CA–SYR Economic Analyst (Consultancy)

Description

Project/Consultancy Title: CA–SYR Economic Analyst

Project Location(s): Remote (Syria)

Background:

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. Now, and for the future. 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.

Purpose / Project Description:

Mercy Corps has developed a Crisis Analysis function to support our programming in the most complex contexts, including Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, and others. The Crisis Analysis supports Mercy Corps’ in-country programming as well as the wider humanitarian response in the region through the provision of quality, timely and relevant analytical products. Mercy Corps’ Crisis Analysis – Syria (CA-SYR) aggregates and analyses data to improve decision-making and access in complex crises. The team directly contributes to data-driven decision-making by layering information from primary sources, open sources, and responders’ programmatic data, and combining it with analysis by subject matter experts. This analysis is grounded in Mercy Corps’ status as an operational NGO, keeping our products constructive and relevant for humanitarian responders and donors within a given crisis. CA-SYR serves as a real-time information hub; vets potential partners; assesses programmatic, partner, and operational risk; identifies and maps stakeholders; and works with internal partners to better enable data-driven decision-making. Written CA-SYR products range from daily updates during high-intensity periods, to regular monthly Whole-of-Syria summaries, to in-depth thematic reports and scenario planning.

Consultant Objectives:

• Provide expert analysis on economic trends and dynamics affecting Syria and the broader Middle East region, with a focus on how these developments impact Mercy Corps’ programmes across the country.
• Lead the production of analytical and forecasting outputs related to (geo)economic shifts, political economy, and market dynamics, with the aim of identifying drivers of need and anticipating the secondary effects of conflict.
• Develop risk analysis and mitigation strategies that inform programmatic and strategic decision-making within Mercy Corps’ Syria and regional portfolios.
• Collaborate closely with other analysts and technical specialists to ensure integrated, context-sensitive insights feed into Mercy Corps’ planning and adaptive programming.
• Contribute to the CA–SYR’s workstreams and engage regularly with the wider Analysis Unit.

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will:

• Monitor and interpret economic developments in Syria and the broader region, providing regular updates and targeted insights to the CA–SYR team, Mercy Corps leadership, and external stakeholders – including donors – on how regional economic shifts intersect with humanitarian needs and operational constraints.
• Lead the design and delivery of analytical products focused on Syria’s economic landscape, including market systems, political economy drivers, sanctions impacts, and currency fluctuations, ensuring timely and policy-relevant outputs that align with CA–SYR’s research priorities.
• Develop and refine economic analysis methodologies, including scenario modeling, risk assessments, and mixed-method tools, to enhance the technical rigor and predictive capacity of CA–SYR’s workstreams.
• Coordinate cross-functional analytical teams to produce complex economic analyses, managing workflows, timelines, and peer review processes to ensure quality and coherence in deliverables.
• Advance CA–SYR’s economic research agenda by identifying critical knowledge gaps and proposing new thematic areas of inquiry, particularly those with implications for program targeting, resilience, and economic recovery.
• Identify and investigate underexplored economic trends with potential humanitarian or stabilization implications – such as informal financial systems, agricultural market shifts, labor market contractions, or regional trade dynamics – and translate findings into actionable intelligence for Mercy Corps and its partners.
• Lead and support stakeholder engagement, presenting economic findings and forward-looking analysis to donors, partners, and internal leadership in coordination with the CA–SYR Deputy Director and Director, helping translate complex data into strategic decisions.

Consultant Deliverables:

The Consultant will:

• Lead the production of at least one in-depth written analytical product from start to finish during the consultancy period. This will focus on key economic themes – such as fiscal and monetary dynamics, financial services, service provision, or a critical market system – and will include research design, data collection (secondary), analysis, drafting, and coordination of peer review and dissemination.
• Contribute to CA–SYR’s recurring periodical outputs—specifically the Monthly Syria Report and Daily Syria Update. The consultant will be responsible for inserting timely economic analysis on developments such as inflation, currency movements, livelihood pressures, economic policy shifts, and sectoral disruptions.
• Support the development of economic visual products—such as graphs, dashboards, maps, or scenario models, working alongside the teams to ensure data is presented clearly and strategically for CA–SYR’s audience.
• Propose and develop at least four analytical ad hoc (flash and/or situation) reports on emerging socio-economic dynamics, including shifts in informal economies, evolving public-private sector relationships, labor market trends, or remittance flows, particularly where these intersect with humanitarian programming.
• Participate in and contribute to internal CA–SYR discussions and reviews, including validation of economic assumptions in ongoing products, methodological quality checks, and cross-thematic inputs (e.g., on how macroeconomic stressors affect service delivery or displacement).
• Support and document internal economic monitoring processes, including daily media tracking, synthesis of key indicators (exchange rates, subsidies, employment), and collation of economic and policy data relevant to Mercy Corps’ operational footprint.
• Engage externally as appropriate, supporting the presentation of economic findings to donors, partners, and internal Mercy Corps teams, in coordination with the CA–SYR Deputy Director and Director.

Timeframe / Schedule:

Full-time consultancy for six months, renewable based on the availability of funding

The Consultant will report to:

CA–SYR Deputy Director

The Consultant will work closely with:

CA–SYR Deputy Director, Director, Crisis Analyst, Data & GiS Specialist, and Field Coordinator

Required Experience & Skills:

• Excellent written English and Arabic.
• At least 5 years (with an undergraduate diploma; 4 years with Master’s degree) of analytical experience within a think-tank, UN, or NGO; experience analyzing the Syrian conflict is a plus.
• Primary and secondary research/academic experience in political science, sociology, economics, or conflict analysis.
• Strong quantitative skills, with demonstrated experience analyzing economic data and using geospatial tools or techniques to support context-specific economic or humanitarian analysis is preferred.
• Masters Degree or equivalent experience in Economics, Political Economy, Development Economics, Political Science, International Relations, or a related field is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in managing research processes including open-source desk research, creating data collection tools, data processing skills, analyzing mixed-methods data, and report production.
• Experience in cultivating trust-based, collaborative relationships with researchers, as well as internal/external stakeholders (including peer organizations, donors, etc).
• Experience in managing team members with diverse backgrounds, experience, and capacities. In addition, experience building the capacities of individual team members is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience producing deliverables related to humanitarian, security, governance, essential services, and livelihoods contexts in Syria.
• Experience in managing researchers and coordinating with other teams

Team Efficiency and Effectiveness

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out different 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 team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Read Full Description