After completing my academic studies, I had opted for a “hands-on” approach to investigating conflict. I worked as a conflict and context analyst at INGOs responding to the Syrian crises from Jordan and neighbouring countries. Below is a detailed illustration of the main tasks and research conducted throughout that period.

SYRIA CONTEXTUAL & POLITICAL ANALYST
June 2018 – June 2019
Research and Analysis Unit
iMMAP Regional Office Amman – Jordan

Main Responsibilities

  • Track atmospheric data and conduct analysis, and compose contextual reports based upon said analysis
  • Compose stakeholder reports and sub-district profiles, and brief partners and donors on products when needed
  • Produce regular reports and analysis while shaping tracking outputs to best fit the information needs of iMMAP partners and the humanitarian architecture
  • Build and manage primary networks for the purpose of qualitative data collection, validation, and analysis
  • Stay aware of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment for inclusion in analysis and timely alerting of appropriate actors
  • Contribute to survey design to ensure the most relevant information is collected at the appropriate level of disaggregation
  • In coordination with iMMAP’s Information Management and analysis teams, develop a reporting matrix and follow up throughout life of project to ensure timely and regular publishing of high-quality reports and information
  • Provide high quality research and analysis to the iMMAP analysis team enabling evidence-based representation from the field and ensure documentation is supported
  • Work closely with iMMAP technical specialists in support of data visualisation, imagery, and GIS and keep concerned counterparts fully briefed on project implementation and progress from the functional and technical standpoints.
  • Research and compose 38 northwest and southern Syria stakeholder reports to assess each stakeholder’s structure, areas of influence or control, affiliations, sources of financial backing, community perceptions, roles and services, and relationships/rivalries with other groups.
  • Research and compose 10 northwest Syria Sub-Regional Profiles with the purpose of providing humanitarian actors with a holistic and comprehensive understanding of the areas in which their interventions will occur. The aforementioned is conducted under the lenses of security, economy, social, governance, and service provision.

Research for Donors and INGOs

  • Northwestern Syria Sub-Regional Profiles
    Covering context, economy, and governance & services in 10 sub-regions
    Food For Peace (FFP) /Offices of U.S. of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), May – June 2019 (author)
  • Northwestern and Southern Syria Stakeholder Reports
    Covering structures, areas of influence/control, affiliations, sources of financial backing, community perceptions, roles and services, and relationships/rivalries with other groups
    FFP/OFDA, September 2018 – April 2019 (author)
  • Ad-hoc Report – Local Councils in the Recently Reconciled South Syria
    For Tatweer-DFID (The Department for International Development – Now FCDO), August 2018 (author)
  • Ad-hoc Report – Reconciliation Settlements in Southern Syria: Co-opting the Opposition
    For Tatweer-DFID, August 2018 (co-author)

SYRIA CONFLICT & CONTEXT ANALYST
September 2016 – March 2018
Investing in Syrian Humanitarian Action (ISHA)
Mercy Corps Regional Office Amman – Jordan

Main Responsibilities

Context and Conflict Analysis

  • Actively follow the military, political, humanitarian, economic, and social developments in areas in which partners operate
  • Monitor and assess prevailing trends in the humanitarian, political and socioeconomic situation in Syria (and surrounding region); inform and evaluate potential implications for partners’ locations and operations
  • Lead the development of risk management strategies as well as contingency planning, both in-house and with partners
  • Maintain expertise on the status of the overall conflict and ensure that the team is aware of all relevant developments
  • Contribute and compose analysis and thematic papers, using original primary and secondary research, based on the information requirements identified by the program

Program Strategy

  • Participate in relevant internal meetings to ensure contextual analysis informs decision–making
  • Deliver weekly whole of Syria context briefings to team members to build awareness, understanding, and sensitivity of the negative and positive impacts that change can have on partner activities and operation
  • Contribute to the development of the overall project strategy, specifically in terms of areas of operation for programming
  • Coordinate with the management team and other relevant Syria stakeholders to ensure analysis is guided by programmatic demands and therefore value-added and impactful
  • Identify, consolidate and maintain a network of contacts from other INGOs, INSO, UN agencies and other coordination infrastructure, think-tanks, and analytical networks

Work with Partners

  • Support team in context analysis throughout the Call for Applications, Project Design, Pre-Award, and Implementation phases of partnerships
  • Communicate with and support partners throughout Project Design and Implementation phases, particularly around location selection and risk mitigation
  • Roll out and manage partner incident reports, maintain ‘issues log’, report incidents to the security department, and follow up when necessary
  • Track and analyse instances of partner contraction, suspension, relocation, or termination depending on context and security changes or other external access factors, and identify trends and anticipate triggers of follow-on events
  • Work with Syrian partners (as relevant) to identify their security management needs and provide technical support and assistance in risk assessment and contingency planning
  • Serve as focal point for security risk assessments/matrices

Research for Donors and INGOs

  • South Syria Weekly Humanitarian Access Team Updates
    Updating donors, humanitarian agencies & policy makers on situation in Syria (author 2016 – 2018)