ACTED is a French humanitarian NGO, founded in 1993, which supports vulnerable populations, affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. ACTED provides continued support to vulnerable communities by ensuring the sustainability of post-crisis interventions and engaging long-term challenges facing our target populations, in order to break the poverty cycle, foster development and reduce vulnerability to disasters. Their interventions seek to cover the multiple aspects of humanitarian and development crises through a multidisciplinary approach that is both global and local and adapted to each context

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, GIS and remote sensing. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO with headquarters based in Paris and presence in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, which allows IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support in its fields of intervention.

Under the line management of the IMPACT PANDA Unit Research Manager, the Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for the implementation of IMPACT’s PANDA research in Ethiopia, including the preparation, data collection, analysis, drafting, dissemination, and evaluation stages. The Senior Assessment Officer will implement an assortment of projects including light touch verifications (LTV) exercises with identified partners in Ethiopia. Throughout research cycles, the Senior Assessment Officer engages with partners to promote their participation and maximize their impact. They also ensure an efficient and transparent use of resources required for project implementation.

This position requires strong research skills, an analytical mind, creativity, independence, and an interest in the regional context. Candidates should have strong writing and presentation skills and be able to clearly think through and articulate implications of research findings. The position will regularly require looking at data, pulling out relevant findings, writing engaging briefs and factsheets, presenting findings to external audiences with varying amounts of data literacy, and guiding colleagues in how to think more analytically about their own research. Considering the unit’s portfolio, the Senior Assessment Officer should ideally also have experience with verification assessments, AAP/FGD methodologies and external engagement experience.

The Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for planning and implementing IMPACT’s PANDA research cycles in Ethiopia, in close coordination with other team members and with relevant external partners. More specifically the Senior Assessment Officer is responsible for the following:

Duties & Responsibilities:

RESEARCH PREPARATION AND PLANNING

• Ensure that all research cycles are planned in line with the country strategy, relevant research and project objectives and with IMPACT’s research cycle and other relevant guidelines;

• Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in research design and planning.

• Design research approaches and methodologies according to IMPACT’s requirements and principles as well as partners’ information needs; 

• For each research cycle, prepare ToRs and ensure their validation by HQ before any data collection begins;

• Compose and construct, in close coordination with GIS and data teams, qualitative and quantitative data collection tools;

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

• In coordination with operations and field staff, ensure that required enumerators are identified and trained for primary data collection;

• In liaison with operations and field staff, coordinate and monitor the implementation of data collection, ensuring its implementation in line with agreed TORs;

• Ensure regular situation updates on data collection are produced and circulated to the Research manager, relevant colleagues and external counterparts; provide support and follow up on identified challenges during the data collection process;

• Ensure that the Research Manager and relevant partners are alerted to any issues that prevents full implementation of the methodology agreed in the approved TORs; ensure that all changes to the methodology are documented throughout implementation and validated by IMPACT HQ and key partners;

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

• Ensure that all collected data is stored in line with IMPACT’s Data Management Guidelines and with the ToRs;

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

• Oversee analysis on collected data as per ToRs;

• Ensure that data and its analysis are validated by IMPACT HQ and do not contain personal information before product drafting or sharing with external parties 

PRODUCT DRAFTING

• Ensure the drafting of timely and accurate outputs that consolidate the analyses from each research cycle into relevant products such as factsheets, reports, presentations, etc which comply with IMPACT’s guidelines and quality standards; 

• Ensure that products accurately reflect the information collected and that information is conveyed in a way that maximizes their impact in line with their intended use;

• Liaise with relevant GIS colleagues to ensure effective spatial representation of research findings in maps or interactive web-portals, as relevant;

• Follow the designated timeline of reports to be submitted to project partners and donors. Ensure that delays or identified challenges for specific assessments are reported in writing and orally in a timely manner;

• Maintain regular communication with country Management and IMPACT HQ on progress and deadlines for written products;

• Ensure that all written products are validated by IMPACT HQ before external release

  EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

• In coordination with the IMPACT Research Manager and Country Coordination of Ethiopia, ensure that relevant partners are consulted and involved at all stages of research cycle: assessment preparation; data collection; data analysis; review of research products; product dissemination; and lessons learnt;

• After validation by the line manager, represent IMPACT in relevant meetings;

• After validation by line manager, present research findings to relevant third parties in order to enhance their use and impact;

• Ensure that all partner engagement and all external relations are clearly documented and communicated with the line manager and relevant colleagues;

• Leading on external engagement related to analytical research findings as necessary.

• KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND LEARNING PROCESSES

• Generate and document robust lessons learned at the end of each Research Cycle;

• In coordination with country management, support the conduct of monitoring and evaluation for each Research Cycle, as specified in the research ToRs and in line with IMPACT Guidelines;

The Senior Assessment Officer 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

 Job Requirements

• Years of work experience -3 years of relevant working experience in a humanitarian setting, such as monitoring and evaluation, assessments, research design and analysis, etc.;

• Research skills -Excellent quantitative and qualitative research design and data analysis experience required;

• Familiarity with aid system- Good understanding of the aid system and the research community.

• Thematic experience- Prior experience with third party monitoring is an asset;

• Communication/reporting skills- Excellent verbal and written communication and drafting skills for effective reporting required;

• 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 Adobe InDesign and R is an asset

• Security environment- Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.

• Language skills- Fluency in English required, competency in Amharic is an asset. 

• Multi-tasking skills- Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles;

• Level of independence- Proven ability to work independently;

How to Apply

Qualified national applicants with the required skills are invited to submit their applications. The application should include a detailed curriculum vitae and a cover letter, combined into a single document. Please ensure that the cover letter appears on the first page, followed by the CV starting on the second page, and includes details of three work-related referees.
Applications should be submitted via THIS LINK and must be received on or before 5:00 PM on August 23, 2025. Please use the subject line: “Senior Assessment Officer - Ethiopia” when submitting your application.

Please do not attach any other documents while sending your applications, if required they will be requested at a later stage.

Please note that only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

ACTED will at no stage of recruitment process request candidate to make payments of any kind. Further, ACTED has not retained any agent in connection with recruitments.

ACTED is committed to protecting beneficiaries within our programmed from exploitation and abuse and any kind of misconduct. ACTED has specific policies, including PSEA and Child Protection, which outlines the expected behavior and the responsibility of all staff, beneficiaries, consultants and other stakeholders and has zero tolerance towards misconducts. Any candidate offered a job with ACTED will be expected to sign ACTED’s organizational Policies and Code of Conduct as an annex to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.