Expert – Livelihoods Data and Minimum Expenditure Baskets

Country

Home Based

Duty Station

Remote

Type

Full Time

Status

International Consultant

Opening Date

04 June 2021

Closing Date

20 June 2021

Organization

iMMAP

Languages :
English

Organization

iMMAP is an international nongovernmental organisation that provides information management services to humanitarian and development organizations. Through information management, we help our partners target assistance to the world’s most vulnerable populations. Our core philosophy is that better data leads to better decisions and that better decisions lead to better outcomes. iMMAP’s critical support to information value chains helps to solve operational and strategic challenges of our partners in both emergency and development contexts by enabling evidence-based decision-making for better outcomes.

Background

In July 2020, iMMAP initiated the COVID-19 Situational Analysis project funded by the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) of USAID. The project provides a solution to the growing global need for information, assessment and analysis among humanitarian stakeholders.

A team of experienced personnel that includes project managers, information management officers, data analysts, thematic experts, and data visualization officers, are working towards strengthening the information flow available to humanitarian actors to enable humanitarian organizations to better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Colombia, DRC, Nigeria and Syria, iMMAP and its main partner, Data Friendly Space (DFS), are using DFS’ DEEP Platform to develop tailored data analysis processes to support the humanitarian community.

The project collects data generated by humanitarian actors and other stakeholders including academia, the private sector and government agencies. Using the DEEP platform, project staff extract, quality control, process, aggregate and analyze data from thousands of different sources which are coded using the analytical framework of the project. DEEP generates repositories of pre-organized secondary data for each country, addressing the challenges in data and information comprehensiveness, consistency and value. This data is then synthesized into monthly situational analysis reports for each of the six countries, providing an update on socio-economic, security, COVID-19 statistics and restrictions and every humanitarian sector/cluster. These reports are widely utilized and facilitate a better understanding of the humanitarian impact of COVID-19, and support partners in planning and targeting response operations amid the global crisis.

After several months of reviewing the data landscape and identifying gaps in each country, iMMAP has identified several key topics to form the basis for Global Thematic Reports. Each report will focus on a specific topic which is determined to have been of global importance.

iMMAP is looking to recruit an expert to conduct research and write a report on the topic of Gender in Humanitarian settings titled ‘The effects of COVID-19 on the affordability of Minimum Expenditure Baskets: A Case Study of Six Countries’. The report will aim to understand the effects that COVID-19 has had on the affordability of minimum expenditure baskets in the six project countries. The report will focus on documenting the cost and drivers of changes in the cost of minimum expenditure baskets, the proportion of persons that can afford minimum expenditure baskets and the proportion of income spent on minimum expenditure baskets. Identifying the drivers of changes will entail a multidisciplinary approach to explain and explore the effects of inflation, income, trade, COVID-19 lockdowns, security and other factors. The report will be based on data from the DEEP platform, data extracted from the monthly situational analysis reports and may include independent research (which may include additional literature reviews and key informant interviews).

iMMAP is looking for a short-term thematic/ technical expert with strong experience in multidisciplinary, socio-economic and livelihoods research to lead the thematic research which would include: defining and refining the research questions and methodology; identifying data sources, data gathering and cleaning, and analysis and writing of the report. The expert will also be responsible for preparing, supporting and/or delivering presentations to stakeholders and panels. The expert will report to and be supported by the COVID-19 Situational Analysis Research Coordinator and the Project Technical Advisor.

Description of Duties

• Lead on the finalization and fine-tuning of research question(s)
• Define and design the research methodology
• Identify the data sources required to feed into the research and conduct data management, quantitative and qualitative data analysis
• Define the work plan with agreed milestones, timelines and deliverables
• Conduct data extrapolation from secondary sources including the extraction of information from the DEEP Data Platform, monthly Situational Analysis Reports
• Potential to conduct a non-exhaustive literature review to identify most recently available data and additional technical resources
• Conduct interviews (Focus Group Discussions and/or key informant interviews) with stakeholders in relevant technical/ thematic sectors at global and country level
• Work with project staff from each country and headquarters, as well as key stakeholders from lead agencies, clusters/ sectors and working groups to solicit feedback
• Generate a final report on ‘The effects of COVID-19 on affordability of Minimum Expenditure Baskets: A Case Study of Six Countries’ or similar
• Present findings during workshops and presentations to stakeholders and partners

Requirements

• Subject matter expert with 7+ years working in social protection, livelihoods, and expenditure or economics
• Experience in conducting humanitarian research
• Experience of secondary data analysis and literature reviews and conducting key informant interviews
• Strong experience in quantitative and qualitative data analysis and reporting
• Deep understanding of humanitarian contexts in multiple settings, experience with any of the project countries is advantageous
• Familiarity with the Global livelihoods Cluster and the humanitarian programme cycle is an advantage
• Effective communication skills to work among clusters, agencies and the government
• Fluency in English is essential, intermediate or advanced knowledge of French/ Spanish/ Arabic is desirable
• Immediate availability preferred

Guiding Principles

Personnel is expected to conduct itself in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and iMMAP’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all Countries.

iMMAP has zero-tolerance for sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, human trafficking, child abuse and exploitation. Any violations of these principles and policies will be treated as serious misconduct.

iMMAP is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background.