Senior Research Officer - MSNA - Global, Based in Amman

Jordan Senior Research Officer - MSNA - Global, Based in Amman Organization IMPACT Initiatives Posted 16 Oct 2026 Closing date 30 Oct 2026 BACKGROUNG ON IMPACT & 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; (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. BACKGROUND ON MULTI-SECTOR NEEDS ASSESSMENT (MSNA) 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. We are currently looking for a Senior Research Officer to join the Global MSNA Team of the Research Systems Unit (RSU). 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 POSITION PROFILE 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. Function & Responsibilities 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 pu