Senior Assessment Officer - Research Project Focal point for Somalia, based in Nairobi (Link For Internal Applicants Only)

IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including PANDA and REACH. 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.

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 IMPACT 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. IMPACT South Sudan has worked on multiple PANDA Initiative projects in recent years particularly in the area of food security and agricultural investments.

We are currently looking for a Senior Assessment Officer (SAO) to serve as the Research Project Focal Point on a multi-year sexual and reproductive health (SRH) research programme spanning Somalia and South Sudan, and contribute to broader analysis efforts.

Department:                 IMPACT

Contract duration:        12 months, renewable

Location:                     Nairobi, Kenya – with travel to Somalia and South Sudan.

Starting Date:               July 2026 (Pending funding confirmation)

Please note that this is a link for internal applicants only and applications of external candidates will be automatically rejected.

Somalia and South Sudan are among the world’s most complex humanitarian contexts, where protracted conflict, displacement, food insecurity, and acute health needs intersect. Both countries face severe deficits in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and data: maternal mortality rates are among the highest globally, access to family planning remains critically low, and adolescent girls and women in displacement face compounded vulnerabilities. Robust, longitudinal research on SRH outcomes in these settings is essential to inform programming and advocacy – yet remains rare.

In Somalia, SRH service delivery is fragmented across a patchwork of humanitarian and development actors, with major gaps in data on how displaced, rural, and urban poor populations access and experience reproductive health care. In South Sudan, years of conflict have devastated health infrastructure, leaving women and girls with limited access to maternal health, family planning, and gender-based violence response services. In both countries, generating high-quality longitudinal evidence through a randomised control trial (RCT) methodology offers a unique opportunity to understand what works, for whom, and under what conditions – and to build a rigorous evidence base for SRH programming across fragile settings.

IMPACT is active in both Somalia and South Sudan, with established capacity in needs assessments, health and nutrition surveys, and household-level data collection. Building on this foundation, IMPACT is undertaking a four-year research programme using a randomised control trial design to generate longitudinal evidence on SRH outcomes, access, and barriers in both countries, with annual quantitative and qualitative data collection rounds.

The SAO will serve as the primary IMPACT focal point for a four-year SRH research programme spanning Somalia and South Sudan. Based in Nairobi, the position involves regular travel to both countries and close collaboration with the donor, implementing partners, and in-country IMPACT teams. The SAO will have overall responsibility for the integrity, quality, and timeliness of the research programme, providing strategic direction and technical oversight across all data collection rounds.

The ideal candidate will combine strong technical expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies with demonstrable experience in research in humanitarian or low-resource settings. They will be skilled at managing complex, multi-country research projects and at building and sustaining productive relationships with donors and partners. Experience providing remote oversight and mentorship to in-country research teams is essential.

Research Planning and Design

• Serve as the overall research project focal point for the four-year SRH RCT programme, providing strategic direction and ensuring all research activities are implemented in line with project objectives, the agreed study protocol, IMPACT research cycle guidelines, and donor requirements.

• Lead the design and refinement of annual data collection rounds, covering both quantitative (survey-based) and qualitative (in-depth interviews, focus group discussions) components, ensuring methodological rigour and consistency with the RCT design across both country contexts.

• Oversee the contextualisation of data collection tools (quantitative questionnaires and qualitative guides) for each data collection round, ensuring tools are contextually appropriate, translated, and piloted before deployment in Somalia and South Sudan.

• Ensure all research designs, tools, and protocols are validated by IMPACT HQ and relevant ethics bodies before each data collection round begins.

Research Implementation

• Provide strategic oversight and technical guidance to in-country teams in Somalia and South Sudan who serve as the primary data collection leads in each context, including direction on enumerator recruitment and training, field supervision protocols, and quality assurance systems.

• Develop and roll out comprehensive quality assurance frameworks for each data collection round, including back-check protocols, data audit procedures, and real-time monitoring of data quality indicators, ensuring consistent standards across both countries.

• Lead enumerator training design for each data collection round in close coordination with the in-country teams, ensuring all enumerators are equipped to administer both quantitative surveys and qualitative data collection tools with fidelity to the study protocol.

• Ensure all data is collected, stored, and managed in line with IMPACT Data Management Guidelines, applicable data protection policies, and the ethical requirements of the study protocol.

• Monitor data collection progress across both countries, promptly identifying and resolving challenges or methodological deviations, and escalating issues to the line manager and IMPACT HQ as needed.

Data Analysis and Product Drafting

• Provide support or review of analysis and outputs drafted by research partner

• Beyond the RCT and SRH-focused project, conduct ad hoc analysis and support to the South Sudan and Somalia missions, or to Horn of Africa/East Africa for strengthened regional analysis and support

Donor and Partner Engagement

• Serve as the primary IMPACT interlocutor with the donor, providing regular updates on research progress, milestones achieved, challenges encountered, and lessons learned across both country programmes.

• Be the key focal point for donor reports and research updates, ensuring these are accurate, well-written, and submitted on time, and that they reflect the contributions of both the Somalia and South Sudan in-country teams.

• Facilitate regular project review meetings with the donor and key partners, preparing presentations and briefing materials to support strategic dialogue on emerging findings, study adaptations, and implications for programming.

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with implementing partners in Somalia and South Sudan, ensuring research activities are well-coordinated with partner programming and that findings are disseminated and used effectively.

Knowledge Generation and Learning

• Document lessons learned from the research programme, including on SRH-related sensitivities, RCT implementation in fragile contexts, mixed-methods approaches, and longitudinal data collection, contributing to IMPACT’s broader knowledge base.

• Ensure all external engagement is clearly documented and communicated to the line manager and relevant colleagues.

Project Cycle Management

• Ensure compliance with project cycle management requirements at all phases, including planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting.

• Track deliverables and timelines across all research outputs and data collection rounds in both countries, and alert the line manager to any risks to delivery.

• Contribute to donor reporting by drafting narrative sections on research activities and findings.

• Participate in project kick-off, review, and completion meetings as required.

• Other tasks as requested by the line manager.

Data Confidentiality and Protection

• The SAO will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes, ensuring full compliance with IMPACT’s data protection policy, applicable research ethics requirements, and standard operating procedures. He/she will actively take measures to prevent the unauthorised sharing of any information and data belonging to IMPACT and its partners, or collected during his/her assignment with IMPACT.

Essential

• Excellent academic qualifications, preferably including a Master’s degree in Public Health, Social Science, Development Studies, or a relevant discipline.

• At least 4 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian or development research or programming, with a strong preference for candidates with experience in Somalia and/or South Sudan. Prior experience managing multi-year, multi-country research projects is an asset.

• Demonstrable knowledge of sexual and reproductive health in humanitarian or fragile contexts, including maternal health, family planning, and gender-based violence.

• Proven experience designing and managing mixed-methods research cycles in humanitarian or low-resource settings. Specific experience with randomised control trial (RCT) design and implementation is preferred. Experience with longitudinal study designs and multi-round data collection is highly desirable.

• Excellent written and spoken English. Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality research reports, donor updates, briefs, and presentations for diverse audiences, including technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Proven ability to work independently and provide oversight and mentorship to in-country research teams working remotely, while managing complex, multi-stakeholder research projects.

• Ability to operate sensitively and effectively in a cross-cultural environment, including in complex security contexts. Experience working with local research teams and community stakeholders across diverse settings.

• Experience designing quantitative and qualitative data collection tools in KoboCollect, ODK, or similar platforms required.

Desirable

• Experience working in Somalia and/or South Sudan, including familiarity with the humanitarian coordination landscape and key actors in both contexts.

• Experience conducting or overseeing research with vulnerable populations including displaced persons, women and girls, and adolescents, and familiarity with ethical frameworks for research in humanitarian settings.

• Experience engaging with donors on research programmes, including preparing reports and participating in technical review meetings.

• Strong applied statistics background and experience developing sample frames.

• For this position, salary between 2’580 CHF and 2’640 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 provided in the guesthouse, or a housing allowance provided for longer-term contracts.

• Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swiss life – 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’ 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.

• Enrolment in the IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months of contract.