Senior Data Analyst to Support the Somalia Food and Nutrition Security Crisis Monitoring and Reporting System
CTG Somalia Post Date: 11-06-2023
Apply Before: 20-06-2023
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Overview of Position
While the devastating effects of sudden onset crises like earthquakes can be observed more quickly & often galvanize timely resource mobilization, the impetus to react to slower onset crises, such as food & nutrition security crises, may not be as apparent, especially during the early stages of such events. Governments can take several decisions & actions ahead of time to enhance their ability to respond when crisis risks emerge. Early action to slow onset food security crises has been shown to save more lives & reduce the total cost of responses, generating average benefits of US$ 2.8 for every US$ 1 invested. The mandate of our clients Crisis Response Window (CRW) was extended in IDA19 to support earlier responses to slow onset crises, specifically disease outbreaks & food insecurity events that are at early stages of progression & have the potential to escalate into major crises. The CRW Early Response Financing (ERF) modality provides up to US$ 50 million per country per IDA cycle on IDA country terms. CRW early response financing is intended to support & incentivize resilience building as the provision of such resources will be linked to crisis preparedness efforts. Operations financed by the CRW are also expected to include, where feasible, components or features designed to help prevent future crises or mitigate their economic & social impact. Somalia has received approval from our clients Board of Executive Directors for its request of US$ 50 million from the CRW ERF to respond to worsening acute food security conditions as part of the Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (SCRP) . To date, the country has received US$ 100 million from the CRW ERF. All countries receiving support from the ERF are required to put in place Food Security Crisis Preparedness Plans (FSCPPs). The FSCPP is a living national & operational plan that explains how crisis risks are actively monitored & identified in a country & details step by step protocols for scaling up early action across government, humanitarian & development partners to prevent & mitigate future food security & nutrition crises. The FSCPP contains 3 interconnected Elements, namely:
Element 1: Operational arrangements for continuously monitoring & identifying food & nutrition security crises.
Element 2: Operational arrangements for convening programmatic leads across government, humanitarian & development partners to assess emerging crisis risks & scale up early action as needed.
Element 3: In the event of an emerging & major crisis, operational arrangements & protocols for convening senior officials to collectively recognize the crisis, help bridge operational & funding gaps & promote well coordinated & whole of aid responses.
The FSCPP is guided by several principles, namely:
Government owned & led: Where possible, the government should be at the center of developing & managing the FSCPP across all relevant national & local institutions & agencies. Existing & relevant government systems should be leveraged fully & complemented, where needed. In contexts in which a government may have limited operational capacity to lead the FSCPP, these functions should be supported by the international community with responsibilities shared across humanitarian & development partners until the government’s capacity builds.
Focused on major food & nutrition security crises: In any given year, a country may face numerous shocks affecting food & nutrition security, some of which may have localized & limited impacts while others can lead to widespread & severe impacts affecting many people across the country. The FSCPP is focused on these latter shocks which extend beyond & exacerbate existing chronic issues & threaten to lead to a major food & nutrition security crisis.
Evidence based: The FSCPP should be anchored by rigorous, well vetted & timely food & nutrition security information & data. Given the many drivers & shocks that can lead to a major food & nutrition security crisis, there is a need consolidate & analyze this disparate information as part of regular risk reporting to provide a comprehensive view of emerging & major risks. Where available, existing early warning systems such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), Cadre Harmonisé & the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) provide a strong foundation for this analysis & identifying a potentially emerging & major crisis. Additionally, to complement these early warning systems & to help fill gaps between major reporting cycles, high frequency data & analysis produced by individual FNS partners & other sources (e.g., market surveillance information, verified news reporting, weather forecasts, hydromet systems, satellite imagery, etc.) should be consolidated regularly & integrated into FSCPP arrangements.
Prearranged, operational & timely: The FSCPP moves beyond just risk monitoring activities & requires that 3 interlinked operational elements be in place. This includes operational arrangements for continuously monitoring & quickly identifying major food & nutrition security crises, operational arrangements for convening programmatic leads across government, humanitarian & development partners to assess emerging crisis risks & scale up early action & in the event a major crisis may be emerging, operational arrangements & protocols for convening senior officials to collectively recognize the crisis, bridge operational & funding gaps & promote well coordinated & holistic responses across government & its humanitarian & development partners.
Holistic: Major food security crises extend beyond the response capacities of any single entity. If a major crisis is identified, activities should be scaled up quickly & coordinated across the fullness of government, humanitarian, & development partners. Comprehensive responses should utilize the comparative advantages of all supporting partners to tackle immediate needs to protect lives & livelihoods & address underlying drivers to build greater resilience to future shocks.
Do No Harm: The FSCPP should be underpinned by the principle of do no harm. This requires that the FSCPP carefully take into consideration country & local contexts & account for how responses may interact & affect existing economic, social & political dynamics. This principle is particularly important in Fragile & Conflict Affected Situations (FCS).
Living: While the occurrence of major food & nutrition security crises can be reduced over time, especially as development goals are reached & resilience builds, it is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of all future crises. This is in part due to the numerous drivers & shocks that can lead to a major food security crisis. Crisis preparedness is a continuous activity requiring steadfast maintenance & investment so that operational arrangements are up to date & can be activated quickly to ensure timely responses to mitigate impacts. The FSCPP, therefore, serves as a living document that should be revisited & updated regularly to ensure it remains fit for this purpose. Additionally, the FSCPP serves as an efficient means of retaining institutional knowledge about food & nutrition security crisis operational arrangements. In this regard, the FSCPP serves as an important resource to agencies & supporting partners managing staff changes, helping to smooth transitions & promote continuity.
FSCPP development is a government led & owned process. Given the critical roles played by humanitarian & development partners supporting food security & nutrition crisis responses in many countries, the FSCPP also provides an opportunity for these stakeholders to contribute. Depending on the context, contributions from partners could range from participating in technical consultations & working group meetings to supporting the operationalization of the FSCPP in collaboration with government & other supporting partners. The Somalia Crisis Recovery Project supports the recovery of livelihoods & infrastructure in flood & drought affected areas & strengthens capacity for disaster preparedness nationwide. The project is overseen by a Project Steering Committee (PSC) composed of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Ministry of Finance (MOF) & the Ministry of Planning, Investment & Economic Development (MoPIED). The project is managed by a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) domiciled at the Ministry of Finance. At state level, the project is managed by State Project Teams (SPTs) housed within the state’s Ministry of Planning.
Role Objectives
Our client is providing expedited technical assistance to support the Federal Government of Somalia in putting in place its Food Security Crisis Preparedness Plan. A Senior Data Analyst (recruited as a short term consultant) is sought who can support technical collaborations with government, external food security partners & various banking sectoral teams for FSCPP element 1 (operational arrangements for continuously monitoring & identifying food & nutrition security crises). In particular, the Senior Data Analyst will support the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to develop a food & nutrition security crisis monitoring & reporting system for Somalia, building on existing early warning systems & risk monitoring efforts in the country. This work will seek to put in place operational arrangements & time bound protocols for monitoring & reporting on major food & nutrition security crisis risks & drivers, the official process for consolidating & reporting on this information in a timely manner & defining what constitutes a major food & nutrition security crisis for Somalia. These efforts will include close collaborations with existing early warning systems such as the Food Security & Nutrition Analysis Unit, among others, as well as food & nutrition security partners & stakeholders in the country. The Senior Consultant will work closely under the guidance of NBS, the Agriculture & Food Global Practice Global Engagement team (AGF GE), the Task Team Leader (TTL or his delegated team member) & the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (SCRP).The Senior Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:
Identify the key stakeholders & systems responsible for monitoring & reporting on Food & Nutrition Security (FNS) risks & drivers.
Identify gaps, if any, in quantitative & qualitative data, indicators, analysis & recommendations currently produced by government agencies & FNS partners & provide recommendations on both how best & realistically to address any such gaps.
Develop the operational arrangements & time bound protocols for monitoring & reporting on major food & nutrition security crisis risks & drivers, including detailing specific roles & responsibilities of lead & contributing government agencies & FNS partners. Such efforts will be conducted in close collaboration with FNS humanitarian & development partners & stakeholders.
Develop the official process for consolidating & reporting (via a methodology note) on information related to major food & nutrition security crisis risks & drivers in a timely manner, including specifying data sources, relevant indicators & related reporting mechanisms.
Define the operative definition of a major FNS crisis for Somalia, including the criteria & thresholds for identifying such a crisis, in close collaboration with early warning systems & risk analysis partners & stakeholders.
Review current plans by FNS partners for knowledge transfer & capacity building to strengthen the capacity of the relevant government stakeholders, including the National Bureau of Statistics & propose any needed adjustment or additions to such plans to implement the FNS crisis monitoring & reporting system.
Conduct bilateral & group consultations & hold technical workshops with key stakeholders to obtain feedback on the implementation plan & validate the developed system.
Finalise the FNS crisis monitoring & reporting system & implementation plan, including a monitoring & evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness of the system.
Deliverables:
A comprehensive draft report on the FNS crisis monitoring & reporting system for Somalia, including proposed operational arrangements & time bound protocols, official processes for consolidating & reporting information, definition of a major FNS crisis & capacity gaps.
A finalized FNS crisis monitoring & reporting system & implementation plan, including all of the above & a monitoring & evaluation framework.
A capacity building plan, built upon current plans by FNS partners, to strengthen the capacity of NBS & other relevant FGS stakeholders in implementing the FNS crisis monitoring & reporting system.
Support for the delivery by NBS of 2 semi annual & 2 interim early warning / joint monitoring reports, in close collaboration with FNS partners & stakeholders.
Other deliverables to be agreed, as needed.
Project reporting
The selected candidate will report to the Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist (SAEU3) & Task Team Leader of the SCRP & Economist (SAGGL).
The selected candidate will also work closely with the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics, the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the SCRP, relevant members of our clients SCRP team, the Senior FSCPP Consultant (to be hired in parallel) & FSNAU (including FAO Emergency Response Unit), among others. The location of the consultancy will be based primarily in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Key Competencies
Demonstrated contextual knowledge & analytical prowess of Somalia & the country’s FNS related risks.
Competence using data analysis & visualization tools.
Strong grasp of FNS related institutional architecture in Somalia (federal & FMS relevant ministries & agencies) & FNS partners (e.g. FEWS NET, FSNAU).
Strong analytical skills & at least 5 years of experience in FNS data, indicators, risk analysis, early warning systems (e.g., IPC) & risk reporting mechanisms.
In country presence strongly preferred, if not based in Somalia, demonstrated ability to leverage connections in Somalia & possess a vibrant network of FNS related contacts in the region.
Experience working with key humanitarian & development FNS partners, including bilateral donors, UN agencies (FAO, OCHA, WFP, UNICEF), the NGO / CSO community & data analytics systems, e.g. FSNAU, FEWS NET, IPC, etc., in Somalia.
Experience conducting multi stakeholder consultations such as organizing country level policy dialogue & / or technical (virtual) workshops.
Creative thinker with the proven ability to think conceptually & accurately analyze diverse information from varied sources.
Sound judgment, attention to detail & ability to convey complex messages succinctly.
Excellent interpersonal skills with a proven ability to work well under minimum supervision in close consultation with senior FGS officials.
Excellent organizational skills, proven ability to perform multiple tasks, prioritize deliverables & work under pressure & tight deadlines with accuracy & professionalism.
Excellent communication skills, including written & verbal skills in English & experience producing high quality written outputs.
Team management
This role has not team management responsibility.
Further Information
The Senior Consultant will be hired for an assignment of up to 150 working days (~6 months), starting on July 1, 2023 and through end-June 2024.
Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply for this role.