Lead Analyst Global Crisis Analysis – UK or NL

Position description

Location: UK, or The Netherlands

Valid unrestricted work authorization in UK or NL is required at the time of application for this position.

Position Status: Full-time, Regular

Travel: required travel expected within 60 – 65% – occasionally single travel duration up to 2 months maximum. 

Salary Level: The starting salary range for this position is 63,040 Euros in NL, and 53,360 GBP in UK, based on local benchmarking and commensurate with professional experience. 

Closing date: Please submit application by August 26th.

 

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Program / Department / Team

Mercy Corps’ Program Function is composed of headquarters and regional departments which are guided by Mercy Corps global strategy: Pathway to Possibility (P2P) and works in close partnership with all other agency departments to deliver the highest quality programming and impactful results. Within this function, the Evidence & Learning Unit sits within the Global Programs and Support Department and leads Mercy Corps’ efforts to use data, evidence, and analytics to improve programs, scale what works, and influence others. The Unit is composed of teams focused on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), Research and Learning, Global Crisis Analysis, and Evidence Use, and works closely with regional, country, and programmatic counterparts and a range of evidence-related partnerships.

Crisis Analysis at Mercy Corps leverages data and analysis to support context-appropriate, conflict-sensitive, and forward-thinking responses to complex crises. Crisis Analysis provides insights into the contextual backdrop to our programming as well as timely, dynamic and granular data and analysis. By considering the root causes and systemic drivers of fragility in a holistic manner, Crisis Analysis can support the crafting of truly transformative solutions that Mercy Corps’ foundational resilience approach calls for. The unit has carved out a niche among evidence and information providers in the humanitarian and development space, owing to the granularity, reactivity and holistic approach of our products, which focus on some of the most hard-to-reach, data-poor and complex contexts requiring assistance. This is underpinned by our status as an operational INGO, which ensures that our analysis products are practicable and relevant for humanitarian and development actors.

Typical products and services range from informal briefings to stakeholders to periodical reports, websites and dashboards, contributions to risk assessments, conflict and political economy analysis, and deep-dives on specific thematics, ranging in themes from conflict and climate to market systems to governance. The Crisis Analysis methodology rests on a multi methods approach of quantitative and qualitative research, integrating innovative data science tools such as remote sensing and machine learning to provide fresh insights. The Global Crisis Analysis (GCA) team provides technical and advisory support to a network of country-level Crisis Analysis teams and are responsible for the setup of new teams. GCA is also responsible for the development of Mercy Corps’ organisational Crisis Analysis capacity and strategy.

The Position

The Lead Analyst is a new position in Mercy Corps’ growing GCA Team, focused on the production of quality, timely and actionable analysis products for a broad range of stakeholders, including Mercy Corps teams, peer NGOs, UN agencies and donors, among others.

Working under the guidance of the Director for GCA and collaborating closely with Mercy Corps country programme and response teams, the Lead Analyst will design and produce compelling analysis products in response to new crises or to support priority geographies for Mercy Corps programming across any of the agency’s 40+ countries of operation. This will require regular deployment – often at short notice – to countries in which we work, where the Lead Analyst will work directly with Mercy Corps country team and carry out rapid data mapping, collection and analysis, along with stakeholder engagement activities, to produce analysis tailored to the needs of aid responders and ensure its wide dissemination and uptake of findings among our target audiences. The Lead Analyst will draw on existing Crisis Analysis tools, methodologies and products, adapting these to the local context and information needs, while also proposing fresh and innovative approaches.

The Lead Analyst will also be responsible for the technical aspects of concept notes and proposals to secure funding for new standing Crisis Analysis capacities at country level, working closely with other members of the GCA team, and advise on team structure, product design and risk management based on deployment findings. The Lead Analyst will share learning and reflections from deployments to support the creation of GCA standard operating procedures for rapid analysis production in crisis contexts to enhance our operational capacities.

The Lead Analyst will work with internal and external stakeholders to monitor global geopolitical, climatic and aid sector developments to track or anticipate emerging crises, communicating findings to GCA and relevant internal Mercy Corps teams to support prompt and targeted response or anticipatory action for the needs of affected populations. As required, the Lead Analyst will lead or support strategic multi-country and global analysis projects on cross-cutting thematic areas of relevance.

Essential Responsibilities 

QUALITY AND INNOVATIVE ANALYSIS PRODUCTION AND DISSEMINATION

●        Deploy to crisis-affected contexts on short notice to lead the design and production of timely analytical products which address information gaps for humanitarian and development stakeholders, collaborating closely with Mercy Corps country and HQ teams;

●        Rapidly produce visually appealing analytical products to provide clear and actionable evidence for decision makers, and which respond to specific evidence gaps, including narrative reports, graphic visualisations (e.g. GIS, dashboards), verbal briefings and presentations, collaborating closely with Mercy Corps country and HQ teams throughout the production process;

●        Rapid data mapping, gap analysis and assessment of information and analysis needs in crisis contexts;

●        Design and oversee data collection and processing using methods suited to rapid analysis production, with the inclusion of data science methods and innovative approaches when appropriate. Collaborate with internal Mercy Corps teams to support specific analysis design needs e.g. Technology for Development (data science); Technical Resources and Quality (technical programme intervention areas); Research and Learning (research methods), among others;

●        Work with Mercy Corps security, country senior management teams and GCA to carry out risk assessments for activities involved in analysis production. Adapt methodologies and dissemination planning accordingly, factoring required reviews and sign-offs into production timelines;

●        Stakeholder engagement across the humanitarian response architecture, cultivation of networks and relationships to support production, dissemination and uptake of analysis among our audiences;

●        Collaboration with Mercy Corps’ analysis partners to strengthen response-wide data and analysis output, exploring opportunities for formal and informal joint analysis projects;

●        Deliver concise, informative and engaging briefings and presentations to a range of internal and external stakeholders to disseminate findings and support fundraising for additional analysis products. Ensure presentations are tailored to the specific needs of each audience and support the wider of objectives of the relevant country/regional team;

●        Stay informed of innovations in the field of data and analysis – including from non-aid sectors – integrating new approaches into the Crisis Analysis methodology and outputs;

●        Ensuring all analysis is underpinned by the guiding values of the Crisis Analysis methodology: Integrity (transparency about our methods, data, sources and results, including limitations and rationale for making methodological decisions); Objectivity (actively avoiding bias in the design of methodologies, data analysis and interpretation, and reporting and communication); Originality (adding something new to the analytical landscape with our products and contributing to knowledge in the sector)

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, INFLUENCE AND REPRESENTATION

●        Conduct rapid stakeholder mapping and engagement to support analysis production on the relevant context, including but not limited to, Mercy Corps programmes, NGOs, CBOs, CSOs, UN agencies, donors, aid coordination structures and working groups, think tanks, academic/research institutions, government, private sector, implementing partners;

●        Cultivate priority networks and relationships to support analysis production while representing Mercy Corps values and broader strategic objectives as part of this engagement;

●        Develop dissemination plans and distribution lists for analysis products. Identify existing channels of humanitarian data and analysis dissemination for outputs to be shared through;

●        Work closely with Mercy Corps teams with external-facing mandates to increase the visibility of our analysis, raise Mercy Corps’ profile, humanitarian voice and competitiveness, and to advance specific advocacy and influence goals, ensuring adequate lead times are factored in during analysis production;

●        Work closely with Mercy Corps’ Emergency Response Team to identify and coordinate on responses to emerging shocks and crises, and to ensure analysis supports response teams’ needs and objectives;

●        Coordinate with other teams within Mercy Corps Evidence and Learning Unit, identifying opportunities for collaboration to enhance Crisis Analysis output and uptake, and to layer analyses with other forms of programmatic evidence;

●        Present analysis findings and the broader Crisis Analysis approach in internal and external webinars, conferences and seminars as required;

●        Develop and maintain an awareness of Mercy Corps’ culture and values as well as humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

●        Represent Crisis Analysis and position as the preferred analysis partner for donors and other stakeholders during external engagement activities;

●        Engage closely with donors at country and capital level to share analysis findings, in coordination with country, regional and global teams;

●        Lead on technical aspects of concepts notes and proposals for analysis funding;

CRISIS ANALYSIS CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY

●        Share learning and reflections to support the development of SOPs for analysis production in crisis contexts;

●        Using a wide range of sources, monitor geopolitical, climatic and aid sector shocks, trends, developments to stay informed of ongoing and emerging crisis and other global developments that may impact Mercy Corps’ programming and operations, working with other relevant internal teams to support the organisation’s horizon scanning and early warning capacities to facilitate contingency planning, early response and anticipatory action;

●        Support in the articulation the Crisis Analysis global strategy and in the key geographies where analysis teams, tools and technology platforms are deployed;

●        Ensure the implementation of the GCA vision and strategy in new geographies where Crisis Analysis is applied;

LEARNING AND IMPACT

●        Participate in the development and testing of the Crisis Analysis impact framework and undertake required reporting on impact metrics for analysis outputs;

●        Be an active member of the Crisis Analysis community of practice, sharing insights, new tools, methodologies and products;

●        As required, write case studies, learning documents, short articles and blogs for internal and external audiences

 

SECURITY

●         Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by global and country security management teams. 

●         Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

 

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES

• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options

Supervisory Responsibility

None however potentially some supervisory responsibility during deployments 

 

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director, Global Crisis Analysis (GCA)

Works Directly with: Senior Director, Crisis Analysis Manager, Programme Officer (GCA), Country Senior Management Teams

Works Closely with: Vice President for Evidence and Learning and ELU teams (Research and Learning Team, Global Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team, Evidence Use team), Emergency Response Team, Technology for Development, Global Security, Policy and Advocacy, Media and Communications, Strategic Institutional Partnerships and New Initiatives teams

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

●        Exceptional writer and presenter, able to quickly gather and synthesise large amounts of information on an unfamiliar context/subject matter and present in a concise, informative and digestible format focused on the “so what” questions of humanitarian audiences;

●        A self-starter with demonstrated ability to rapidly adjust to challenging operational contexts, working independently as needed, while taking a proactive approach to establishing necessary networks and working relationships;

●        5+ years direct experience in information production/research in relevant field e.g. humanitarian analysis, political risk analysis, journalism, think tank, research organisation. Field experience working in fragile and crisis-affected countries; experience in the humanitarian and development sector in fragile contexts preferred;

●        BA/Sc or equivalent in relevant field – political science, social sciences, political economy, peace and conflict studies, economics, international relations, international development;

●        Excellent communication skills and ability to talk to a wide range of stakeholders and develop trusting relationships based on the shared endeavour of providing timely and quality data and analysis to support humanitarian response;

●        Experience using quantitative and qualitative research methods and understanding of and commitment to ethical research approaches and data protection during research cycle;

●        Excellent networking building skills and ability to quickly, proactively and independently cultivate networks in unfamiliar contexts / subject matter areas;

●        Experience producing visually appealing narrative reports and presentations including infographics;

●        Experience using GIS and design software to create maps and other data visualisations highly desirable;

●        Experience using data science in research methodologies (e.g. remote sensing, machine learning) and in the applicability and limitations of these tools highly desirable; Experience with Python programming for quantitative analysis highly desirable;

●        Active commitment to transparent and ethical and research approaches and objectivity across methodology design, data analysis and interpretation, and reporting and communication;

●        Understanding of the humanitarian and development sector and architecture, particularly the cluster system and formal/informal coordination mechanisms for data and analysis; understanding of the context in which humanitarian decision making takes place and implications for data and analysis use;

●        Demonstrated understanding of critical humanitarian/development and peace/conflict issues especially in fragile environments;

●        Proven negotiation, communication, organisation, and prioritisation skills and experience;

●        Demonstrated flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure;

●        Fluent English required: Arabic, French, Spanish language skills desirable;

●        Willingness and ability to travel frequently and deploy at short notice to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.

 

Application instructions

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