Position: Accountability Assistant

Department: AMEU

Direct Hierarchy: Senior Accountability Officer

Location: Garbaharey

Starting date: June 2022

Background on ACTED

ACTED is a French humanitarian NGO, founded in 1993, which supports vulnerable populations, affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. 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. 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.

is looking for professionally confident, self-motivated, experienced and committed team player to fill the Accountability Assistant position in Garbaharey, Somalia.

Position Profile:

The Accountability Assistant will be responsible to establish and ensure effective functioning of the Beneficiary Complaints and Response Mechanism, 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:

Beneficiary Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM)

Establishment and Promotion of the CRM

1. Assist establish, implement and monitor the beneficiary Complaints and Response Mechanism (CRM) for the country mission in line with ACTED standard beneficiary CRM procedures;
2. Support building capacity and understanding among ACTED staff, partners and contractors on beneficiary accountability and CRM;
3. Accompany the AME and/or project teams to the field in order to spread awareness about the CRM to beneficiaries, as well as local authorities and stakeholders in ACTED’s areas of implementation, during field visits;
4. Support develop CRM IEC materials in a language that can be widely understood (including people with low levels of literacy);
5. Regularly assess effectiveness of all information-sharing efforts and incorporate findings into revised approaches;
6. Maintain records of CRM awareness raising and promotion activities (including approximate numbers of participants) and submit to Project Managers as required.

Implementation of the CRM

1. Ensure the effective functioning of the beneficiary CRM and that beneficiary complaints/feedback is adequately captured, analyzed, addressed and responded to in a timely manner and utilized by the program and coordination teams;
2. Receive complaints through telephone hotline, in writing and in person;
3. Follow up on complaints received by other ACTED staff with the same diligence as complaints received through the CRM directly;
4. Treat urgent and/or sensitive complaints with the immediate attention they require, and ensure a fast resolution;
5. Maintain confidential and detailed records of all complaints in the CRM database and other electronic and hard copy filing systems, as appropriate;
6. Respond to complaints objectively, accurately, and in line with ACTED guidelines, using information provided by Project Managers, AME Officers/Monitors, Area Coordinators, Technical Coordinators, project documents, FLAT documents and procedures, etc;
7. Follow up on pending complaints with Project, AME, and Coordination staff;
8. Analyze patterns and trends in complaints to help ACTED improve its programming;
9. Produce a monthly analytic CRM report for ACTED staff, following ACTED template;
10. Adapt and improve the CRM based on monitoring of its effectiveness

Other

1. Provide regular and timely updates on progress and challenges to supervisors and other team members;
2. Assist project and AME teams with other activities, as requested by immediate supervisor;
3. Perform any other related activities as assigned by immediate supervisor

Qualifications/Skills Required:

a) Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in Development studies, Social science, communication or other relevant discipline;

b) Prior demonstrated 2 years’ experience in beneficiary accountability and engagement or in similar field in an INGO/NGO – Certification in the same field is a very strong asset

c) Good numerical, report writing and administration skills;

d) Knowledge and understanding of humanitarian standards;

e) High potential solid approach and solution oriented;

f) Proficiency in English language, both written and spoken;

g) Knowledge of local Somali language is a mandatory requirement;

h) Flexibility and ability to multi-task under pressure;

i) Proven ability to work creatively and independently both in the field and in the office;

j) Knowledge and experience of participatory rural appraisal methods will also be an asset;

k) Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; the ability to successfully and effectively liaise with a variety of people in a multicultural set up;

l) Strong team player of high integrity, pleasant personality, ability to manage a high workload and meet tight deadlines