Meet INSO

What is your professional background?

I’ve worked in many different positions in this field over the past decade. With the National Office of Civil Protection in Tunisia (the firefighters), I held a variety of roles between coordination, field command, and information management.

I also previously worked with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Libya, where I managed information to facilitate humanitarian coordination, which in turn supported refugees in Libya. This work included data collection, processing, and visualisation, including mapping, spatial modelling, cartography, and spatial analysis concerning country-level humanitarian issues. In April 2022, I joined INSO in Niger where I oversee my department.

How did you hear about this role?

A colleague of mine from a previous organisation who now also works for INSO encouraged me to apply. We worked together on several humanitarian contexts, including Tunisia, Libya, and Mali. He encouraged me to submit an application for a role with INSO in the Central African Republic. When I visited the website of INSO and began to understand its mission, I was convinced that this job would suit me. Despite being unsuccessful on that occasion, I applied a few months later for the Information Manager role in Niger and was successful!

An Information Manager can have many different responsibilities, depending on the organisation. Within INSO, what does this role entail?

In this role I work closely with our NGO partner’s security department to understand their needs and how we can help. By creating close channels of communication, were able to exchange information which helps everyone. Part of my job is also to ensure that our incident database is properly categorized, regularly updated and accessible to its users.

I am in close communication with the field teams and partners to ensure proper analysis and reporting. The pace of work is moderate, but enjoyable.  I have the time management and leadership abilities to be able to shift focus from routine tasks to more strategic and innovative ones. The work atmosphere is wonderful, we have a very multinational team.

What would you say to someone considering an Information Manager role with INSO?

For someone considering working with INSO or who has just join us, they should get to know what we do and why. You will be directly connected to the actions and activities of humanitarian organisations that work in the most difficult areas of the world.

INSO has grown a lot since its founding in 2011. Understanding INSO’s history, and the continuous demand for its services by partners, is important to realise why your job matters.