Established in 1993, Acted is an international non-governmental organization pursuing a dual mandate of emergency response and development interventions in 40 of some of the world’s most vulnerable countries affected by conflicts, disasters, or socio-economic hardship. With a team of 7,000 national staff and 400 international staff, Acted implements 500 projects a year to support more than 20 million beneficiaries, notably in hard-to-reach areas.

Acted goes to the last mile through programs and approaches that look beyond the immediate emergency towards opportunities for longer-term livelihood reconstruction and sustainable development. Guided by the motto “Think Local, Act Global” and its 3Zero –Zero Exclusion, Zero Carbon, and Zero Poverty – strategy, Acted puts local territories at the center and provides tailored support to local needs.

Acted Afghanistan:

Acted is working in 16 provinces in Afghanistan around the country. These provinces are affected by natural and man-made disasters. Acted provides relief and emergency assistance to vulnerable populations affected by displacements, conflicts, or natural disasters, in the fields of agriculture, shelter, wash, and food security.

The objectives of the Position:

 The Senior Researcher’s role, with the support of the Research Manager, entails overall coordination and management of various workstreams within the CBRT, including staff management, research and tool design, data analysis, output production and dissemination efforts.

Detailed Responsibilities: 

1.     Research Development and Technical Skills

·       Engage with the Research Manager and international HQ on research design, tool development, data analysis, output production, and external coordination;

·       In coordination with the data team, design data analysis plans to analyse all data collection and consolidate all analyses and conclusions from assigned assessments;

·       In coordination with data team, field teams, and external stakeholders, develop quantitative and qualitative tools and associated sampling and data collection methodologies for assessments;

·       Working with the Research Manager, support in the development of dissemination strategies to ensure the usefulness and impact of the unit programmes and research;

·       Development of additional support materials to ensure operational efficiencies and output effectiveness, including necessary guidance notes, KII facilitation guides and training materials and similar;

·       Analysis of the collected data and drafting of the relevant outputs, draft additional analysis briefs as necessary and coordinate with the Analysis Team on analysis products;

·       Together with the Research Manager, final responsibility for data quality control, according to data cleaning plan developed in coordination with the data and assessment teams;

·       Collaborate with the Research Manager to design and refine unit strategies aimed at expanding project portfolios, strengthening mission sustainability, and aligning ongoing projects with emerging humanitarian trends.

·       Previous experience with area-based assessments and/or qualitative research is considered an asset for this role.

·       An awareness of the Afghan context to which relevant REACH area-based assessment tools could be applied.

2.     Project/Research Cycle Management

• Plan, implement, and follow-up of all assigned assessment activities conducted in country;
• Keep track of all progress and delays throughout assigned projects and research cycles;
• Ensure relevant stakeholders and partners are engaged in assessment design and planning to ensure usefulness of products and maximum project impact;
• Ensure that SOPs for relevant assessment processes are in place, such as data collection monitoring and tracking, and data cleaning, in coordination with operations, data, and assessment teams
• In coordination with Research Manager, Field team and Operation team ensure that the translations are contextualized before the tool is deployed
• Draft English-language reports for donors and humanitarian focal points as product deliverables, including detailed written reports and technical factsheets using Adobe InDesign;
• Monitor output achievement and ensure a timely completion of the projects from a research programme management perspective.
• Engage with field teams and partner organisations, and periodically participate directly in data collection activities to better understand the practical implementation and operational realities of the tool.

3.     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;
• Promote capacity building across the REACH Afghanistan mission related to deepening analytical capacities and train research staff on assessment tools, sampling methodologies and data analysis, as well as provision of training to partners and enumerators are necessary;
• Coordinate assigned activities across the assessment/research, data, and field department and keep the Research Manager updated about process and delays;
• Provide day-to-day direct and indirect management of the research team within the unit/workstream(s).

4.     External Engagement

• In coordination with the SMT, present outputs and findings at sectoral and inter-sectoral fora, as well as the wider response community in Afghanistan;
• In coordination with the SMT and the Research Manager, represent REACH at sectoral and inter-sectoral fora;
• In coordination with the Deputy Country Representative and Research Manager, engage operational actors (UN Agencies and NGOs) in their use of REACH products to increase their usage and identify areas for additional research or analysis. 

The Senior Researcher 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 Acted and its partners, or collected during his/her assignment with Acted.

Minimum qualifications

·       Significant and demonstrable experience in assessment and research linked to humanitarian and/or development response, with a preference for having been part of area-based assessments. Experience in quantitative and qualitative research.

·       Familiar with all steps of a research cycle, especially assessment design, data collection, and data analysis.

·       Familiarity with the Microsoft Office package and significant experience with MS Excel. Familiarity with statistical analysis software (e.g. R, SPSS, or STATA) as well as experience of Adobe In Design is highly desirable.

·       Management experience and demonstratable experience capacity strengthening staff is desirable.

·       Strong knowledge of the humanitarian and basic human needs aid responses in Afghanistan and how data and assessments feed in to the responses.

·       Ability to work in both Dari and Pashto is desirable. Strong capabilities in verbal and written English are required.

·       Relevant education qualifications are desirable, in particular a Bachelor's Degree.

The candidates who fulfill the above-mentioned criteria should send their updated CVs to the below email: afghanistan.jobs@acted.org

Kindly mention the Vacancy number, and position title (KBL-006 Senior Researcher- CBRT) in the subject line OR your application may not be considered. 

Please do not send heavy-sized documents (i.e., Tazkira, Education documents, work certificates)

Only shortlisted candidates will be called for the next stage of recruitment.

No CV will be considered after the closing date.

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Acted is an equal opportunity employer and does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. All applications are free for all candidates, and no one should require any payment or compensation during the recruitment process.