IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including the PANDA Initiative. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis and GIS. IMPACT operates through three Initiatives: REACH, PANDA, and AGORA. This recruitment opportunity pertains to the PANDA Initiative.

PANDA is IMPACT’s lever on humanitarian aid responses which focusing on improving outcomes for beneficiaries through direct engagement with partners and their activities. Where REACH works through soft power and partnerships to affect systemic change, PANDA is direct action that allows us to ensure that system and its participants are trustworthy and delivering the most effective, efficient and equitable response possible. PANDA is praxis – it is how IMPACT manifests our vision of acting as a catalyst of change within the aid community to work through focused or multidimensional analysis of projects, programmes and policies to identify their results, strengths and weaknesses, and how they can be improved, then proposes or implements a concrete plan for improvement.

We are currently looking for a Research Manager to support our team in Sudan. Department: PANDA
Position: Research Manager

Contract duration: 9 months

Location: Kampala, Uganda with up to 50% travel

Starting Date: ASAP

COUNTRY PROFILE
Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on 15 April 2023. Fighting has been concentrated in densely populated urban centres, starting in Khartoum but quickly spreading across the country. These clashes have triggered waves of forced displacement, both internally as well as to neighbouring countries, including Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Sudan. The operating environment for humanitarian actors has also been constrained due to insecurity.

This latest crisis comes amidst a complex and protracted humanitarian context in Sudan, with 15.8 million people estimated to be in need – the highest in a decade – prior to these events. The country faces persistent environmental risks, including recurrent flooding events, droughts, and locust invasions, in addition to widespread food insecurity and economic challenges. Prolonged internal displacement, high refugee caseloads, and continual pockets of inter-communal conflict further exacerbate needs and vulnerabilities.

Through its REACH initiative, IMPACT has been present in Sudan since 2020, providing humanitarian actors with up-to-date data and analysis on existing needs through a first country-wide Multi-sectoral Needs Assessment. Following the recent outbreak in violence between the SAF and RSF, IMPACT is mobilising an emergency response in Sudan and neighbouring countries, to provide decision makers with rapid analysis of conditions on the ground.

PROJECT PROFILE
The position is recruited for the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEAL) Project covering GAC’s funding to the Sudan crisis emergency response. For this programme, IMPACT will trial innovative methods for monitoring and evaluation in emergency responses by working with partners to provide technical guidance and expertise on addressing gaps in existing systems. The work will cover programmes on the Sudan response in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad and will require coordination and engagement with a wide range of actors.

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 [relevant] region is desirable.
Language skills Fluency in English required. Fluency in French is an asset.
Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.
CONDITIONS

For this position, salary between 2’940 CHF and 3’120 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 the guesthouse.
Accompanied status does not apply to this position
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;
IMPACT prioritizes the psychological safety of its staff and the health insurance provided covers, among others, up to 1000 € per year of psychosocial counselling fee