ACTED
ACTED provides continued support to vulnerable communities by
ensuring the sustainability of post-crisis interventions and engaging long-term
challenges facing our target populations, in order to break the poverty cycle,
foster development and reduce vulnerability to disasters.
Vacant Position: Accountability Officer
Department: AME_UNIT
Contract Duration: Fixed term
Location: Mombasa, Kenya
ACTED
Background: ACTED is a French humanitarian NGO, founded in 1993, which
supports vulnerable populations, affected by humanitarian crises worldwide.
Their interventions seek to cover the multiple aspects of
humanitarian and development crises through a multidisciplinary approach which
is both global and local, and adapted to each context.
ACTED is looking for professionally confident, self-motivated,
experienced and committed team player to fill the Position of Accountability
Officer in Mombasa- Kenya.
Objective: Establish and
ensure the effective functioning of the Beneficiary Complaints and Response
Mechanism (CRM) in line with ACTED standard procedures, to enhance the trust
and confidence of beneficiaries, identify areas of our work which need to be
improved and ensure that ACTED learns from the feedback provided through this
process.
Duties and
Responsibilities
1. Identification and
deployment of a range of available, accessible, relevant and appropriate
communication means
a) Under the guidance of the Country AME Unit, and at relevant
frequency, assess communities’ preferred means to formulate complaints /
feedback with ACTED;
b) Ensure the CRM offers as many communication means as
possible, while taking into account the specificities of the local context and
culture, as well as the type and resources of the project, beneficiaries’
specificities, vulnerabilities and preferences, etc.;
c) Ensure all communication means guarantee total
confidentiality of the information shared, in order to protect the privacy and
safety of the complainant, the subject of complaint and other witnesses;
2. Promotion of the
CRM
a) Participate in kick-off and close-out meetings to promote the
CRM and present the project CRM implementation strategy;
b) Develop project-specific strategies to provide beneficiaries,
communities and stakeholders with readily available information on the CRM
throughout the project cycle, notably including a clear repartition of tasks
between AME and Project implementation teams;
c) Build capacity and understanding among ACTED staff, partners
and contractors on beneficiary accountability and more specifically on the
objectives and functioning of the CRM, as well as on what to do / not to do
when receiving a complaint;
d) Conduct field visits throughout the project cycle (i.e.
before, during and after the intervention), and coordinate with the AME and
project implementation teams for the same, in order to spread information /
awareness about the CRM to beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, as well as
local authorities and stakeholders in ACTED’s areas of implementation;
e) Develop and disseminate clear country-specific CRM
information / awareness raising materials in a language and visual format that
can be widely understood (including people with low levels of literacy);
f) Regularly assess the effectiveness of all information-sharing
efforts (notably via the assessment of communities’ level of awareness on the
CRM at relevant frequency and under the guidance of the Country AME Unit), and
incorporate findings into revised approaches;
g) At all times ensure (non)-beneficiaries feel safe to express
concerns, complaints and feedback to an independent and unbiased staff member.
3. Complaints handling
a) Receive and acknowledge receipt of complaints formulated
through the CRM (including those received directly by other ACTED staff,
through the hotline (if any), and actively seeking out feedback with the
community);
b) Ensure that the content of complaints/feedback is adequately
captured, categorized and analyzed in the COMPFU (COMPlaints Follow-Up) as per
ACTED procedures, paying specific attention to data quality;
c) Maintain a good understanding of ACTED programs, including
through frequent meetings with Project implementation teams, to be able to
respond directly, whenever possible, to requests for information (i.e. level 1
complaints as per ACTED’s sensitivity grid);
d) Channel complaints to the persons responsible for follow-up,
as per ACTED standard beneficiary CRM procedures;
e) Treat urgent and/or sensitive complaints with the immediate
attention they require;
f) Follow-up in person into complaints received in accordance
with ACTED procedures;
g) Follow up in a constructive and proactive manner on pending
complaints with relevant persons responsible for complaint follow-up, and
verify that all complaints are adequately and comprehensively addressed;
h) Respond to complaints respectfully, objectively, accurately,
and in a timely manner (15 days), as per talking points defined with line
manager, as per talking points agreed with relevant persons responsible for
complaint follow-up;
i) Close complaints in the COMPFU once adequately addressed and
a comprehensive response has been provided to the complainant, duly tracking
all complaint resolution steps and efforts in the COMPFU;
j) Under the guidance of the Country AME Unit, and at relevant
frequency, assess communities’ feedback and satisfaction on the CRM, and
incorporate findings into revised approaches;
4. Reporting and
Capitalization
a) Maintain records of CRM information / awareness raising /
promotion activities (including approximate numbers of participants) for each
project, and share with Project implementation team and line manager as
required;
b) Maintain consistent, confidential and detailed records of all
complaints in the COMPFU (and other electronic and hard copy filing systems, as
appropriate) as well as enquiry reports (as relevant);
c) Ensure the COMPFU is password-protected at all times and all
locations, the confidentiality of complaints data is respected, and this
information is shared only with authorized persons as per ACTED procedures;
d) Analyze patterns and trends in complaints and regularly share
findings with line manager, to identify and discuss lessons land, and help
ACTED improve its programming;
e) When relevant, and in collaboration with line manager,
organize meetings with relevant colleagues (PMs, Area coordinators, etc.) to
present the CRM status / findings and discuss incorporation of lessons learned
into revised programming;
f) Produce a monthly analytic CRM report and send to line
manager, Country Director and HQ AME Manager, following the standard ACTED
template;
g) Provide regular and timely updates on progress and challenges
to line manager;
h) Maintain relationships with peers from other agencies to
ensure the effective use of referrals both into and out from ACTED;
i) Integrate any accountability-related lessons learned and/or
recommendations to the AME-managed country learning database, and contribute to
their diffusion with coordination / AME / project staff.
5. Protection
mainstreaming
Promoting of and adhering to Prevention of Sexual Exploitation
and Abuse policy and guidelines (for site residents, ACTED staff, partner
agencies, casual labours etc.).
6. Other
a) Assist project and AME teams with other activities, as
requested by immediate supervisor;
b) Perform any other related activities as assigned by immediate
supervisor.
Job qualification and
experience:
·
Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science, Community Development or
related field.
·
Extensive experience of social research methods to conduct
monitoring and evaluation for humanitarian and development
initiatives/interventions.
·
Demonstrable understanding of conflict/post-conflict development
contexts, with experience in remote-management contexts such as Somalia as an
added asset. Certification in monitoring and accountability is a very strong
asset
·
Knowledge and experience of participatory rural appraisal
methods will also be an asset.
·
Excellent interpersonal skills; the ability to successfully and
effectively liaise with a variety of people in a multicultural set up.
·
At least 3 years of work experience in a similar field; previous
experience with INGO is an asset.
·
Proven commitment to accountable practices.
·
Excellent communications skills (both oral and written) and
report writing skills.
·
Strong team player of high integrity, pleasant personality,
ability to work under least supervision and meet strict deadlines.
·
Strong people management and leadership skills.
·
Ability to work independently.
How to Apply
Qualified candidates with the required skills are invited to
submit their applications their applications accompanied by detailed curriculum
vitae and cover letter as a single document i.e. with the cover letter being on
the first page and the CV starting on the second page detailing three work
related referees and contacts to kenya.jobs@acted.org and received on or before
5.00PM on 24th July 2020 with the subject line as; ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICER_MOMBASA.
Applications sent without this exact subject line will not be
considered.
Note:
Due to the urgency of this position, shortlisting will be done
on rolling basis and ACTED reserves the right to hire before the above
mentioned deadline.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
ACTED will at no stage of recruitment process request candidate
to make payments of any kind. Further, ACTED has not retained any agent in
connection with recruitment.
ACTED is committed to protecting beneficiaries within our
programmes from exploitation and abuse and any kind of misconduct. ACTED has
specific policies, including PSEA and Child Protection, which outlines the
expected behaviour and the responsibility of all staff, beneficiaries,
consultants and other stakeholders and has zero tolerance towards misconducts.
Any candidate offered a job with ACTED will be expected to sign
ACTED’s organizational Policies and Code of Conduct as an annex to their
contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the
provisions of these documents.
ACTED is an Equal Opportunity Employer.