The role of the ACB is to provide guidance to the management of HQAI with particular regard to the following aspects:

i. maintaining a robust complaints process;

ii. providing HQAI with support and advice;

iii. maintaining rules of impartiality, of confidentiality and avoiding conflicts of interest in all the work of the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative;

iv. assisting with the development of policies relating to impartiality and counteracting the risk of financial considerations infringing on the independence of decisions;

v. advising on socialising the services provided by HQAI with all stakeholders, including HQAI users (especially I/NNGOs and CSOs), aid beneficiaries and communities; multilateral agencies; bilateral donors, and other stakeholders concerned with integrity and accountability in the delivery of aid and associated services;

vi. providing quality control of HQAI’s certification decisions;

vii. appointing an appeal panel, when required (Chair);

viii. review annual management reports provided by HQAI.

3. Tasks & Responsibilities

The ACB meets at least twice a year (online), or more frequently if the ACB deems necessary.

A minimum of 50% of the members of the ACB must be present at any meeting to form a quorum.

At each meeting the ACB shall as a minimum, review the following items

i. all quality assurance assessments completed since the previous meeting;

ii. a justification of all Major Weaknesses or Major Corrective Actions issued during the reporting period;

iii. all situations where a potential conflict of interest may have existed (questioning of impartiality), and the appropriateness of the actions taken to address each such situation;

iv. all instances where audited partners and/or interested parties have expressed dissatisfaction with HQAI’s services;

v. any significant change in HQAI’s schemes (benchmarking, verification and certification);

vi. HQAI’s updated risk matrix.

Once per year the ACB conducts sample-based quality control of certification decisions.

The ACB may establish ad hoc sub-committees to consider specific matters which it deems to require in-depth study.

The Chair of the ACB will set-up an Appeal Panel in the event of an organisation appealing a quality assurance decision of HQAI (according to POL049 Appeal policy and PRO049 Appeal Procedure).

All meetings are facilitated by the Chair, who also reports ACB matters to the Board of Directors (four times a year) and holds additional responsibilities, including in managing processes amongst ACB members and with the Secretariat.

The ACB membership is home-based. Meetings are usually online. Should face-to-face meetings be organised travel expenses will be covered by HQAI.

Also read HQAI’s Articles of Association at this link: GOV001.

4. Timing and duration

ACB membership shall be for a period of four (4) years, renewable once (pending approval by the General Assembly).

The proposed new membership is planned to start in Q4 2024, pending election by the General Assembly.

5. Qualifications and skills

The members of the ACB shall be well experienced (minimum five years) and qualified professionals in their respective fields. Collectively they should represent the following expertise:

i. Knowledge of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and other relevant standards applicable to organisations that work with people affected by crisis

ii. Experience of verification and/or quality assurance and/or accreditation processes;

iii. Experience in dealing with complaints and appeals in a mediator or ombudsman role;

iv. Experience in the development of policies relating to impartiality and independence;

v. Experience in ethics and integrity;

vi. Experience in legal matters;

vii. Fluency in English.

The members of the ACB shall be able to represent the interest of the following HQAI stakeholder’s categories:

i. national and international aid organisations;

ii. international aid experts;

iii. donors / due diligence processes;

iv. auditors.

This is a key opportunity to invest your skills, experience and time in a gratifying pro-bono role to strengthen accountability in the aid sector. If you are excited by this proposition and can demonstrate ability to understand, analyse and review technically complex information, we would be delighted to hear from you.