Climate Assessment Specialist for East Africa, based in Nairobi

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis and GIS. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of Acted, an international NGO whose headquarter is based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, enabling IMPACT to benefit from Acted’s operational support on its fields of intervention.

REACH was born in 2010 as a joint initiative of two International NGOs (IMPACT Initiatives and Acted) and the United Nations Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT). REACH’s purpose is to promote and facilitate the development of information products that enhance the humanitarian community’s decision making and planning capacity for emergency, reconstruction and development contexts. REACH facilitates information management for aid actors through three complementary services: (a) need and situation assessments facilitated by REACH teams; (b) situation analysis using satellite imagery; (c) provision of related database and (web)-mapping facilities and expertise.

We are currently looking for a Climate Specialist to lead REACH’s climate and loss and damage (L&D) research portfolio in the Horn of Africa (pending funding confirmation).

Department: REACH

Contract duration: 18 months, with possibility of extension

Location: Nairobi, Kenya – subject to visa.

Starting Date: September 2026 (Pending funding confirmation).

REGION PROFILE

East Africa is one of the world's most climate-vulnerable regions, where recurrent shocks – including drought, flooding, and slow-onset processes such as land degradation and water scarcity – intersect with protracted conflict, displacement, and acute humanitarian needs.

Somalia stands out as one of the countries most acutely exposed to climate-driven shocks, where the 2021–2023 multi-season drought caused widespread livestock losses, crop failure, and large-scale displacement, with an estimated 1.1 million people internally displaced at its peak. Kenya remains highly exposed to climate variability, with arid and semi-arid regions regularly affected by drought and communities in low-lying areas increasingly vulnerable to flooding. Sudan and South Sudan face similarly complex crises, shaped by the intersection of conflict, economic fragility, and worsening climate conditions, including severe seasonal flooding that has increasingly undermined livelihoods and food security in recent years. In Uganda, climate pressures, including drought and erratic rainfall compound the needs of one of Africa's largest refugee populations.

REACH is active across the region with established presence in Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda, supporting humanitarian decision-making through multi-sector needs assessments, food security analysis, and market monitoring. Building on this foundation, REACH is scaling up its climate and loss and damage portfolio across the region.

POSITION PROFILE

The Climate Specialist will serve as the primary IMPACT/REACH technical resource for any climate and loss and damage activities and will contribute to growing REACH’s climate and resilience portfolio across the Horn of Africa. Based in Nairobi, the position will involve regular travel in the region, particularly to Somalia, and close collaboration with Acted, relevant ministries, and community-level stakeholders.

The ideal candidate will combine strong technical skills in climate and humanitarian research with a deep understanding of loss and damage concepts – including both economic loss and damage (ELD) and non-economic loss and damage (NELD) – and a commitment to community-centred, locally led approaches. They will be equally comfortable leading rigorous quantitative data collection and engaging participatory, qualitative research methodologies.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Research Planning and Design

• Serve as the lead researcher for all climate / loss and damage-related research cycles, ensuring that assessments are planned in line with project objectives, IMPACT research cycle guidelines, and donor requirements.
• Design and develop community-level L&D assessment frameworks (pre- and post-intervention), ensuring tools capture both quantitative and qualitative dimensions of loss and damage and reflect community-defined priorities.
• Design assessment(s) related to NELD dimensions such as cultural identity, traditional customs, dietary diversity, and livelihood disruption.
• Stay abreast of evolving global evidence on L&D methodologies, valuation approaches, and climate attribution, and integrate best practices into REACH’s assessment designs.
• Ensure all research designs are validated by IMPACT HQ before data collection begins.

Research Implementation

• Provide support to colleagues leading on data collection activities related to climate / loss and damage, including enumerator training, field supervision, and quality assurance.
• Lead or contribute to key informant interview (KII) processes with community leaders, local authorities, youth representatives, women’s groups, and other local stakeholders, ensuring inclusive and participatory data collection.
• Conduct or supervise remote sensing analysis and secondary data review to document and quantify L&D, including through analysis of satellite imagery, drought indices, and land degradation indicators.
• Ensure all data is collected, stored, and managed in line with IMPACT Data Management Guidelines and applicable data protection policies.
• Monitor data collection progress and promptly flag any challenges or methodological deviations to the relevant data collection lead and line manager.

Data Analysis and Product Drafting

• Lead analysis of household- and community-level L&D data, applying appropriate quantitative and qualitative methods to generate robust, evidence-based findings.
• Analyse how climate-affected households allocate cash compensation/recovery support, with particular emphasis on whether and how transfers support resilience-building, livelihood diversification, and adaptive strategies — rather than merely restorative, asset-replacement responses.
• Document community-level perceptions of L&D impacts and recovery priorities, synthesising findings on both ELD and NELD.
• Draft timely, high-quality research outputs including assessment reports, factsheets, briefs, and presentations in line with IMPACT guidelines and quality standards.
• Ensure all products are reviewed and validated by IMPACT HQ before external release.

Knowledge Generation and Adaptive Learning

• Document lessons learned and best practices from climate / L&D research
• Contribute to wider IMPACT and REACH knowledge products on climate and L&D methodologies, community-level data collection approaches, and climate-resilient recovery, ensuring findings are relevant to global learning processes.
• Support the dissemination of findings to key stakeholders in-country and the wider humanitarian and climate policy community, where relevant.
• Contribute to the development of replicable methodologies for household- and community-level climate and L&D data collection, attribution, and reporting, with a view to informing national L&D systems and global best practice.

External Engagement and Coordination

• Represent IMPACT in relevant coordination mechanisms, technical working groups, and stakeholder forums related to climate, loss and damage, food security, and humanitarian response.
• Engage proactively with relevant ministries to support the integration of household- and community-level L&D data into national monitoring systems and policy frameworks.
• Under the guidance of the Country Representative/Deputy Country Representative, maintain strong working relationships with NGOs, UN agencies, local and national government counterparts, civil society organisations, and community representatives.
• Present research findings to external partners to maximise uptake and impact.
• Ensure all partner engagement is clearly documented and communicated to the line manager and relevant colleagues.

Project Cycle Management

• Ensure compliance with project cycle management requirements at all phases, including planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting.
• Track deliverables and timelines across all climate/L&D research outputs and alert the line manager to any risks to delivery.
• Contribute to donor reporting by drafting narrative sections on research activities and findings.
• Participate in project kick-off, review, and completion meetings as required.
• Other tasks as requested by the line manager.

Data Confidentiality and Protection

• The Climate Specialist will maintain the strictest confidentiality on all data collected and related processes, ensuring full compliance with IMPACT’s data protection policy and standard operating procedures. He/she will actively take measures to prevent the unauthorised sharing of any information and data belonging to IMPACT and its partners, or collected during his/her assignment with IMPACT.

REQUIREMENTS

Essential

• Excellent academic qualifications, preferably including a Master’s degree in Climate Science, Environmental Studies/Policy, Disaster Risk Reduction, Development Studies, Social Science, or a relevant discipline.
• At least 3–5 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian, resilience, or climate-related research or programming. Experience in East Africa or the Horn of Africa strongly preferred.
• Demonstrable knowledge of climate change, drought, food security, and livelihoods dynamics in fragile or conflict-affected contexts. Knowledge of key climate and loss and damage policy frameworks required. Strong understanding of loss and damage concepts - including both ELD and NELD - is highly desirable.
• Proven experience designing and managing quantitative and qualitative research cycles, including household surveys, key informant interviews, and participatory community assessments. Experience with remote sensing or geospatial analysis is a strong asset.
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative analytical skills. Proficiency in Microsoft Excel required, and in statistical software (R, SPSS, Stata, or equivalent) desirable.
• Excellent written and spoken English. Demonstrated ability to produce high-quality research reports, briefs, and presentations for diverse audiences.
• Proven ability to work independently and manage complex, multi-stakeholder research projects, while also working effectively in a team environment.
• Ability to operate sensitively and effectively in a cross-cultural environment. Experience working with community-level stakeholders and local authorities.
• Experience designing data collection tools in KoboCollect, ODK, or similar, desired.

Desirable

• Experience in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia, including knowledge of pastoral and agropastoral livelihood systems and drought-related displacement dynamics.
• Familiarity with the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) process.
• Experience working with national government counterparts on climate or DRR policy.
• Skills in GIS software (ArcGIS, QGIS) and/or remote sensing applications.
• Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign) for information product design.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• For this position, salary between 3’180 CHF and 3’240 CHF monthly (before income tax), etc as well as a monthly living allowance of 300 USD NB - IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education of staff. A location-dependent security and/or isolation adjustment is then applied as a recognition that some staff are required to work in difficult places where living and working conditions are much more difficult than elsewhere.
• Accommodation and food provided in the guesthouse.
• Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swiss life – approx. 9.975% of staff gross salary), health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance.
• Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered (in-country travel costs and professional expenses are fully covered).
• Contribution to the luggage transportation: between 20 and 100 kgs, depending on the length of the contract (+ luggage and personal property insurance)
• Annual leave of 36 days per year. Public holidays of the country of assignment. Family/compassionate leave when applicable.
• Predeparture induction - 3 days at IMPACT Initiatives’ HQ in Geneva + one week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ in Paris, including a 4-days in situ security training.
• IMPACT prioritizes the psychological safety of its staff, and the health insurance provided covers, among others, up to 1000 € per year of psychosocial counselling fees.
• Enrolment in the IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months of contract.