Research, Assessment and Monitoring (RAM) Officer, Baghdad, Iraq

General

Description of assignment title: Research, Assessment and Monitoring (RAM) Officer

Assignment country: Iraq

Duty stations: Baghdad

Work location: On UN premises

Expected start date: 07/05/2026

Duration: 3 months(with possibility of extension)Long-term benefits and allowances

Sustainable Development Goal: 2. Zero hunger

Host entity: WFP

Modality: Onsite

Type: National

Volunteer category: Specialist UCoS from Apr2026

Work schedule: Full-time

Number of Assignments: 1

Details

Mission and objectives:

• Iraq is an upper-middle-income country whose economic situation is gradually improving following the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant and the resumption of oil exports. Food insecurity has persisted, however, particularly among internally displaced persons, returnees and rural people in the south of the country. The challenges of rebuilding infrastructure, providing basic services, promoting social cohesion, demobilizing militias, creating jobs and progressing towards gender equality while maintaining security have impeded the country's efforts to make progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 2 on zero hunger.
• WFP's country strategic plan for Iraq is informed by findings and recommendations derived from a zero hunger strategic review carried out in 2018 with the participation of core government partners and other stakeholders. It has the overall goal of supporting the Government in accelerating progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development while shifting WFP's role from the direct implementation of activities to the enabling of national programmes.

Context:

• WFP Iraq operates in a dynamic environment shaped by decades of conflict, displacement, climate challenges, and economic instability. Despite progress, vulnerabilities and challenges persist, especially among internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and marginalized groups in rural and peri-urban areas.
• The Iraq Country Strategic Plan (CSP) marks a shift from emergency aid to resilience and sustainable development. It supports the Government of Iraq in strengthening systems for social protection, food security, and nutrition, while promoting livelihoods and climate adaptation. The CSP integrates food assistance, capacity building, and policy support to break cycles of vulnerability and build long-term resilience.
• The Research, Assessment, and Monitoring (RAM) unit underpins this strategy by delivering timely, credible data to guide WFP's operations. RAM supports programme design, targeting, and performance monitoring through robust data collection, analysis, and visualization. It also contributes to food security assessments, market monitoring, and vulnerability mapping to ensure responsive interventions.

Task description:

• At this position, you will:
• Support the design and implementation of assessments, targeting and other thematic studies across WFP Iraq's programme portfolio, ensuring effective data collection, validation, and use at all levels, this includes coordination with WFP field offices, government stakeholders and partners to ensure quality data collection and contextualized analysis.
• Compile, quality-assure, and disseminate assessment results in a timely manner to inform programme management, strategic decision-making, donor reporting, and advocacy efforts.
• Provide technical analytical support for Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM), baseline and follow-up surveys, and other evidence-generation activities, ensuring alignment with WFP standards and Iraq's national priorities.
• Provide advanced methodological refinement and contribute to integrated climate and resilience analysis, encompassing vulnerability assessments, market systems evaluations, and risk analyses related.
• Utilize advanced statistical and geospatial tools to evaluate environmental degradation, livelihood vulnerabilities, and the socio-economic impacts of shocks, in order to inform adaptive programming and evidence-based targeting strategies.
• Lead geospatial mapping and data visualization efforts to georeference intervention sites, improve targeting accuracy, and support coordination and impact tracking.
• Support the development and refinement of targeting methodologies for social protection programmes, ensuring that interventions reach the most food-insecure and vulnerable populations, and are aligned with national systems and priorities.
• Strengthen national and subnational capacities by working closely with government counterparts to build sustainable and integrated monitoring frameworks and promote data ownership and utilization and enhance evidence-based decision-making.
• Support the development of an integrated national monitoring system that enables real-time data collection, predictive analytics, and shock-responsive programming, laying the foundation for adaptive social protection and enhanced community resilience.
• Demonstrates ability to conduct structured food security analysis—identifies underlying macro and micro factors impacting food security of communities and countries. Provides findings and recommendations for the programmatic response.
• Manages the implementation of food security monitoring systems. Investigates any observed anomalies in the datasets and informs program management for operational response.
• Provides managerial and technical guidance for designing and conducting analyses, including computation, interpretation, and presentation of results for food security surveys and key indicators (comprehensive food security and vulnerability surveys, food security monitoring, implementing mobile surveys, market analysis, food consumption scores, coping strategies indices. data disaggregation, etc.)
• Leads all aspects of surveys including design, implementation, analysis, findings and reporting. Ensures that assessment findings are easily translated into operational programmatic response.
• Demonstrates strong understanding of country operations to participate in response analysis exercises to improve the cohesion between analytical findings and programmatic response. Constructs evidence base underlying technical and policy advice given to stakeholders.

Eligibility criteria

Age: 18 - 80

Required experience: 3 years

Nationality: Candidate must be a national, legal resident or hold refugee status in the country of assignment.

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience:

• 5 years

Languages:

• English, Level: Fluent, Required
• Arabic, Level: Working knowledge, Desirable
• Kurdish, Level: Working knowledge, Desirable

Required education level:

• Bachelor's degree in Economics, Food Security, Statistics, Data Science, Geography or other related field

Competencies and values:

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Professionalism
• Self-management

Skills and experience:

• Total relevant 5 years of experience including 1 year of Professional (Superviosry) experience.
• Relevant experience in designing assessments and surveys, statistical analysis, econometrics, or data management/visualization, preferably within a UN agency or an institution recognized for high-quality analytical work.
• Background or training in social services, food security, nutrition, and/or familiarity with WFP operations is considered an asset.
• Experience using a variety of quantitative and qualitative analysis tools and methods;
• Proficient in data collection, processing, analysis, and visualization tools including ODK, SPSS, Stata, ArcGIS/QGIS, and Tableau. Familiarity with R and related platforms (RStudio, RStudio Connect) is a strong asset.
• Advanced quantitative analysis skills, including sampling techniques, descriptive statistics, multivariable analysis, and regression modelling (using SPSS, SAS, or Stata).
• Strong communication abilities—both written and verbal.
• Demonstrated strategic thinking, analytical capabilities, and problem-solving initiative.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively across teams and contexts.

Area(s) of expertise:

• Development programmes, Economics and finance

Driving license:

• -

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