Project: USAID Syria Accountability and Research Team (Syria ART)

Duration of Position: One year; renewable on a yearly basis thereafter upon funding availability

Location: Amman, Jordan

Start Date: May 8, 2022

Introduction

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Accountability and Research Team (ART) is a five-year technical assistance activity that serves as a MEL and research platform for USAID’s Stabilization Program in Syria. USAID/ART provides high quality research and analysis reports to inform USAID strategy, activity design and implementation; and supports USAID’s implementing partners’ (IPs) through the third-party monitoring system that monitors, verifies, and analyzes the results of assistance of USAID-funded activities in Northeast Syria.

Terms of Reference & Scope of Work

USAID/ART is looking to hire a Senior Research Analyst (SRA) for the Syria Accountability and Research Team (ART) activity that was awarded in May 2020. Syria ART is a 5-year contract that will provide the USAID`s Stabilization Program with Support Services, Capacity Building, Evaluations, Third Party Monitoring (TPM), Research and Analysis (R&A) for its resilience and stabilization assistance in norther east Syria (NES). Throughout its different components, ART will independently monitor, verify, and analyze data related to USAID funded portfolio, while also providing contextual background information through independent R&A that help inform USAID`s strategy, project and activity design and implementation. 

The SRA will work as part of ART’s Research and Analysis Unit to lead and support ongoing ad hoc and planned short and long form research tasks. These range from rapid reports on conflict developments, atmospherics reporting, community profiles, and other in-depth, specialized thematic reporting. The SRA will work under the Research & Analysis Component Lead, and will be required to efficiently coordinate with other ART teams in order to produce well-sourced, grounded and useful research reports to USAID.

Responsibilities

• Conduct and support regular and ad hoc research requests in line with an efficient research workflow and report turnaround

• Lead and support on drafting scope of work for various research deliverables and lead on tool design, briefings and discussions with ART components 

• Draft well-researched, well-analyzed, well-written, and informative research reports on assigned tasks, in line with ART data quality assurance guidelines

• Present and discuss research objectives and/or findings, internally and externally, with a focus on cross-cutting themes

• Support in managing ART’s knowledge management system to integrate data across primary, secondary and spatial data sources and lead on updating systems as necessary

• Manage, liaise with, and supervise external consultants and research networks to coordinate support specific research tasks. This includes review, validation, providing feedback and content approval.

• Provide technical directions and capacity building to the Research Analysts 

• Any other tasks deemed necessary to successfully carry out research and analysis under Syria ART

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Qualifications

• At least 5 years’ experience conducting research and analysis in humanitarian, development or stabilization settings

• Holding a relevant degree 

• Previous experience with in-depth thematic research, remote conflict research, security analysis, atmospheric reporting, traditional and social media monitoring, market research, value chain analysis, and spot reporting in complex and highly fluid environments

• Deep familiarity with the Northeast Syria operating context, local conflict dynamics, stakeholders, geopolitical concerns, and global humanitarian and development response priorities

• Demonstrated technical capacity in qualitative and quantitative data analysis and reporting

• Experience working on USAID projects is highly preferred 

• High level of detail orientation with an emphasis on precision and timeliness 

• Highly organized, dependable and able to prioritize deadlines and proactively address problems as they arise

• Experience in remote management settings

• Fluency in both Arabic and English is required; capacity to write in, and proofread, English at a native level is required; capacity to conduct research in Arabic is required

Application Instructions

Please send the following documents to [email protected]

● Email subject: ART Research Analyst _YOUR NAME

● Cover Letter (max 250 words)

● CV (max 3 pages)

● Soonest available start date

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

About Proximity International

USAID/ART is implemented by Proximity International (Proximity), a women-owned and women-led applied research firm using data to generate evidence for high-impact programming, more effective

policy formation and improved decision-making. Proximity was established in 2014 in response to the

rising need for independent monitoring, evaluation, and research of humanitarian and development

programs in remote-access and fragile settings. Proximity International is registered in the U.S. and

maintains offices in Washington D.C., USA and Amman, Jordan.

Proximity is an equal opportunity employer.