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Research Manager

    Description

    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.

    Mission

    We are currently looking for a Research Manager to support our team in Nigeria.

    Department:                 REACH

    Position:                      Research Manager

    Contract duration:     12 months

    Location:                      Abuja, Nigeria (with occasional stays in Dakar, Senegal)

    Starting Date:               4th December 2024

    Deadline to apply:       20th November 2024

     

    Country profile

    Nigeria is confronted by multiple security challenges. The Insurgency of The Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād (JAS) – more popularly known as Boko Haram – has entered its twelfth year and has spawned a humanitarian crisis rendering sections of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe state inaccessible, limiting affected population`s access to basic infrastructure and services, and displacing millions. In the Norhtwest, banditry has emerged as a key challenge, becoming more sanguinary with every year. The high levels of crime and increased use of violence and kidnappings have led parents and authorities to pull millions of students out of school. The spotlight remains on the Northeast yet needs – both humanitarian and developmental – are rising in the Northwest, long-running discontent and militancy prevails in the Niger Delta, discontent is increasing between herders and farming communities spreading from the central belt southwards, and separatist Biafra agitations in the Igbo Southeast simmer on.

    Against this backdrop, IMPACT Initiatives has developed a wide range of research cycles to provide an evidence-base for the humanitarian community. Historically, IMPACT Initiatives has been present in both the Northeast and Northwest of Nigeria. Thematically, across 2021 – 2023 IMPACT Initiatives fielded Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessments (MSNAs), Hard to Reach (H2R) assessments, Area Based Assessments (ABA), Rapid Overviews of Areas of Return (ROAR), Thematic Assessments (TA), Rapid Assessments (RA), and WASH Infrastructure Mapping, while also playing a key role in Famine Monitoring, Nutrition and Food Security Surveillance, and the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI).   

    Project profile

    The position is recruited for the Third Party Monitoring (TPM) Project covering FCDOs Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (HARP) Facility. For this programme, IMPACT has entered into a consortium with CLEAR Global and FACT Foundation. While in Nigeria, staff shall be hosted by CLEAR Global and for his or her mission, the Research Manager will fall under the direct responsibility and management of CLEAR Global’s Country Director and his or her delegates for all Administrative, Security, Logistics and Finance issues. S/he will therefore fully abide by CLEAR Global’s Security, HR, Administration, and Logistics rules and regulations, and in coordination with CLEAR Global, ensure that all IMPACT staff abide by them.

     

    Functions

    Under the management of the Country Coordinator, the Research Manager oversees the research activities and staff within the purview of the FCDO-funded Third Party Monitoring (TPM) Project. The Research Manager shall oversee and execute all research activities within the above-mentioned Project, meeting quarterly deliverables in a timely fashion while ensuring that the quality of research remains high. S/he will moreover liaise extensively with counterparts from Clear Global and Fact Foundation who are IMPACT’s partners in the Consortium for the Project, while supporting the Country Coordinator in stakeholder engagement with FCDO’s Implementing Partners. 

    Responsibilities

    The Research Manager responsibilities include the following:

    Strategy development & implementation

    • With specific attention to the FCDO-funded TPM Project’s, and while supervised by the CC, the RM is to ensure that IMPACT has an up to date understanding of the country’s socio-economic situation, the impact of a crisis and the aid/humanitarian situation, as well as the humanitarian planning, coordination, response mechanism developments, and key humanitarian stakeholders.

    For the TPM Project, develop and oversee the implementation of the project’s strategy. In conjunction with the CC, set out the project’s overall strategy, develop concomitant workplans for each staff member, and put in place the requisite structures for the staff members such that each individual has clarity as to how to work towards the common goal of completing deliverables in a timely manner and at a high standard, and ultimately supplying impact to FCDO and Implementing Partners at the outcome level.  

    Research Planning:

    • For the TPM Project, ensure that all the research is planned in line with the relevant project and programme objectives, as well as the Project and Country Strategy. This is to include:

      • Ensure that all research complies with IMPACT’s HQ Research Department guidelines and standards.

      • Ensure that all necessary Secondary Data Reviews are conducted and integrated into the research.

      • Ensure that research ToRs are validated by HQ prior to the commencement of data collection.

      • Ensure that research ToRs are understood by the team and updated accordingly.

      • Keep track of progress and delays of all assigned assessments throughout the research cycle.

      • Liaise with FACT Foundation, to include their Operation Manager and coordinate in data collecting activity in the research.

      • Liaise with Clear Global, to ensure that the portion of the research carried out by them is as per the IMPACT’s quality standard.

      • Chair the consortium Technical Advisory Unit and facilitate bi-weekly meetings sharing activity progress update and review of research ToR, tools, and outputs.

      • Supervise international staff mainly Assessment and Data officers.  

      • Where necessary, proactively support the team by conducting research (research design, ToRs, developing tools, data management, data analysis, and product drafting). 

      • While supported by the CC, conduct dissemination and stakeholder meetings with FCDO and Implementing Partners.

     Research Implementation

    • Liaise with FACT Foundation, to ensure that the data is collected in the fashion and format that allows IMPACT to clean and analyse the data.

    • Ensure that all collected data is stored in line with IMPACT’s Data Management Guidelines, as well as with the data management plan Annex in the Research ToR.

    • Ensure that data is revised and cleaned, with all revisions recorded as per IMPACT data management guidelines.

    • Oversee all the analyses of the collected data, as stipulated in the Research ToRs.

    • Ensure that data and its analysis do not contain personal information and are validated by IMPACT HQ, before sharing to external parties. 

    • Supervise and where necessary support the team with the analysis and drafting of the information products.

    • Review all products before they are sent to the CC or IMPACT HQ for validation.

    • Ensure that all written products are validated by IMPACT HQ before release to FCDO and Implementing Partners.

     

    Team Management and Leadership

    • Ensure that all staff members understand and are able to perform their roles and responsibilities, as well as their reporting and validation duties to HQ. 

    • Ensure that all staff members have clear and regularly updated ToRs, Workplans, and Key performance Indicators (KPIs) against which their performance will be appraised.

    • Promote team building, productivity, and staff welfare.

    • Mentor and support the team to build capacities, improve efficiency and performance.

    • Promote the growth and development of staff within the organisation, actively linking with HQ to provide feedback and support retention and internal mobility. Identify capacity building opportunities for growth, proactively provide high-performing staff with opportunities to surge (a short-term deployment to another mission) and develop pathways for junior staff to grow and move into management or specialist positions.

    • Ensure communication and linkages with HQ are made immediately in case of the occurrence of an HR-related problem.

     

    Internal Coordination and Communication

    • Facilitate clear and seamless communication within the IMPACT TPM team across Senegal and Nigeria, as well as the FACT Foundation and Clear Global teams in Nigeria.

    • Ensure regular reporting to the CC.  

    Influencing - External Engagement

    • With the support from the CC, on a quarterly basis, engage with FCDO and the Implementing Partners to share findings and hold analysis and lessons learned workshops.

    • Under the supervision of the CC, and where necessary, engage with the humanitarian response beyond the remit of the TPM Project.

    • In conjunction with FCDO and Implementing Partners, support the CC in the dissemination of selected research with key stakeholders and coordination forums.

     

    Profil

    Requirements

    • Academic: Excellent academic qualifications, including a master’s degree in a relevant discipline (International Relations, Political Sciences, Social Research, Economics, Development Studies, or similar)

    • Management experience: Previous experience in a management role in an INGO at field level. Proven track record in successful management of international and national teams in humanitarian contexts

    • Familiarity aid system: Familiarity with the aid system, and the research community.

    • Communication/reporting skills: Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting, including proven experience in contributing to high level presentations/briefings.

    • Years of work experience: At least 4 years of relevant working experience preferably in the humanitarian and research field or proven progression within IMPACT.

    • Research skills: Excellent research and analytical skills. Excellent quantitative and qualitative research design, data collection, and data analysis experience required. Experience in assessments. M&E, field research, evaluations is an asset.

    • Software skills: Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Familiarity with R, SPSS and/or STATA or other statistical analysis software an asset.

    • Multi-tasking skills: Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles in complex environment.

    • Level of independence: A self-starter with a 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 the West Africa region is desirable.

    • Language skills: Fluency in English required.

    • Security environment: Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.

     

    Compensation and Benefits

    • For this position, salary between 3’000 CHF and 3’240 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 a 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)

    • 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;

    • Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.

    • 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.