Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) Coordinator – Morocco EQ Response

Organizational Context

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 191-member National Societies. The overall aim of IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.” IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises. IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of the IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into three main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Operations Coordination; (ii) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization; and (iii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services.

IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas. IFRC also has country cluster delegation and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.

IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Morocco on September 8, killing and injuring thousands of people and causing widespread destruction. The Moroccan Red Crescent Society (MRCS) responded immediately, providing first aid and psychosocial support, helping transport the injured to hospitals, evacuating people from damaged buildings and providing dignified burial management. Through this appeal, the IFRC is supporting MRCS to meet the immediate and early recovery needs of 500,000 affected people. Priorities include providing food and safe water, essential household items, shelter support, health and mental health services, and cash assistance.

The Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) Coordinator will lead on the implementation of the Earthquake Federation-wide plan and overall the operation and longer-term programmes to adopt innovative approaches to better understand and engage with people and communities and help them address unhealthy and unsafe practices. The incumbent will work collaboratively with all sectors and partners to ensure people and communities, vulnerable to and affected by the earthquake, are at the centre of what we do. The Coordinator will support a set of activities that embed and integrate participation, communication, feedback and learning throughout the operation.

Job Purpose

The CEA Coordinator, under the line management of the Morocco Earthquake Operations Manager is accountable for ensuring quality technical leadership and guidance to shape and expand the community engagement approach as a key contribution towards supporting response and recovery efforts and contributing to integrated community resilience efforts. The role provides advice to and promotes quality and accountability in the operation and other programmes. The Coordinator will support the National Society and IFRC teams to systematically listen to, engage and communicate with people and communities to better understand their diverse needs, vulnerabilities, and capacities, gather, respond to and act on feedback and input about their priorities and preferences; and to provide safe and equitable access and opportunities to actively participate in decisions that affect them. The incumbent will ultimately contribute to enhance the impact, reach and efficiency of the emergency response operation and recovery efforts through the integration and coordination of CEA activities and approaches. The position will provide technical advice and training to build the capacity of staff to integrate a more systematic approach to CEA throughout the programme and disaster cycle. The CEA Coordinator will be responsible for driving the development of CEA across emergency operations at both country and regional levels. The CEA Coordinator will develop or participate in active networks with external organizations and actors to ensure that CEA approaches and activities are integrated with wider sector initiatives.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

CEA Mainstreaming

1. Manage the CEA budget and lead mobilization of resources for on-going and future CEA initiatives, closely with the Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilization (SPRM) Unit.
2. Define the long-term plan and strategy to mainstream the CEA component effectively into the operation, recovery and resilience strengthening plans and to meet the specific needs of affected people and ensure their participation.
3. Work closely with sectoral colleagues to help them identify gaps in their approach to CEA and then supporting them to address these by integrating and/or scaling up an appropriate mix of approaches and activities to communicating and engaging with affected people and communities within their programmes and operations, including strategies to promote equal access and participation of all gender identities, ages, disabilities, and backgrounds.
4. Engage in dialogue with MRCS to integrate CEA in their strategies and ensure CEA issues are mainstreamed into humanitarian action and properly coordinated. Set out by coordinating with the NSs how CEA activities and approaches will be institutionalized in the longer term.
5. Oversee the rolling out of CEA approaches across the operations and make recommendations on operational strategies to ensure strengthened engagement of and accountability to people and communities, based on the Movement CEA Commitments, minimum actions, guidelines, tools and methodologies.
6. Identify partnership opportunities with key local and international partners.

Capacity Building

1. Coordinate the training of frontline staff and volunteers on essential CEA aspects, including complaints handling skills and ensuring that community feedback loops are closed. Provide coaching to CEA focal points across the National Society.
2. Advocate for the importance of CEA with senior management, staff and volunteers through presentations, briefing sessions and CEA trainings.
3. Advise on the rolling out and adaptation of CEA Movement tools, methodologies, trainings, and activities, as defined in the CEA Movement guide and toolkit.
4. Support the NSs to develop policies, SoPs and strategies to institutionalize CEA in the longer term.
5. Guide evidence-based learning by assessing and monitoring levels of community engagement through research, impact surveys, perception studies and case studies.

Community Participation

1. Ensure that CEA activities and approaches are included in operational plans and budgets and supports the operation to achieve its aims.
2. Identify existing or ongoing assessment plans (external and internal) and ensure that relevant CEA components are integrated into these plans. Guide the process of defining CEA assessments needs (based on secondary data review) and carry out CEA consultations with communities in the operational areas to assess the socio-cultural environment, information needs and trusted and accessible communication channels, ensuring the assessments are transparent, inclusive and participatory.
3. In coordination with IFRC and Moroccan Red Crescent branch-level operational teams, lead the process to routinely adapt programmes and plans based on community feedback and participatory processes.
4. Support all programme sector teams to set up and manage mechanisms for sharing relevant, timely and appropriate information with communities about beneficiary selection criteria, processes for service provision and changes in operational plans, amongst others. Cross-cutting with WASH, Shelter, Relief etc. operations for advice on implementation of CEA policies within their teams.
5. Advise MRC staff to ensure women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups have equal access to information channels and feedback mechanisms particular to their needs and taking into account any specific protection issues.

Community Intelligence

1. Design, plan and coordinate the rolling out of social science assessments, surveys and community consultations at all stages of the response to collect insights on many cultural and contextual factors that could help or hinder an effective response. Rapid (i.e Knowledge, attitudes and practices surveys, FGDs, doers and non-doers) analysis and other surveys.
2. Coordinate the analysis of the data, identifying gaps and trends related to community concerns, beliefs, and feedback, and support the sharing of community insights (from community feedback systems) in collaboration with NS field IM Officers and with the appropriate agencies and authorities.
3. Develop strategies and SOPs to manage risks around the collection, storage and reporting of sensitive information and data.

Evidence-based Advocacy

1. Advocate with national and international stakeholders to increase their reach and impact by integrating in their interventions methods to gain a deeper understanding of community perceptions, beliefs, culture & values and to implement innovative behaviour and social change communication activities.
2. Assess/synthetize and ensure usage across operations teams of the most relevant social sciences research, impact surveys and perception data (including social-cultural data, sources of vulnerabilities, community structures and power dynamics) to assess and monitor communities’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to targeted populations.
3. Work closely with the PMER team to ensure the inclusion of CEA in key processes and activities related to longer-term planning across MENA Region.

Duties applicable to all staff

1. Actively work towards the achievement of the IFRC Secretariat’s goals.
2. Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles.
3. Perform any other work-related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager.

Education

• Relevant university education in social sciences/behavioural/communication sciences or an equivalent of qualifying experience – Required
• WORC, Basic Delegates Training Course (BTC), IMPACT or equivalent knowledge – Required

Experience

• Five years’ experience in beneficiary communication, social mobilization, community engagement, community media and/or media for development with at least 5 years in developing countries – Required
• Experience in setting up and managing media, communication and engagement tools such as social media, radio, TV, SMS, cinema/drama and community feedback mechanisms – Required
• Proven experience in strategic communication processes for behaviour change and development as well as participatory programming in emergencies – Required
• Solid experience in delivering community engagement/beneficiary communication capacity building, project management support and training, including developing community engagement tools and feedback mechanisms – Required
• Knowledge about community communication interventions under emergency situations, in complex and delicate situations – Required
• Experience of designing and implementing assessments, community consultations, research and/or focus groups discussions – Required
• Experienced project manager able to work with others, particularly with National Societies, to develop and manage clear strategies, budgets, work plans, log frames and M & E plans – Required
• Demonstrated professional experience in an organization within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, or in an international organization or NGO – Required
• Experience in the MENA region – Preferred
• Experience setting up and managing accountability to community systems. For example, feedback and complaints mechanisms, rumor tracking systems, or participatory planning processes – Required
• Experience of coaching, training and developing local staff and volunteers in order to build long-term capacity and create ownership – Required

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

• Self-supporting in computers (Email, Internet, spread sheets, word-processing, etc.) – Required
• Good understanding of – or training in – current developments in the field of communication with communities, behavioural and social sciences, community engagement planning and processes, community media – Required
• Good understanding of strategic communication planning, behaviour analysis, formative research and evaluation of communication interventions – Preferred
• Good understanding of working in migration, refugee and displacement contexts or in conflict sensitive environments – Preferred
• Proven knowledge of existing IFRC participatory approaches to programming, such as CBHFA, VCA, PHAST, CBDRR, PPP and BPI – Required
• Advanced analytical skills and able to capture learning and use it to make improvements in programming – Preferred
• Excellent project management skills, able to work under pressure and manage multiple projects simultaneously, to a high standard and to meet the deadlines – Required
• Good knowledge of gender and diversity issues in humanitarian programming – Preferred
• Good planning skills, with the ability to identify areas for improvements in programmes, operations and NS/IFRC ways of working through the integration of CEA approaches and activities – Required
• Ability to multi task, work under pressure and to have advanced analytical skills – Required
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and networking skills, able to build relationships with people at all levels of the organization across multiple countries and cultures, both in person and remotely, to build commitment and support for CEA – Required
• Good coordination and negotiation skills, with the capacity to build partnerships with internal and external organizations and bring people together to collaborate on CEA approaches and activities – Required

Languages

• Fluent spoken and written Arabic and/or French – Required
• Good command of another IFRC official language (English) – Required

Competencies, Values and Comments

• Core competencies: Communications, Collaboration & Teamwork, Judgement & Decision, National Society & Customer Relations, Creativity & Innovation, Building Trust.
• Managerial competencies: Managing Performance, Managing Staff Development.
• Functional competencies: Strategic Orientation, Building Alliances, Leadership, Empowering Others.
• Values: Respect for Diversity, Integrity, Professionalism, Accountability.

NB: We encourage qualified Moroccan nationals to submit their applications, whereby if selected, the contract will be applied as national.

IFRC ensures equal employment opportunities.