Associate Research Manager - Analysis Unit for Sudan, based in Kampala or Nairobi

Position description

Created in 2010, IMPACT is a Geneva-based NGO and the largest independent data provider in contexts of crisis. IMPACT aims to support a range of stakeholders in making better, more informed decisions in humanitarian, stabilization, and development settings. Through our team of assessment, data, geospatial, and thematic specialists, IMPACT promotes the design of people-centred research and set standards for collecting and analysing rigorous, high quality data in complex environments. Over the past 15 years, IMPACT has been growing in size and geographic reach to become one of the largest humanitarian research agencies in the humanitarian sector.

IMPACT's teams implement assessment, monitoring, evaluation, and organisational capacity-building programmes in direct partnership with aid actors. IMPACT's team is composed of over 200 full-time international experts as well as a roster of consultants, who are currently implementing over 50 programmes in over 30 countries across Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Central and South-east Asia, and Eastern Europe.

We are currently looking for an Associate Research Manager of a new Analysis Team for the Sudan mission

Position: Associate Research Manager (ARM) - Analysis Unit

Contract duration: 6 months

Starting Date: October 2025

Location: Nairobi, Kenya or Kampala, Uganda

COUNTRY PROFILE

Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in Khartoum on 15 April 2023 and spread quickly across the country. Civilians have fled areas affected by fighting in large numbers, including to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. Prices of food, fuel and other basic goods have skyrocketed skyrocketing, making critical goods unaffordable for many people. Half of Sudan’s population are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the country is on the verge of a catastrophic hunger crisis. Humanitarian organizations are racing to respond to the most pressing needs wherever and whenever feasible, with access issues complicating the ability of actors to respond. In this fast-evolving context, IMPACT Initiatives is working to inform the emergency response to enable effective prioritization with scarce resources.

POSITION PROFILE

The ARM of the new Analysis Unit will be responsible to create new analyses and research based on existing IMPACT Research Cycles and secondary data. Under the supervision of the Deputy Country Coordinator, the ARM will lead on the following:

Design mixed-methods research, identifying cross-cutting areas of interest across units to generate innovate policy and advocacy relevant outputs

Oversee the mission’s senior data and GiS team and worj with Unit managers to co-design and synthesize information products

Synthesize information from diverse datasets and contributions from partners into clear and compelling evidence products

Promote data quality and comparability across units to ensure interoperability and common analytical standards

Closely engage with HQ to develop and validate new research and analysis pieces

This position requires a profile of someone who is analytical, able to engage in technical discussions, innovative and highly independent. Candidates should have strong research, analytical, writing and presentation skills and be able to clearly think through and articulate implications of research findings. The position will require strong external engagement with partners, as well as the management of research cycles end-to-end, looking at data, pulling out relevant findings, writing engaging briefs and factsheets and presenting findings to external audiences with varying amounts of data literacy.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Team Leader’s responsibilities include:

RESEARCH CYCLE MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Understanding existing sources of data and on that basis developing new, innovative analyses
• Working with teams across other units to conceptualize new research cycles including research design, tool development, and analysis.
• Produce new short term and long-term outputs that can meaningfully inform the humanitarian response in a fast moving conflict (e.g., situation reports, trend analyses)

STAFF MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING

• Manage the senior technical team in the mission (including senior data and GIS staff)
• Promoting capacity building across the IMPACT Sudan mission related to deepening analytical capacities using existing research (capacity building portfolio will depend on level of experience).

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

• Lead external engagement with operational partners to identify most helpful analyses and pieces of research. This includes, but is not limited to, the INGO Forum, Cash Consortium, OCHA
• Represent IMPACT in relevant external engagements (e.g., conferences) as related to the Sudan crisis

INTERNAL COORDINATION

• Work closely with HQ to develop and validate new research, and implement IMPACT’s 3.0 vision in Sudan
• Coordinating with research units and teams to move forward or improve aspects of the research cycle.

CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

• Keeping up to date with the shifting Sudanese context.

The Team Leader will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes. They 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.

Qualifications

• Years of work experience 5 years of relevant working experience in a humanitarian setting, such as assessments, monitoring and evaluation, research design and analysis, etc.
• Research skills Strong experience in mixed methods research with high statistical literacy
• Familiarity with aid system Strong understanding of the multi-sectoral humanitarian architecture; familiarity with Sudan or similar context
• Communication/reporting skills Excellent verbal and written communication and synthesis skills for effective reporting required. Visualization skills are an asset.
• Academic qualifications Excellent academic qualifications, including a master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant discipline (e.g. international studies, development, humanitarian response, data science, political science, etc.).
• 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
• Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.
• Experience in geographical region Past experience in the region/supporting is desirable
• Language skills Fluency in English required, competency in Arabic is an asset.

COMPENSTION & BENEFITS

• For this position, salary between 2’940 CHF and 3’000 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.
• 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 fees.

Application instructions

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