Data Specialist

We are currently looking for a Data Specialist to support our team in Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt), based in 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 2.2 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.

At the same time, rising tensions and violence in the West Bank have severely impacted freedom of movement, livelihoods, and overall humanitarian conditions.

In response, IMPACT Initiatives is implementing a range of activities to support a needs-based, evidence- driven humanitarian response.

This includes multi-sectoral household assessments, displacement site mapping, and market assessments across Gaza to inform coordination, operational planning, and strategic decision-making.

FUNCTIONS The REACH Data Specialist will fulfil the following functions: Under the line management of the IMPACT Country Representative, the Data Specialist ensures the validity and strengthens the quality and efficiency of all IMPACT research cycles in oPt, in accordance with IMPACT’s standards, partner expectations, and IMPACT’s ethos of facilitating an evidence-based response.

In coordination with the Country Senior Management Team, the Data Specialist will provide technical inputs at all stages of relevant research cycles, including for secondary data reviews, assessment conceptualization, research design, data cleaning, data analysis, production of information products (inclusive of maps and factsheets), and dissemination of information products, etc.

S/he will be involved in partner coordination, donor reporting, presentations, and will be required to provide input to the strategic development of IMPACT in oPt.

The Data Specialist will also be responsible for developing and implementing a continuous capacity building program for national and international team members, and (when relevant) for providing trainings to partners.

In his/her mission, the Data Specialist will be hosted by IMPACT’s global partner Acted and will fall under the direct responsibility and management of Acted’s Country Director and his/her delegates for all Administrative, Security, and relevant Logistics and Finance issues.

S/he will therefore fully abide to Acted’s Security, Administration, and relevant HR, Logistics and Finance rules and regulations.

RESPONSIBILITIES The Data Specialist responsibilities include the following: RESEARCH PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION In coordination with the Research Manager(s), ensure that assessments are planned in line with project objectives and with IMPACT’s guidelines; For each assessment, ensure contribution to and review of draft ToRs with a specific focus on the sampling design, data collection methodology, analysis plan, as well as data management plan, In coordination with Assessment team, co-construct qualitative and quantitative data collection tools, ensuring data requirements of research cycle/assessment are met; Develop data processes and scripts as is relevant, ensure that support is provided by data staff in overseeing data collection, including validation as part of daily assessment checks; DATA MANAGEMENT, CLEANING AND ANALYSIS Ensure that all collected data is stored in line with IMPACT’s Data Management Guidelines, and with the research project ToRs (Data Management Plan Annex); Ensure that data is cleaned, all revisions are recorded, and datasets are maintained and securely stored; Ensure data analysis conducted on collected data as per ToRs, and is validated by IMPACT HQ before output product drafting stage; Ensure the quality and accuracy of technical information provided as well as the confidentiality and protection of collected information; Perform additional analyses on external datasets and internal previous datasets as relevant/required; TEAM MANAGEMENT Direct management of data team, including line management of data officers, including recruitment and staff career management, and the development of work plans and performance indicators; Collaborate closely with Country Representative and Research Managers, in terms of work planning and technical guidance of the relevant data staff; Conduct regular meetings with all data team members to assess progress in all research cycles and to review work plan; Reviewing data staff work throughout research cycles (cleaning datasets, analysis scripts, maps, etc.) Be available to provide regular support and technical backstopping.

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT In coordination with the IMPACT Country Representative, engage in relevant technical fora in country.

Support the presentation of IMPACT data products to relevant third parties, to enhance their use and impact.

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION Under the guidance of the Country Representative, contribute to the development and implementation of IMPACT’s strategy in oPt as part of the Senior Management Team.

Work with clusters and partner organizations and working groups to understand the various relevant data gaps within oPt and identify how IMPACT will fill these gaps; Engagement with HQ on research and/or coordination and provide support to relevant IMPACT Global Community of Practices (CoPs). The Data Specialist 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 IMPACT and its partners, or collected during his/her assignment with IMPACT.

REQUIREMENTS Academic Excellent academic qualifications, preferably including a Master degree in relevant discipline (e.g.

Statistics, Data Science, Data Analytics); Research skills Excellent research and analytical skills required, including a sound understanding of sampling methods and their application, an ability to clean and analyse large data sets, as well as conduct temporal or spatial trend analysis.

Demonstrable experience of data science.

Excellent data analysis skills.

Experience with GIS is desirable.

Software skills Advanced knowledge of R or Python is required.

Proven record of writing clean, reusable code with an emphasis on functional programming.

Emphasis on thinking about system design and building data processes that scale and repeat with minimal maintenance.

Experience with GitHub preferred.

Strong knowledge of PowerBi or R Shiny is highly desirable.

Proven knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is required.

Knowledge of ArcGIS Pro/ QGIS/ Leaflet an advantage.

If available, please share a link to a GitHub or similar repository you have worked on as part of your application.

Management skills Demonstrable experience of line managing and building the capacity of technical staff.

Familiarity aid system Familiarity with the aid system and with the research community; Years of work experience At least 4 years of relevant working experience Training skills Ability to conduct trainings and mentor IMPACT teams and partners on data/ assessment skills; Communication/reporting skills Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting; Multi-tasking skills Experience multitasking with numerous ongoing projects and ability to prioritise; Level of independence Strong existing ability to work independently in support of colleagues and partners; Cross-cultural work environment Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility; Experience in geographical region Past experience with oPt or the Middle East Region region is desirable; Language skills Fluency in English required, competency in Arabic is a benefit; Please send your resume/CV