Information & Analysis · Antananarivo, Madagascar
Title Madagascar Analyst
Department Information & Analysis
Type Full-Time Employee
Duty Location Madagascar
Travel Regional Travel Required (30%)
Requirements Candidate Must Have or Be Able to Obtain a Madagascan Work Permit
Description
We are seeking an exceptionally qualified individual to serve as a Madagascar Analyst in support of a Madagascar-based commercial client with interests predominantly focused in Toliara. The successful applicant will possess advanced analytical skills and demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the political, security, cultural, and economic environment in Madagascar to produce high-quality written and oral analysis from a number of open and closed sources. This position will brief senior leadership and, at times, executives of current clients. In country, the Analyst will report to the Project Security Manager but will liaise with and defer to the Nairobi, Kenya-based Senior Analyst on all information, collection, and production requirements.
Role Overview
The Madagascar Analyst will serve in an all-source analytical role, responsible for assisting in the development of information products that cover local, regional, and international dynamics and their assessed impact on the client’s ability to operate in-country. The Madagascar Analyst will maintain and update extensive information databases, systems, and mechanisms for sharing relevant information to support the client’s project. The candidate will provide local and regional tactical, operational, and strategic situational awareness and enhanced understanding through sound, collaborative analytical assessments on political, criminal, environmental, and industry-related issues. The Madagascar Analyst will also be responsible for growing a country-wide information network, consisting of key subject matter experts who will provide Valar with granular insight into daily political, economic, or other trends that may affect the client’s ability to operate safely in-country.
Responsibilities
- Use traditional all-source analytic tradecraft and methodologies to understand relationships (e.g., leadership, affiliations, aliases, etc.), temporal and spatial interdependencies, and conceptual scenarios which yield draft and finished analytical products, including threat assessments, situation reports, and geospatial analysis.
- Perform appropriate methods of social network analysis to meet specific project needs. Methods may include classification, pattern analysis, trend-temporal studies, and link analysis based on analysis of transaction data, message (e.g., phone, e-mail, blog) traffic, and other data sources in collaboration with other I&A team members.
- Study aspects of culture from various qualitative data sets, making elements of it actionable by focusing on the geospatial aspects of tribal, religious, ethnic, racial, language, occupational, and other social groups.
- Support the Information & Analysis department in the delivery of tailored client reports; work closely with management to prioritize information needs; brief senior managers and executives via written and oral presentations.
- Recognize and articulate critical information gaps; assist customers in identifying collection requirements; close collection holes by broadening Valar’s human network in-country and leveraging existing or new contacts to provide the client with the most refined, accurate, and near real-time information on all matters pertaining to the client’s project.
- Be confident and willing to engage in presentations and public speaking from day one; be adept at meeting, conversing, and engaging with a wide variety of people, including armed forces or government personnel, academics, the media, and private sector clients.
- Exercise discretion and maintain confidentiality.
Qualifications
Minimum
- Three (3) to five years (5) of experience performing All-Source Intelligence Analysis or similar analytical roles.
- Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant discipline (International Relations, International Business, Politics, Security Studies, Journalism).
- Proficiency in Open Source information collection and analytical tools; familiarity with establishing human networks.
- Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel; familiarity with geospatial technology (CARTO, ArcGIS, Google Earth, QGIS).
- Willingness to learn Malagasy language to a conversational level.
- Highly effective organizational and prioritization skills, including the ability to stay on task and maintain focus in a fast-paced environment; strong attention to detail; keen understanding of time-sensitive requirements.
- Solid appreciation of social, economic and, and environmental justice; strong qualitative analytical capacity in program management.
- Experience conducting due diligence investigations through open source tools and commercial databases.
- Impeccable writing and speaking English; working knowledge of French.
- Prior experience working and living in Africa, ideally Madagascar.
Preferred
- Educated to post-graduate level in a relevant discipline – International Relations, International Business, Politics, Security Studies, Journalism.
- Prior military, law enforcement, intelligence, government, NGO, or relevant sectors (e.g., Oil and Gas, Mining, and Media) in Africa.
- Advanced knowledge of relevant regional languages and dialects; fluent in French.
- Demonstrable all-source written production capability and experience in building, maintaining, and leveraging human networks; ability to liaise with security sector officials, including police, military, and national-level security services.
- Experience in data analytics, data collection, and data visualization tools and techniques, such as Fulcrum and CARTO.