Senior Research Officer - MSNA - Global, based Amman (Link For External Applicants)

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.

Over the past 10 years, REACH has established itself as a leader in the delivery of independent, crisis-wide Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessments (MSNAs). MSNAs respond directly to Grand Bargain commitments by providing impartial, unbiased, comprehensive, context-sensitive, and timely data to inform humanitarian decision-making. In doing so, MSNAs promote a shift in how humanitarian needs are measured and how response planning and prioritization decisions are made. MSNA data enables and promotes needs-based, evidence-based and people-centred decision making when it comes to aid. MSNAs are delivered on an annual cycle aligned with the Humanitarian Planning Cycle (HPC). IMPACT delivers approximately 20 MSNAs each year across some of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. In 2026, IMPACT embarked on an exciting but ambitious journey to expand and improve the MSNA programme. The goal is to improve the resilience of the data and information system underpinning humanitarian aid policy by streamlining delivery of MSNAs, making them easier, faster and cheaper to deliver by 2028. Delivering on this agenda requires a scale-up of the Global MSNA Team, close coordination with country teams delivering MSNAs, and with our Global Data Team (GDT) based in Amman. This position is therefore based in our Regional Office in Amman.

Title: Senior Research Officer – Research and Development (MSNA)

Location: Amman, Jordan, with travel (up to 20% field deployment)

Line management: Reports to the MSNA Research and Development (R&D) Specialist; administratively hosted by the IMPACT/ACTED office in Amman

Contract duration: 12 months, with possibility of extension.

Start date: ASAP

This position is situated within the Research Systems Unit (RSU) of the Global Programmes Section. Under the overall guidance of the Research Manager, the RSU supports the delivery of core, multi-sectoral research across IMPACT’s countries of operation. Reporting directly to the MSNA Research & Development (R&D) Specialist (based in Geneva), and working closely with the Global Data Team (GDT), the Senior Research Officer will lead and support various initiatives within the R&D workstream of the Global MSNA Team including, among others, MSNA toolkits and methods, the Multi-Sector Needs Index (MSNI), cross-crisis analysis, mortality & nutrition data modules, and digitalization of workflows.

The position is based in Amman in order to keep methodological development close to the responses where MSNAs are implemented at the largest scale, and to strengthen day-to-day technical support to country teams in the region.

The SAO will support the below core areas of work:

MSNA toolkit and methods

• Lead the update of the MSNA sectoral indicator guidance, in coordination with sectoral specialists, and including making guidance notes fit for a public audience.

• Lead the development of the clean dataset template and the analysis tables template, taking account of the capacity of lower-resourced country teams.

• Contribute to the update of the MSNA Global Indicator Bank, the Data Analysis Plan (DAP) template, the KoBo template and checker, and the MSNA sampling guidance, including making relevant resources public.

• Support the coherence and interoperability of the toolkit across the research cycle, and its adaptation for external audiences and partner organisations.

• Fill in the gaps of the toolkit by developing additional resources, as needed.

MSNA and cross-crisis analysis

• Develop a revamped Multi-Sector Needs Index (MSNI) guidance note, fit for external audiences, sharing it with other MSNA producers and supporting its uptake.

• Contribute to MSNI lessons learned from the 2026 cycle, any revisions to the framework, and support its presentation to external stakeholders.

• Support the production of cross-crisis analysis, including the consolidation and standardization of large country datasets and the processing of related documentation on data collection and sampling methods across countries.

• Contribute to global MSNA analysis products – quantitative analysis to identify key global trends and findings, and the production of short briefs, dashboards or other similar products for global audiences.

• Support external engagement with global stakeholders, donors and other REACH partners on MSNI and cross-crisis findings, including website articles, webinars and similar activities.

Digitalization, automation and country support

• Work with the R&D Specialist and the Global Data Team on reusable analysis pipelines, the consolidated R package environment (including humind), and the specification of the MSNA Explorer.

• Contribute to the automation of repetitive MSNA workflows, including support for review of minimum requirements and tool checks.

• Provide technical support and guidance to REACH MSNA country teams at various stages of the research cycle, including research design and sampling methodologies; data collection planning; data processing, cleaning and management; quantitative data analysis; and the reporting and dissemination of inter-sectoral findings.

• Provide ad hoc surge support including country deployment up to 20% – remotely and/or through a field deployment, depending on the extent of support required and the specific needs of the country team.

• Contribute technical content to the Training and Certification Programme, in particular on indicator selection and analysis.

Country support and quality assurance (approx. 30%)

• Act as HQ focal point for several MSNA countries according to the MSNA team split per MSNA Cycle. This will involve: monthly check-ins, ad-hoc support throughout the full research cycle ensuring country teams have the resources needed to produce high-quality data and analysis, document reviews, and reporting progress and challenges through the MSNA Info Tracker & HQ MSNA meetings, and proactively flagging issues to the wider MSNA team.

• Support in facilitation of the MSNA CoP and maintaining of the MSNA FAQ and intranet hub.

• Review country outputs against the MSNA minimum requirements at each phase of the cycle – Terms of Reference (ToRs) , Data Anaysis Plans (DAPs), KOBO tools, clean datasets, analysis, MSNI frameworks and bulletins – in coordination with the research quality assurance (RQ) and sectoral (STU) units.

Key deliverables in the first 12 months

• Lead the revision and publication of key MSNA toolkit components, including sectoral guidance notes, technical templates and resources, ensuring coherence, usability, and accessibility for both REACH and external MSNA producers.

• Under the guidance of the R&D Specialist, prioritise and implement any methodological revisions to the MSNI Analytical framework, develop internal and external guidance & training materials to support the establishment and implementation of a standardized analytical framework and delivery of key metrics by country teams for the 2027 cycle.

• Support the R&D Specialist with the development, documentation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of a data pipeline that consolidates, harmonizes, validates, and processes MSNA datasets from multiple countries, enabling efficient comparative analysis, global reporting, including year-on-year trends analysis, and integration with the web-based MSNA Explorer.

• Advance the automation of key MSNA workflows, in particular the MSNI, and provide technical support to country teams throughout the research cycle, including research design, sampling, data management, analysis, and reporting, while contributing technical content to the MSNA Training and Certification Programme.

• Excellent academic qualifications, including Master's degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. development, humanitarian studies, international relations, research methods, social sciences, statistics).

• At least 2 years of experience in the humanitarian sector and/or field-based roles in fragile or development contexts.

• Experience with designing and implementing primary research, in particular large-scale quantitative surveys and/or humanitarian needs assessments.

• Solid understanding of statistical concepts and methods, including sampling.

• Advanced proficiency in R and/or Python for data processing, analysis and reproducible workflows is required for this position; familiarity with version control (Git) and with R package development is a strong asset (please share any public accounts (e.g., Github) with us in your CV).

• Experience developing, testing or otherwise working with multidimensional indices based on quantitative data to summarize multiple data points into easily digestible information an asset.

• Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting, including the ability to explain methodological choices to non-technical audiences.

• Ability to translate programmatic requirements into clear and technically feasible specifications, and to effectively bridge programmatic needs and technical implementation, in collaboration with the Global Data Team and under the R&D Specialist.

• Strong interpersonal skills, including good external engagement and coordination skills.

• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility.

• Ability and willingness to engage in short term field deployments, including to complex and challenging security environments.

• Fluency in English required; proficiency in Arabic, French, or Spanish an asset.

• Familiarity with the humanitarian system and global humanitarian policy frameworks, in particular the Grand Bargain, the HPC and the JIAF.

• Experience with mortality and/or nutrition survey methods (e.g. SMART) an asset.

• Prior experience leading the design or implementation of MSNAs an asset.

• Familiarity with GIS principles and experience using GIS software an asset (e.g., ArcGIS, R, and/or QGIS).

• Ability to operate InDesign, a strong plus.

• 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 and food provided in the guesthouse.

• Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swisslife – 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’s 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.