Client Responsiveness and Accountability Officer

Background/IRC Summary: More than 3.6 million people have fled across borders to seek safety in the 1st month since the escalation of conflict in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and over 6.5 million Ukrainians are reported to be displaced. As the vast majority of the displaced are women, girls, and boys, this could become the worst humanitarian crisis Europe has seen in decades.

Between February 7-23, 2022, an IRC team undertook a scoping mission in Poland to better understand the context, humanitarian and civil society landscape, and anticipated service gaps in the event of an escalation of conflict in Ukraine and consequent displacement into neighboring Poland. As of February 24th, the IRC has pivoted to an emergency response to respond to those that have fled Ukraine into Poland and are working both directly and with partner agencies to facilitate immediate assistance that can be used where it is the most needed.

**Job Overview/Summary:**The Clients Responsiveness and Accountability (CRA) Officer reports to the MEAL Coordinator and supports field level implementation of CRA actions. S/he ensures that feedback mechanisms (both proactive and reactive) are established in consultation with the communities; regularly promoted through different media and clients’ feedback is regularly collected, analyzed and responded to in timely manner. S/he also ensures that CRA reports are regularly generated within the agreed frequency and results are presented regularly during project meetings to inform design and delivery of the project. Additionally, the CRA Officer conducts feedback sessions, FGDs and surveys to solicit for clients’ feedback.

Major Responsibilities:

• The CRA Officer is responsible for supporting the MEAL Coordinator with all aspects of designing, planning, and implementing the CR strategy and mechanism throughout the country programme – including Client Responsiveness guidelines, global commitments on accountability to affected population (AAP) and participation revolution, strategic action plan of Poland and agreed standards.
• The CRA Officer will design and develop core processes and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the feedback, reporting, and complaints mechanism, including designing and selection of feedback channels and Do No Harm in project areas.
• Train all country full-time staff and volunteers in accountability principles and practices
• Update/Review the SOPs and Feedback Plans together with the MEAL Coordinator
• Lead on coordination and liaison with programme and support unit staff to ensure successful implementation and compliance with the client responsiveness and accountability strategy and mechanism
• Develop context specific clients’ feedback channels plans (proactive and reactive) for projects as well as providing technical support and guidance on implementation of the different clients’ feedback channels plans in all projects.
• Regularly review and update clients’ feedback channels plans with changing context and situation.
• Communicate the trends in feedback to the MEAL Coordinator, DDP, and Technical Coordinators to ensure that the feedback is reported and taken into consideration during the program design phase.
• Present statistics on feedback received and feedback content in clear formats to highlight feedback trends to the program team, as well as synthesize qualitative feedback in ways which provide the detail that the program team will need to design an appropriate response.
• Conduct regular FGDs and meetings with different stakeholders to solicit feedback on IRC’s work.
• During distributions, establish a help desk/information table for the community members to answer beneficiary comments/questions. After the distribution, prepare help desk reports on the distribution.
• Prepare CRA reports based on consolidated analysis of client feedback recorded via proactive and reactive channels, to be discussed at field meetings, project review meetings for analysis and decision making at the provincial level.

1. Data usage for Action

• Ensure Clients feedbacks data and its analysis is available for senior management, while considering the confidentiality and clients’ protection.
• Ensure that programs adopt and comply with CR standards and tools at design, startup, implementation, and close out of projects.
• Ensure regular flow of Client Responsiveness data from field to country MEAL, analyze and interpret the data to help program management in taking informed decisions.
• Help the programs in assessing the performance at against CR commitments.
• Produce and submit high quality reports on client responsiveness within the agreed timelines clearly demonstrating trends and key lessons learnt.
• Lead documentation and sharing of knowledge and emerging practices on CR internally and externally with the wider stakeholder audience.
• Participate in program coordination meeting and progress against activities and budget

1. Management and Coordination

• Provide oversight of CR activities, team building and the creation of external partnerships like participation in AAP interagency technical working groups
• Responsible for developing work plans as envisaged in the project proposal.
• Facilitate and document regular meetings between partner’s MEAL staff and other stakeholders to oversee and discuss project progress, client’s feedback.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in humanitarian assistance, social work, human rights, international law, social science or related field.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in humanitarian contexts, with a preference for experience in engaging across organizations, in community services and AAP, or in change management and organizational change.
• Extensive expertise in delivering accountability mechanisms, as well as capacity to support effective communication with communities (with a specific focus on empowering women, children, and marginalized groups).
• Ability to package and communicate complex topics through written reports and presentations.
• Excellent facilitation skills, and strong understanding of how to safely and accurately collect feedback from all members of a community regardless of their age, gender, or other diversity factors.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks; proven self-initiative and problem-solving abilities.
• Good written and spoken English and Ukraine language skills
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Good communication, presentation and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent computer skills and competency in Word, Excel (data analysis and visualization), and PowerPoint. CommCare and PowerBI is a strong advantage

Must have the right to work in Poland

Standards of Professional Conduct: The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and makes sure policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons, and several others.

Gender Equality: The IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols, and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Diversity and Inclusion: At the IRC, our diverse clients, partners, and staff have the power, voice, and agency to shape programs and operations. We actively work to end all forms of systemic discrimination and foster an inclusive working environment where everyone feels respected, heard, valued, and supported. The IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all applicants based on merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability. The IRC encourages women to apply and work with us to reach the people most in need of humanitarian assistance, such as women, widows, and children. The IRC is committed to providing a decent and safe work environment that considers needs of women in the workplace, including through maternity leave and safety protocols.

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The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.