Project Officer, Global Crisis Data Bank

Organizational Context
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 192-member National Societies. The overall aim of IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.” IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.
IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.
IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into three main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Operations Coordination; (ii) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization; and (iii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services. IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East & North Africa, Europe, and the Americas. IFRC also has country cluster delegations (CCD) and country delegations (CD) throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.
The Global Crisis Data Bank Project Officer is a member of Strategic Priority 2 – Evolving Crises and Disasters team, which works collaboratively with the other Strategic Priority teams in the Health Disaster Climate and Crisis (HDCC) unit and with other units in IFRC APRO, Geneva, CD and CCD counterparts towards: (i) managing an inclusive local-to-global IFRC-wide response system, built upon Movement learning, informed by industry best practices, and equipped for the future; (ii) delivering innovation in managing information for timely and comprehensive collation and analysis to inform IFRC operational and strategic decision making; (iii) ensuring evidence-based analysis of risks and capacities that supports better preparedness and more integrated, multi-sectoral, holistic approaches to response and recovery; (iv) profiling the work of the IFRC in the region across the preparedness-response-recovery continuum, highlighting the value added by the IFRC in strengthening community resilience; (v) expanding Disaster Relief Emergency Response Fund (DREF) access to more vulnerable communities and in response to small-scale, silent and forgotten disasters; (vi) delivering more transparency in procedures and decision-making, including through clear agreed standard operating procedures (SOPs); (vii) ensuring institutional readiness for disaster and crisis response; (viii) applying innovative approaches in disaster & crisis response and recovery operations; (ix) instilling a culture of information management across the organization.
In October 2022, IFRC began implementing the Global Crisis Data Bank (GCDB). The objective of the GCDB is to inform future action based on analysis of past natural hazard events, their impacts and responses to these crises. The GCDB will be part of a broader IM system that will leverage and validate relevant data to support operations and decision-making. Validated information in the GCDB will be kept up to date and be available to all National Societies via the GO platform. The GCDB will be global in scale and eventually leverage data collected/produced by all 192 National Societies, and other sources. The database aims to span several decades to maximise learning and enable analysis of key trends, including the impacts of climate change.
Job Purpose
The Global Crisis Data Bank (GCDB) Project Officer – under supervision of the Regional Information Management Senior Officer – will support and facilitate the regional team to implement the Global Crisis Data Bank project in Asia Pacific region. The GCDB project is intended to provide the information needed for National Societies to enhance anticipatory action, preparedness and response to disasters.
The GCDB Project Officer will be responsible for the comprehensive project implementation by providing support on establishing collaboration with National Societies and global/regional IM teams as well as coordination with local stakeholders in each targeted country. S/he will facilitate the data mapping exercise, analyse and validate disaster historical data, collate results of hazard impact models, and address user testing feedback on GCDB prototype. S/he is also responsible to facilitate the utilization process for the national societies in the targeted countries through a series of workshops, capacity building trainings, and development of communication material to institutionalize knowledge management and memory after the completion of the project.
The GCDB Project Officer is also accountable for implementing information management processes, providing technical guidance, facilitating training, deploying for technical peer-to-peer support and networking with stakeholders.
Job Duties And Responsibilities

• Risk Management Analysis:
• Provide technical expertise on primary and secondary data collection, management, storage and archiving.
• Assess information landscape and conduct stakeholder mapping for specific risk management analysis activities.
• Submit regular progress and achievement overview to Regional IM Senior Officer, IM global and regional team, and responsible for finding solutions to challenges encountered in field operations and programs.
• Assess information landscape and information gaps and recommend adapted approaches to National Societies and stakeholders.
• Maintain data sharing continuity among the targeted stakeholders with the GCDB system.
• Conduct country data mapping, risk analysis, and other relevant workshops to enhance National Societies capacity in the effective use of the GCDB.
• Provide technical support to National Societies through respective IFRC county delegation to ensure respective Crisis Data Bank are effectively maintained and sustained.
• Assist in the design of the methodology on data collection, management, storage, and archiving of disaster historical information and results of the hazard impact models.
• Assist targeted countries to establish technical working group for the GCDB project.
• Support the technical working group on data collection from the targeted stakeholders that consist of the data of natural hazards, impacts and the outcome of the operational response.
• Safeguard the data management for sensitive datasets including encoding, storing, and transferring data to key stakeholders.
• Support, advise or lead (when assigned) on interpretive and anticipatory analysis as well as joint analysis methodologies. Select and implement structured analytical techniques to improve the quality, credibility, and rigor of the analysis.
• Collaborate with the Regional IM Senior Officer, IM global and regional teams to ensure GCDB projects are implemented in a timely .
• Data and Information Acquisition:
• Assist National Societies in the region to improve their risk analysis particularly related to GCDB project.
• Design clear and graphic key messages and analytical outputs/products of GCDB projects.
• Project Management:
• Support the National Societies in the region to improve their risk analysis capacity for scenario development and contingency planning.

Job Duties And Responsibilities (continued)

• Coordination and Networking:
• Contribute to the development of documents and information management products in support of emergency operations.
• Conduct tasks as assigned by the line manager.
• Other Tasks:
• Provide IM technical support for the emergency operation response and thematic areas.
• Bridging the communication and coordination between GCDB team with regional and global IM team.
• Build and maintain relationships with specific government counterparts, Red Cross Red Crescent partners, UN agencies and other humanitarian actors to gain access to relevant sources of data, and data/information services particularly related to GCDB project.
• Collaborate with stakeholders within the Movement – and where necessary with external agencies – to determine required data sets, agree on data sharing, define data gaps and agree on collaboration in obtaining missing data. Build and maintain technical working at selected countries that will focus on supporting the GCDB project implementation.

Education
Required

• Bachelor of Information Science or related

Preferred

• Training on Information Management or related trainings

Experience
Required

• Experience managing projects
• Proven experience in delivering sharp and clear information products with high analytical value
• Experience in building and working in a network and a remote team
• Experience in risk analysis and data management related to emergencies
• 4 - 6 years experience in humanitarian risk analysis, with a minimum of 3 years of field experience.
• Proven experience in preparing, managing and facilitating trainings with participants with diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Preferred

• Experience working in a Red Cross Red Crescent, National Society and/or IFRC/ICRC
• Experience in designing, conducting and analyzing large surveys in emergencies.
• Experience in information management in emergencies

Knowledge, Skills and Languages
Required

• Ability to take initiative to create new processes from scratch and act to fill identified gaps
• Analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to synthesize, order, process and prioritize large amounts of information
• Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative data analysis required as well as data visualization
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills are essential, with the ability to craft an analytical narrative from data findings
• Fluent spoken and written English
• Strong attention to detail in both listening and visualization design

Preferred

• Strong interpersonal skills and diplomacy to manage relationships with many stakeholders and in a complex situational environment
• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic)
• Skills in context analysis, ability to draft anticipatory analysis outputs.
• Good domain of information technology is an advantage

Competencies, Values and Comments
Values

• Professionalism
• Accountability
• Respect for diversity
• Integrity

Core Competencies

• National Societies and Customer Relations
• Judgement and Decision Making
• Collaboration and Teamwork
• Building Trust
• Communication
• Creativity and Innovation