term resilience and recovery for the people of Afghanistan.

Position Profile

IMPACT is looking for an assessment profile to lead an exciting portfolio of area-based research focused on informing conversations around the HDP nexus, Durable Solutions, and climate preparedness, through working with communities to identify priorities that directly inform the programming of implementing NGOs and the UN.

The ideal candidate will be eager to work in a dynamic organization that has been leading globally in the implementation of holistic, area-based assessments. The candidate will oversee research portfolios that feed into response-wide initiatives around area-based programming and Durable Solutions, as well as lead the development of research for a pilot initiative focused on helping communities mitigate the effects of climate change.

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, remote sensing, 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. The portfolio also includes small, pilot research projects related to local resource management in the face of climate change.

Under the supervision of the Country Representative and Resilience and Recovery Unit Research Manager 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, Terms of Reference drafting
• 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 regular reporting on assessment progress and participating in internal coordination meetings

2. Team, Project, and Grants Management

• Managing staff dedicated to the portfolio across assessment, data, and project/operations teams.
• Lead on capacity building for team staff, including ad hoc training, facilitating lessons learned workshops with AGORA staff across IMPACT and Acted, and other capacity buildinga activities as deemed relevant
• 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, basic needs, and Durable Solutions coordination structure, throughout the research cycle, and supporting the incorporation of findings into strategic planning, programmatic, and operational documents as relevant
• Lead on advocacy for dissemination of coummunity response plans and localized profiles to connect communities with UN, NGO, and other donors that could be involved with funding localized projects
• Representing IMPACT as part of the AGORA relationship with ACTED in Afghanistan; including externally to partners and donors.

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.

Profile

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

– Good experience with coordination and presentation of research

– Excellent analytical skills; skills with a statistical program such as STATA or R an asset

– Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting

– Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility

– Understanding of area based approaches an asset

– Understanding of climate research an asset

– Fluency in English required, Persian/Dari language skills is an advantage

– Ability to operate Microsoft Word and Excel, Adobe an asset

– Knowledge of qualitative assessments, methodologies, and analysis and related analytical software an asset

– Experience with GIS software is an asset

– Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

· Salary between 2’200 EUR and 2’400 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.

· IMPACT and ACTED prioritize the psychological safety of its staff and the health insurance provided covers, among others, up to 1000 € per year of psychosocial counselling fees