IMPACT and REACH recruit an Information Management Officer – Food Security Cluster -Kinshasa, DRC 

IMPACT and REACH recruit an Information Management Officer – Food Security Cluster -Kinshasa, DRC

Bacground :

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.

Context :

Under the umbrella of the United Nations, the cluster system has been activated in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2005. The majority of the operational activities being implemented are done so through Non-Governmental Organisations and as such are key players of the humanitarian coordination. The involvement of NGOs in the humanitarian coordination is effective since 2015 but their engagement in the leadership is often limited by the lack of resources dedicated to the achievement of activities other than those predetermined by their programs. The role of the information management officer (IMO) seconded by an NGO to the humanitarian coordination aims at improving both the overall coordination and priorization of needs as well as the involvement of NGOs in this process.

The information management officer is a key member of the cluster coordination team. In this regard, he is in charge of handling the implementation and management of an adequate strategy for the collection and analysis of data and information sharing, needed to ensure that the cluster and its members are in a capacity to take well informed and data-based strategic decisions.

Functions :

Under the supervision of the Food Security Cluster Coordinator, ACTED Country Director and Impact HQ, as well as close collaboration with the subnational coordinators in various humanitarian hubs, and under the supervision of ACTED Country Director and Impact HQ, the Information Manager Officer will support the cluster in improving and strengthening information management and coordination by enhancing the cluster’s information management capacity.

Specifically, the IMO will perform the following tasks:

1. Lead the setup of IM systems ;
2. Support assessment activities ;
3. Facilitate strategic planning ;
4. Implement monitoring and gap analysis ;
5. Contribute to capacity building .

Lead the setup of the IM system :

• Conduct initial IM diagnoses to help identify areas and means of improvement to support the core coordination functions of the cluster ;
• Ensure that the coordination team has access to robust systems for file storage and e-mail. Set up online file repositories for cluster documents to facilitate file management and internal information sharing across the coordination team and the partners ;
• Establish and maintain cluster contact management system ;
• Prepare cluster visualization and reporting templates, including reports, presentations, cluster bulletins, dashboards and operational presence maps ;
• Develop and/or operationalise or enhance DR Congo-specific common data standards together with relevant clusters and OCHA and promote the standards with partners.

Planning :

• Draw up an information management and sharing strategy and subsequent implementation work plan ;
• Assist in the implementation and operationalisation of the strategy for DR CONGO through effective managerial and lateral relations as well as team work ;
• Support the HRP process helping the coordinator in defining shelter response strategic objectives/indicators and priority activities in alignment with Country Strategic Objectives ;
• Ensure linkage between needs assessment and response analysis to facilitate humanitarian response prioritization (activities / geographical location / groups).

Activities :

• Identify and gather relevant secondary data on a regular basis, ensure ongoing analysis and identify information gaps ;
• Lead the development of appropriate methodologies, indicators, tools and analytical frameworks to gather primary data.
• Plan and coordinate data collection, define coverage, rationalize partners’ contributions to avoid overlapping, and make sure that data is collected within agreed deadlines ;
• Leading data analysis and output production, including drafting of assessment factsheets, reports and other relevant information products ;
• Support effective dissemination of assessment findings, by producing media contents, delivering presentations, promoting ad hoc events ;
• Focussed analysis of shelter / housing needs in urban (not been assessed before) and rural areas for displaced persons and returnees.

Implement monotoring and Gap Analysis :

• Support in the Food Security response’s monitoring plan, including a series of indicators aiming at measuring progress of the response ;
• Define a detailed analysis plan covering each indicator of the monitoring plan, clarifying the type, frequency and outputs of the analysis that should be made ;
• Compile, aggregrate and analyse data and information elements required to produce standardised information products and implement or support data/information collection plans for baseline and context-specific data on for instance remaining shelter needs or quality of assistance provided to date ;
• Support and leverage geographic data for map production and use in geographic information systems (GIS) ;
• Share data with partner agencies and maintain information management products (website, contact list, activity reporting, operational presence, gap analysis and factsheets) at agreed frequencies and in relevant languages ;
• Facilitate the analysis of information between clusters when relevant ;
• Regularly engage and represent the cluster in the Information Management Working Group, feeding back to the coordination team as relevant ;
• Establish contact with appropriate partner agencies when basic or special needs are identified ;
• Liaise with humanitarian stakeholders and relevant government counterparts as required.

Contribute to capacity building :

• Train partners and other key partners on the use of the information management products as needed. In addition, train cluster partners and other key partners on data collection, data analysis, data visualisation and protection of sensitive data as needed ;
• Train local staff ;
• Perform other duties as required.

Expériences / Formation du candidat :

• University degree in information technology, demography, statistics, social sciences or any related area, or an equivalent combination of relevant training and experience in shelter and information management related activities in natural disaster or conflict situations ;
• At least 4 years of relevant work experience (2 years with advanced university degree) ;
• Strong experience of developing and implementing IM tools and systems ;
• Knowledge of the the humanitarian community, specifically with regards to inter-agency coordination and the humanitarian reform process ;
• Experience in the context of partnership building and consensual decision-making ;
• Proven ability to conceptualize, develop, plan monitor and evaluate IM relative to programmes, as well as to teach skills and build team capacity ;
• Excellent writing, communication and negotiation skills; ability to prepare clear and concise reports ;
• Proven skills to analyse statistical information ;
• Ability to formulate IM-related technical requirements and operating procedures ;
• Ability to compile and holistically analyse diverse datasets ;
• Experience with handling confidential data and demonstrated understanding of different data collection methodologies ;
• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously in a team and in the inter-agency context with colleagues from varied cultures and professional backgrounds ;
• Experience of applying humanitarian accountability standards and practices ;
• Proactive problem solving and operational decision making ;
• Willingness to travel up to 60% of time at short notice, resilience, stress tolerance and work under difficult conditions ;
• Fluently spoken and written French is mandatory ;
• Data capture and analysis:
  • MS Excel (Essential) :
    • Ability to create macros ;
    • Strong knowledge of statistical, conditional, and text-based functions ;
    • Integration with Access or other database applications (SQL, MySQL, Oracle) ;
  • SPSS, Epinfo6, Python or “R” (Highly recommended) :
    • Basic table relationship skills ;
    • Report generation ;
  • Mapping (Essential) :
    • ArcGIS, QGIS, Basic understanding of map making process. Ability to guide technical staff ;
  • Web Design (Desirable) :
    • HTML, PHP, ASP;
      • Basic understanding of web-based applications ;
    • French is a must, English is a plus .

Salaire / Indemnité :

• Salary defined by the IMPACT salary grid; educational level, expertise, hardship, security, and performance are considered for pay bonus
• Additional monthly living allowance provided in country by IMPACT’s partner ACTED
• Food and lodging provided at the organisation’s guesthouse/or housing allowance (depending on contract length and country of assignment)
• Transportation costs covered, including additional return ticket + luggage allowance
• Provision of medical, life, and repatriation insurance + retirement package

 

Please apply on the following link :

REACH Information Management Officer – Food Security Cluster