Vacancy at REACH Initiative (ACTED)

REACH was born in 2010 as a joint initiative of two INGOs (IMPACT Initiatives and ACTED) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) 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, supporting and working within the framework of the humanitarian reform process. 

We are currently recruiting to fill the position below: 


Job Title: Senior Research Officer

Location: Borno

Context / Job Description

• REACH is initializing operations in Nigeria to respond to the ongoing IDP crisis in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. Activities will contribute to an improved humanitarian emergency response and enhance evidence-based decision making by providing support to operational actors with localized and operational response planning.
• REACH will provide a complementary support to existing information management (IM) efforts by IOM, OCHA and sectors, focusing on supporting operational actors in given locations.
• The REACH Senior Research Officer (SRO) will be based in a to-be-determined field location and will be primarily responsible for data collection activities in those areas.
• He/she will travel, as necessary and when security permits, to multiple areas of the country to identify and collect information from Key Informants.
• The SRO will be responsible for identifying and reporting on humanitarian conditions in their focus areas (as defined by operational needs and base of assignment) and other areas as necessary.
• He/she will also be responsible for identifying and reporting emergent displacement trends in their area of focus (and other areas - as necessary).
• The SRO will also be responsible mission-related logistics, data analysis and cleaning, focus group discussion facilitation, participatory mapping session facilitation, data analysis, report drafting, collection of locational data using GPS devices, leading enumeration teams and any other reasonable tasks need to ensure the success of the REACH mission in Nigeria.

Chain of Command
Under the authority of:

• In country: ACTED Country Director
• In country: REACH Country Focal Point
• In country: REACH Assessment Officer
• In country: REACH Senior SRO

Responsible for:

• Their own activities
• REACH Research Officers and Research Assistants
• Enumerators WORKING RELATIONS

Internal Relations:

• ACTED Country Director
• REACH Country Coordinator
• REACH GIS/ Assessment/ Database Officers

Summary of Functions
The REACH SRO shall be responsible for:

• Establishment and management of key informant network
• Communication with partner organizations
• Collection of locational data using GPS devices
• Facilitation of participatory mapping sessions
• Data cleaning, entry and analysis
• Report drafting
• Hiring, training and leading enumeration teams
• Focus group discussion facilitation
• Logistics support
• Supervision of and capacity building in junior national staff
• Any other tasks need to ensure the success of the REACH mission in Nigeria

Details of Functions
Managing Key Informant Network:

• The REACH SRO will work in collaboration with REACH assessment staff to identify potential Key Informants for AoO, build their informant profiles, and execute month recurring and systematic data collection.
• While the focus of the SRO’s work will be on establishing a humanitarian conditions profile for a specific area of focus, (s)he will remain flexible and opportunistically collect information related to other project areas should the possibility arise and security situation allow.

Communication with Partner Organizations:

• The REACH SRO will work in collaboration with REACH assessment staff to communicate findings and coordinate activities with partner organizations operating in the area of focus

Collection of Locational Data Using GPS Device:

• The REACH SRO will collection locational data, such as the location of new or existing IDP locations, using hand held GPS devices.

Facilitation of Participatory Mapping Sessions:

• The REACH SRO will facilitate or co-facilitate participatory mapping sessions to help understand, identify and visualize common displacement routes of IDPs.

Data Cleaning, Entry and Analysis:

• The REACH SRO will clean, manage and analyze qualitative, quantitative and spatial data collected by the REACH team and enumerators

Report Drafting:

• The REACH SRO will, in close coordination with the assessment, GIS and data base teams, draft clear, concise and high-quality narrative reports that communicate findings from qualitative, quantitative and spatial data collection activites

Hiring, Training and Leading Enumeration Teams:

• The REACH SRO will be responsible for hiring enumeration teams, training them on the use of data collection tools (ODK) and methodology, and leading the teams in the field

Focus Group Discussion Facilitation

• The REACH SRO will be responsible for identifying and organizing respondents for focus group discussion, facilitating or co-facilitating the discussion and recording results

Logistic Support:

• The REACH SRO will have custodial responsibility for all REACH assets (computers, GPS devices, smart phones, etc) at their operational base, and will need to work with the REACH team and ACTED Logistics to ensure serviceability of assets and availability of consumables (printer ink, paper, pens, etc…)

Supervision of and Capacity Building in Junior National Staff:

• The REACH SRO will be responsible for supervision junior national staff participating in their assigned duties as well as building technical capacity related to data collection, FGD facilitation and computer use

Any Other Tasks Need to Ensure the Success of the REACH mission in Nigeria:

• The REACH SRO may be called upon to work on other REACH programmes in various locations in Nigeria including, but not limited to, remote LGA capitals, as the security situation allows

Accountability to Communities and Beneficiaries:

• The staff member is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities we work are conducted in a respectful and consultative manner.
• Due attention must be paid to ensuring that communities are adequately consulted and informed about ACTED programme objectives, activities, beneficiary selection criteria, and methodologies.
• This is the responsibility of every ACTED staff member.

Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum of two years working in humanitarian responses
• Bachelor's Degree with a strong focus on both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies required
• Strong skills with the Microsoft Office Suite
• Strong technical writing skills
• Considerable experience collecting information using hand-held GPS devices
• Considerable experience using ODK for quantitative data collection, or the ability to rapidly master the process
• Some experience creating ODK questionnaires
• Considerable experience hiring and managing casual laborers
• Considerable experience conducting focus group discussions, or the ability to learn rapidly
• Knowledge of creating kml/ kmz files in Google Earth
• Positive attitude and a willingness to learn
• Excellent communication skill
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility
• Prior experience working in IDP displacement locations
• Fluency written and spoken fluency in English and Kanuri a must; additional fluency in Hausa preferred
• Ability to work independently

Application Closing Date
5th May, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their comprehensive CV's and Cover Letter to: NGA.REACH@gmail.com