Senior Analyst - Ukraine Crisis Analytics Team - Kyiv, Ukraine or open to remote in any Mercy Corps location

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Program / Country Office Summary

Mercy Corps, as a member of the Ukraine Cash Consortium (UCC) in partnership with Norwegian Refugee Council and People In Need, is responding to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine by providing assistance to people impacted or displaced by the conflict.

The UCC’s activities are designed to enable households to meet their basic needs and remain as safe as possible while supporting local markets during the crisis. In areas where markets remain functional the UCC will distribute multi-purpose cash assistance and where markets are heavily disrupted the consortium will provide direct-in-kind food, non-food, water, shelter and hygiene assistance.  The Consortium will also be providing protection information to all groups impacted.

The UCC is an initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development/Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.

The Program / Department / Team

In response to the complex humanitarian situation in Ukraine as well as the regional implications of this crisis, Mercy Corps is establishing a Ukraine Crisis Analytics team. Ukraine Crisis Analytics team will help Mercy Corps make programmatic decisions, based on analysis of humanitarian needs and access, regional economic and social dynamics. Crisis Analytics team aggregates and analyzes data to improve decision making and access in complex crises. The team supports our programming in Ukraine, Poland, Romania and other locations. The team directly contributes to data-driven decision making by layering information from primary sources, open sources and responders’ programmatic data, where it is analyzed by subject matter experts and data scientists. This analysis is grounded in Mercy Corps’ status as an operational NGO, keeping products constructive and relevant. Typical products and services range from informal briefings to weekly products, contributions to risk assessments, in-depth assessment of the political economy of a defined geography, deep-dives on specific thematics, etc., ranging in themes from conflict to market systems to governance, in line with programmatic needs.

The Position

The Analyst is a member of Mercy Corps’ Ukraine Crisis Analytics Team reporting directly to the Security and Humanitarian Access Director and works directly with Crisis Analytics Team Leader. The Analyst is expected to maintain a comprehensive knowledge of the dynamics of Ukrainian context, as well as the broader regional dynamics. The Analyst will be expected to maintain a real-time understanding of political, social, security and economic trends in Ukraine and the surrounding countries that impact Mercy Corps operations and programs at local and regional levels.

The Analyst will draft regular as well as ad-hoc analytical products that meet the needs of our audiences. The structure and intent of these products will be set by the Team Leader. The Analyst will adopt a flexible approach and a willingness to use non-traditional tools and information sources in order to generate insights within a dynamic environment.

The Analyst will attend program meetings as directed, to share knowledge and develop an understanding of the information needs of teams.

Essential Responsibilities

Analysis

• Support the drafting of periodic analytical products that meet the current and future information needs of identified audiences.

• Develop bespoke products as directed.

• Work closely with program teams to understand their information needs, and provide timely and relevant advice.

• Identify new areas of focus based on the understanding of audience needs.

• Collaborate throughout the analytical process with all colleagues in the team.

• Other activities related to data collection and analysis as directed.

• Develop and maintain an awareness of humanitarian principles, international humanitarian law and Mercy Corps’ culture and values.

Data Collection

• Collect relevant and sufficient primary and secondary data to inform analysis
• Develop and maintain a network of relationships across Ukraine and the surrounding region in order to leverage diverse perspectives and deepen insights.
• Observe data protection measures within data analysis and communication workflows, in compliance with Mercy Corps’ Responsible Data Policy and with humanitarian data protection best practice.
• Collaborate with the Mercy Corps Data for Impact team to recognize and help adopt best practices in data analysis and data science.

Coordination

• Support the Security and Humanitarian Access Director and Crisis Analytics Team Leader to understand information needs of program teams.

• Support program teams to define their information needs.

• Provide briefings as directed.

• Attend coordination meetings to understand the information needs of the response team.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by the response team and Global Security.

• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

• Ensure compliance with and implementation of Mercy Corps safeguarding measures.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director, Security and Humanitarian Access

Works Directly With: Global Crisis Analytics team, Ukraine response team, Ukraine Crisis Analytics Team Leader, Global Policy and Advocacy, Asia Regional Program Team, various external stakeholders

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

Any skills you have gained through education, volunteer, work, or life experience that are relevant for the position will be considered. Be sure to fully explain transferable skills and success factors and how they apply to this position in your cover letter.

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is required. Master’s degree is preferred.

• Five years’ experience in conflict analysis, investigative journalism, humanitarian programming, research or a related field,

• Able to demonstrate experience in a variety of formal and informal approaches to data collection and analysis

• Demonstrated capacity for developing analysis that supports program design or decision making.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with a demonstrated high capacity for writing on technical subjects.

• Experience working in a fast-paced environment with high-levels of collaboration.

• Experience working within the development/humanitarian sector and understanding of humanitarian principles and the humanitarian system is an asset.

• Demonstrated understanding and ability to engage with networks of information sources across different sectors, groups and locations.

• Verbal and written fluency in English. Knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian is an asset.

• Competency in Microsoft Office systems including Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

• Competency in social media tools including Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will be a key member of a small team where curiosity, critical thinking and the ability to see beyond the surface level are highly valuable. A professional attitude, demonstration of integrity, discretion and excellent work ethic are key aspects to the success of this new position. Strong communication skills (listening, speaking, writing) are imperative to developing positive relationships and representing the analysis team well. Interpersonal skills, openness to learning and humility are important attributes to working effectively within a context with significant diversity. The Analyst will bring strong time management and organizational skills and will have the ability to work in a fast-moving environment as a team member who will take initiative on projects and support others in their initiatives.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Kyiv, Ukraine or open to being based remotely in any Mercy Corps location.  Living conditions in Kyiv are in group housing: water, electricity and internet are present. This position requires travel to surrounding countries, as security permits. Given the emergency context, this position requires exceptional work schedules, including evenings and weekends.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.