Senior Assessment Officer, Dakar

IMPACT Initiatives Vacancy: Senior Assessment Officer, Dakar, Senegal | UNjobs

Senior Assessment Officer, Dakar

Organization:

IMPACT Initiatives

Country: Senegal

City:

Dakar

Office: IMPACT Initiatives in Dakar

 

Description

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

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;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.

We are currently looking for a Senior Assessment Officer to support our team in Nigeria (remotely from Dakar, Senegal)

Department: REACH

Position : Senior Assessment Officer - MSNA

Contract duration : 11 months

Location : Dakar, Senegal (with occasional travel to Abuja, Nigeria)

Starting Date : 1st April 2026 (dependent on funding confirmation)

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

COUNTRY PROFILE

Nigeria is confronted by multiple security challenges. The Insurgency of The Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and JamÄ'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-JihÄd (JAS) - more popularly known as Boko Haram - has entered its twelfth year and has spawned a humanitarian crisis rendering sections of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe state inaccessible, limiting affected population`s access to basic infrastructure and services, and displacing millions. In the Northwest, banditry has emerged as a key challenge, becoming more sanguinary with every year. The high levels of crime and increased use of violence and kidnappings have led parents and authorities to pull millions of students out of school. The spotlight remains on the Northeast yet needs - both humanitarian and developmental - are rising in the Northwest, long-running discontent and militancy prevails in the Niger Delta, discontent is increasing between herders and farming communities spreading from the central belt southwards, and separatist Biafra agitations in the Igbo Southeast simmer on.

Against this backdrop, IMPACT Initiatives has developed a wide range of research cycles to provide an evidence-base for the humanitarian community. Historically, IMPACT Initiatives has been present in both the Northeast and Northwest of Nigeria. Thematically, across 2021 - 2023 IMPACT Initiatives fielded Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessments (MSNAs), Hard to Reach (H2R) assessments, Area Based Assessments (ABA), Rapid Overviews of Areas of Return (ROAR), Thematic Assessments (TA), Rapid Assessments (RA), and WASH Infrastructure Mapping, while also playing a key role in Famine Monitoring, Nutrition and Food Security Surveillance, and the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI).

IMPACT is currently hosted by a national NGO, FACT Foundation, and all staff are seconded to FACT during their mission in Nigeria. Both organisations are anticipating the confirmation of an upcoming ECHO-funded consortium in Nigeria, focused on emergency response mechanisms through cash as the primary response modality as well as full REACH MSNA in the North-East. This will be the first REACH-led MSNA in the NE since 2022 and it aims to align directly with the 2026 HPC. Due to persistent visa issues in Nigeria, the position is for the time being placed in IMPACT's satellite office in Dakar. There is a possibility that there will be occasional travel to Abuja, Nigeria as well as permanent relocation to Nigeria if the visa situation improves.

Missions

POSITION PROFILE

Under the management of the Research Manager, the Senior Assessment Officer (SAO) helps to oversee the research activities related to the North-East MSNA.

This position requires strong research skills, a willingness to work in a team, an analytical mind, creativity, and independence. Knowledge of the national or regional context in Nigeria is an advantage.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Assessment Officer's responsibilities include:

RESEARCH DESIGN AND OVERSEEING DATA COLLECTION

Support the full MSNA research cycle, including the drafting of ToRs, methodology notes, assessment tools, analytical products, and dissemination strategies. Lead the design of assessment tools in close collaboration with relevant external stakeholders. Ensure field testing and piloting of tools and sampling approaches to confirm methodological robustness prior to the rollout of data collection. Ensure that assessment design, data collection, and analysis are planned and implemented in a structured and coherent manner, in line with project objectives, strategic priorities, and global REACH guidelines. Ensure that MSNA data are processed, checked, and cleaned on a daily basis throughout the data collection period. Ensure regular and effective communication between assessment, data, and partnership teams throughout the research cycle. Support the management of logistics, financial, administrative, and HR processes directly related to IMPACT activities, and liaise with FACT counterparts as required.

DRAFTING OF RESEARCH PRODUCTS

Lead the drafting of MSNA outputs (e.g. factsheets, reports, briefs) in line with agreed timelines, partner requirements, and IMPACT quality standards and guidelines. Ensure that research products accurately reflect collected data and that findings are communicated clearly and effectively, in line with their intended use. Maintain regular communication with country management and IMPACT HQ regarding progress, timelines, and deliverables for written outputs. In collaboration with the Research Manager, support the identification and drafting of complementary analytical products that further leverage MSNA data. Review outputs drafted by more junior staff

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

Serve as the primary technical point of

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