Gis Officer at ACTED

Direct hierarchy: IMPACT Country Focal Point

Contract duration: 4 months (maternity cover)

Starting date: August 2018.

Background on REACH/ACTED

REACH was born in 2010 as a joint initiative of two International NGOs (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. 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 organization 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 whose headquarter is based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, which allows particularly IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support on its fields of intervention.

Position Profile

Under the functional supervision of the IMPACT Kenya/Somalia Country Focal Point and of IMPACT’s HQ in Geneva, the REACH GIS Officer will be responsible for the processes and outputs related to REACH GIS, products and data, as well as information management systems, including web applications, in country. He/she will ensure regular communication with REACH Assessment Officers in country and with IMPACT HQ.

During his/her mission, the REACH GIS Officer will be hosted by ACTED and will fall under the direct responsibility and management of ACTED’s Country Director and his/her delegates for all Administrative, Security, Logistics and Finance issues. S/he will therefore fully abide to ACTED’s Security, HR, Administration and Logistics rules and regulations.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The REACH GIS Officer will fulfill the following functions:

• Support to Assessment Preparation and Planning
• In coordination with relevant assessment officer(s), support assessment planning in line with project and program objectives and with IMPACT’s research cycle and other relevant guidelines;
• Map and analyse secondary data in coordination with the assessment officer(s);
• Contribute to draft assessment ToRs with a specific focus on the analysis plan, and related mapping, as well as data management plan;
• Support the development of qualitative and quantitative data collection tools, ensuring GIS requirements of research cycle/assessment are met;
• Develop geo-spatial analysis of assessment areas to be used in developing daily assessment plans, field movement plans and accompanying operational maps for field teams;
• In coordination with relevant assessment officer(s), support construction of quantitative sample;
• Keep track of progress and delays of all assigned tasks throughout the research cycle. Ensure that delays or identified problems are reported by writing and orally in a timely manner.
• 2.Data Collection
• When relevant, support the identification and training of enumerators for primary data collection;
• When relevant, support oversight of data collection, in line with agreed TORs (including their Annexes), including spatial verification and validation as part of daily assessment checks;
• Ensure that collected data is geo-referenced, enabling the production of maps and related products;
• In coordination with relevant assessment officer(s), document all changes in data collection that lead to a modification in the agreed TORs, ensuring that the IMPACT Country Focal Point and IMPACT HQ are informed and agree on the modifications.
• 3.Data Management & Analysis
• Ensure that all collected data is stored in line with IMPACT’s Data Management Guidelines, and with the ToRs (data management plan Annex);
• Ensure that data is revised and cleaned, and that all revisions are recorded;
• Conduct spatial analysis on collected data as per ToRs;
• Ensure that data and its spatial analysis are validated by IMPACT HQ before product drafting stage;
• Ensure that data and its analysis do not contain personal information and are validated by IMPACT HQ before sharing to external parties;
• Ensure the quality and accuracy of technical information provided as well as the confidentiality and protection of collected information.
• 4.GIS Products (including maps and web-products)
• Ensure accurate linkages between spatial databases and assessment data;
• Ensure that the GIS products meet the requirements of IMPACT and concerned partners;
• Maintain regular communication with IMPACT HQ on progress and deadlines for GIS products;
• Ensure the drafting of timely and accurate GIS products, which comply with IMPACT’s guidelines;
• Ensure that all GIS products are validated by IMPACT HQ before external release;
• When relevant, in close coordination with IMPACT HQ, support the regular maintenance and update of web GIS products;
• Liaise with IMPACT HQ on the procurement of UNOSAT services and satellite imagery.
• 5.Product dissemination and evaluation
• Support IMPACT Country Focal Point in the dissemination of GIS products in line with IMPACT Guidelines and Research ToRs;
• Maintain the strictest confidentiality of data and related processes. He/she will actively take measures to prevent the unauthorized sharing of information and data;
• Under supervision of IMPACT HQ, ensure that GIS products are uploaded in relevant data portals, as specified in Research ToRs;
• Under the supervision of the IMPACT Country Focal Point and in coordination with assessment officer(s), ensure that lessons learned are gathered and documented at the end of each research cycle.
• 6.External relations
• Under the supervision of IMPACT’s Country Focal Point, contribute to consultations with relevant partners for the preparation and dissemination of GIS products;
• At the discretion of the IMPACT Country Focal Point, the GIS Officer may be tasked with attending relevant technical fora in country (e.g. IM/GIS working groups).
• In support of the IMPACT Country Focal Point, engage with other organizations engaged with the maintenance of spatial data in country X, including ensuring IMPACT Geodatabases are up-to-date and in line with Common Operational Datasets (CODs) and Fundamental Operational Datasets (FODs)
• 7.Others
• Support ACTED departments in the collection, maintenance and analysis of geo-spatial data; including support in production of maps for operational support, proposal development and reporting.
• Other tasks as requested by supervisors.

Key performance indicators

• Compliance with relevant GIS guidelines
• Mapping guidelines are systematically followed, in particular:
• Map templates consistently used
• Map validation process respected
• Adherence to research cycle TOR
• GIS products support the research as designed and align to the analysis plan envisioned
• Data is handled according to the arrangements specified in the data management plan
• Internal communication protocols followed
• Regular communication is maintained with IMPACT HQ on progress and deadlines for GIS products
  Problems related to specific assessments are reported by writing and orally in a timely manner
• Maps produced in a timely and accurate manner
• Average number of days between end of data collection and internal product validation
• Total number of maps receiving final validation
• Confidentiality and Data Protection
• The REACH GIS Officer will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes. He/she 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/Skills Required

• Master degree in Geography/GIS or a related discipline;
• 2 years of experience in GIS / Database management, preferably in humanitarian context;
• Good command of GIS software (especially ArcGIS Desktop), general computer software (Excel, Word) and conventional database applications (Access/SQL)
• Previous experience with mobile data collection (ODK, ONA, KOBO);
• Considerable experience analyzing complex data with R mandatory; knowledge of other statistical
• programming languages and packages a plus;
• Knowledge of the Adobe Suite, particularly Illustrator and InDesign;
• Excellent team management skills;
• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
• Familiarity with the aid system, and understanding of donor and governmental requirements;
• Prior knowledge of Somalia is an asset;
• Ability to travel to the field for data collection, cross-checking the data and provide training to field staff;
• Good organizational, communication and interpersonal skills;
• Fluency in English required.