RESEARCH MANAGER

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 Head of the ISU to support our REACH team in Uganda. Department: REACHPosition: RESEARCH MANAGER

Contract duration: 12 months

Location: Kampala, Uganda

Starting Date: 01/04/2021

COUNTRY PROFILE

Over the last 20 years, Uganda has become the destination for more than 1.4 million registered refugees, including people fleeing conflict and instability in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi. The recent influxes of refugees have aggravated the need for a comprehensive understanding of the humanitarian situation and the provision of services for refugees and host communities living both in dedicated refugee settlements as well as in urban settings, including ways to enhance the resilience of these communities.

IMPACT was first deployed to Uganda through its initiative REACH in 2017 in order to provide evidence-based information for humanitarian and development actors in support of strategic planning. Since then, IMPACT, in partnership with ACTED, has established AGORA activities to support multi-stakeholder responses and strengthen refugee response in urban centres, such as Kampala, and provides direct programme and assessment support to key actors in the response.

POSITION PROFILE

FUNCTIONS

The REACH Research Manager Uganda oversees all relevant multisectoral assessments, including our work on cash and markets (market monitoring, in-depth assessments and IM support) and the implementation of a Multi Sector Needs Assessment’s (MSNA) for refugees and host communities, which provides a snapshot of needs and vulnerability levels and is used to inform humanitarian planning.

The position will fulfill the following functions:

1. Management of all research cycles in the unit

1.1 Assessment Preparation and Planning:

· Oversee the strategic planning and research design of multi-sectoral assessments with assessment teams.

· Ensure that all assessments are planned in line with relevant project and program objectives and with REACH research cycle and other relevant guidelines;

· Ensure that required secondary data analysis has been conducted in preparation of an assessment;

· For each assessment, review ToRs before they are sent to Geneva for validation and ensure that TORs are validated by HQ before any data collection begins;

· Ensure that ToRs are understood and used by assessment staff and stakeholders, and updated as required; Compose and construct, in close coordination with GIS and data management team, qualitative and quantitative data collection tools; ensure engagement with GIS teams on GIS requirements of research cycle/assessment;

· Keep track of progress and delays of all assigned assessment throughout the research cycle. Ensure that delays or identified challenges for specific assessments are reported in writing and orally in a timely manner;

· Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in assessment design and planning.

1.2 Data collection and management

· Ensure that required enumerators are identified and trained for primary data collection;

· Monitor data collection, ensuring its correct implementation in line with agreed TORs;

· Ensure that Country Coordinator is alerted to any issues that prevents full implementation of the methodology in line with the agreed TORs; ensure that all changes to the methodology are documented throughout implementation;

· Ensure logistics, financial, administration, security and HR processes directly related to REACH have been appropriately implemented and with the relevant ACTED departments;

· Ensure regular situation updates on data collection have been produced and circulated to relevant REACH, ACTED and external counterparts. Provide support and follow up on identified challenges during the data collection process;

· Ensure that all collected data is stored in line with IMPACT’s Data Management Guidelines, and with the ToRs (data management plan Annex);

· Ensure that data is revised and cleaned, and that all revisions are recorded;

· Oversee analysis on collected data as per ToRs;

· Ensure that meaningful techniques are used to analyze the data collected;

· 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

· 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;

· Maintain regular communication with IMPACT HQ on progress and deadlines for written products;

· 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 Coordinator, 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 Coordinator 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 Assessment Team members to assess progress in all research cycles and to review work plan;

· Bilateral management of assessment team members, including the conduct of appraisals, as well as participation in staff career management (in consultation with Country Coordinator);

· In coordination with Country Coordinator, conduct induction for new staff members, including training in basic technical competencies for assessment design, implementation and analysis;

· Support to the Country Coordinator in the development and implementation of capacity training plans for REACH assessment and field team members;

· Be available to provide regular support and technical backstopping for other staff on the team;

· When relevant, support/ lead staff appraisal and recruitment process in collaboration with the Country Coordinator.

3. External relations

· In coordination with the Country Coordinator, engage with relevant partners, ensuring that they are consulted and involved at all stages of research cycle: the planning of the assessment; data collection; data analysis; review of research products; product dissemination; and lessons learnt; ensure that partner engagement is documented;

· 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 Coordinator, represent REACH/IMPACT in technical external engagements related to unit assessments;

· Support the IMPACT Country Coordinator 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 Coordinator, the Head of the ISU will actively contribute to the development of the REACH strategy in Uganda. In particular s/he will support in identifying and formalising:

· The need for assessments, 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 andplans

· Engagement with IMPACT HQ in global level strategic priorities

5. Participation on the IMPACT Uganda Senior Management Team

· Engagement with the Country Coordinator and other managers and specialists on mission strategy, coordinating research cycles and workflows, and providing and receiving technical and methodological support on assessments.

· Supporting the Country Coordinator and other in-country Senior Management Team members on ensuring cohesion across research teams on goals.

6. Others

· Support the Country Coordinator 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.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

The Head of the ISU 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.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO COMMUNITIES AND BENEFICIARIES

The staff member is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities REACH 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 REACH programme objectives, activities, beneficiary selection criteria, and methodologies. This is the responsibility of every REACH staff member.

REQUIREMENTS

· Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree in relevant discipline;

· 3 years of relevant working experience in a humanitarian setting;

· Excellent research experience, with practical experience in research design, management, and analysis

· Experience with external engagement (donors, partners and other key stakeholders) required;

· Excellent team management, coordination, organisational and planning skills required, including ability to manage large workloads, oversee multiple teams and effectively meet deadlines, through an excellent ability to multi-task and prioritise;

· Excellent communication and drafting skills required for effective donor reporting and proposal development;

· Excellent analytical skills required;

· Familiarity with the humanitarian coordination system required;

· Understanding of processes involved in conducting large scale assessments an asset;

· Experience managing budgets an asset;

· Ability to work independently and manage people remotely required;

· Solution-oriented, flexible, and open-minded, including ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment;

· Good understanding of the Ugandan context – past experience in the region is desirable;

· Fluency in English required;

· A sense of curiosity and a drive to work to improve the humanitarian sector.