BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

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.

We are currently looking for a Senior Research Officer to support our team in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt)

Position Senior Research Officer

Contract duration 5 months

Starting Date 15 November 2026.

Location Amman, Jordan

COUNTRY PROFILE

• The humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) has reached dire levels, particularly in the Gaza Strip, where ongoing hostilities have resulted in mass displacement, the collapse of basic services, and a near-total breakdown of civilian infrastructure. With 2.1 million people affected, access to food, water, healthcare, and shelter remains critically limited. The scale of destruction and access constraints have created an environment where humanitarian needs far exceed available resources. Together, these dynamics have driven acute and widespread humanitarian needs.
• Against this backdrop, IMPACT Initiatives is planning a range of research activities to support an evidence- and needs-based humanitarian response. In 2026, IMPACT will conduct a number of cash and market assessments in order to better inform the response as it responds to the post ceasefire context.

POSITION PROFILE

• Under the line management of the Research Manager, the Senior Research Officer is jointly responsible for the implementation of REACH’s Cash, Markets & Livelihoods assessments across both Gaza and the West Bank, including the preparation, data collection, analysis, drafting, dissemination, and evaluation stages. S/he will also be responsible for collaboration with Acted and other relevant partners involved in the project.
• This position requires strong research skills, an analytical mind, creativity, independence, and an interest in the context. Candidates should have strong writing and presentation skills and be able to clearly think through and articulate implications of research findings.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior Research Officer’s responsibilities include:

PROJECT/RESEARCH CYCLE MANAGEMENT

• Ensuring the assessment, analysis, and support material development are planned and implemented in a structured and coherent manner, in line with relevant project and strategic objectives, and with global IMPACT guidelines.
• Managing the relevant assessment cycle stages, including oversight of research design, data collection, or analysis.
• Collaborating with other members of the cash, markets & livelihoods team and ensuring alignment and efficiency between team activities and outputs.

CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

• Guiding secondary data review and efforts to better understand the information landscape, and how the assessment contributes to strategic response objectives.
• Keeping up to date with unique contexts in both Gaza and the West Bank, and how response cash based programming is changing over time.

RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Develop and implement specific market based assessments. The candidate should have a technical interest in research development on areas relating to cash feasibility assessments, labour market assessments and livelihood assessments.
• Comprehensive secondary data review for triangulating relevant assessment data, such as import and export data, liquidity reports, financial and labour market analysis and contextual security developments.
• Conducting semi-structured interviews with key informants in order to enhance contextual understandings and compliment quantitative data.
• Development of additional support materials to ensure operational efficiencies and output effectiveness, including necessary guidance notes, KII facilitation guides and training materials.
• Analysis of the collected data and drafting of the relevant outputs (i.e., factsheets, situation overviews, narrative reports)

STAFF MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING

• Based on the developed training materials, supporting the training of the trainers and data collection staff on assessment objectives and tools, including in collaboration with project implementation partners.
• Promoting capacity building across the IMPACT oPt mission related to deepening analytical capacities using existing research (capacity building portfolio will depend on level of experience).
• Depending on the existing staffing of the mission at the time, the role may require management of research officers.

COORDINATION

Internal Coordination

• Interacting autonomously with HQ departments and may serve as mission focal point for particular themes or technical areas;
• Coordinating with research units and teams to move forward or improve aspects of the research cycle;
• Supporting senior management with designing, planning, and implementing strategies, and objectives.

External Coordination

• Coordinating with relevant actors and partner organisations, including clusters, UN agencies and partner INGO and NNGOs, to ensure alignment with priority information needs.
• Leading on external engagement related to project implementation and analytical research findings as necessary.
• The Senior Research 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.

REQUIREMENTS

• Years of work experience 3 years of relevant working experience in a humanitarian setting, such as assessments, monitoring and evaluation, research design and analysis, etc.;
• Research skills Excellent quantitative and qualitative research data analysis experience required, including experience with key informant interviews and quantitative tool design (KoBo);
• Familiarity with aid system Good understanding of the aid system and the research community. Prior experience with humanitarian coordination forums preferred;
• Thematic experience Prior experience with cash and market research, or related professional experience, is required;
• Communication/reporting skills Excellent verbal and written communication and drafting skills for effective reporting required;
• Sound judgment and emotional intelligence in high-pressure or sensitive situations. Possesses strong interpersonal awareness and the ability to respond constructively to feedback and shifting priorities;
• 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 R, SPSS and/or STATA or other statistical analysis software an asset
• Security environment Ability to operate in a complex and challenging security environment.
• Experience in geographical region Past experience in the region is desirable;
• Language skills Fluency in English required.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• 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.