Regional Coordinator, Community Engagement and Accountability

Job Purpose

The Regional Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) coordinator will lead the Community Engagement and Accountability approach across the Europe region. The role works closely with IFRC CEA delegates and staff based in country clusters as well as National Societies and IFRC country offices across the region and the Red Cross EU office in Brussels.

The Community Engagement and Accountability approach in Europe includes:

• Ensuring the integration of a community engagement/accountability approaches throughout humanitarian responses with a particular focus on the Ukraine response and impacted countries. This comprises information provision, the establishment of well-functioning feedback systems, sector-specific approaches including for cash-based assistance, health and shelter programmes; strengthening community relations and participation of communities in programme design and decision-making.
• Building on and strengthening the experience and capacities of National Societies in risk communication and community engagement as part of the COVID-19 response.
• Support the institutionalization of community engagement/accountability approaches within National Societies.
• Engaging in, and leading where appropriate, coordination with Movement partners and inter-agency fora to ensure consistent and coherent approaches.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Management Support and Strategy:

• Advise the leadership of the RoE to ensure strategic coherence, alignment and integration of CEA across the IFRC strategy and programmes including in the Ukraine response.
• Lead the development and, when needed adaptation of the CEA strategy and roadmap for CEA rollout and capacity-strengthening across the relevant National Societies in the region.
• Promote the global CEA strategic framework, standards, tools and methodologies relevant to the response to IFRC offices and National Societies in the region.
• Lead on coordinating CEA colleagues based in clusters and countries outside of the cluster structure to ensure coherence across IFRC CEA approach to the Ukraine crisis response and to maximise opportunities for cross-border cooperation.
• Identify capacity needs and contribute to building a network of CEA resources (within and outside of the Movement) that can be called on to support CEA activities in the response.
• Work closely with the Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (PMER) team to ensure the inclusion of CEA in key processes and activities related to the response.
• Manage the regional CEA budget and lead mobilization of resources for on-going and future CEA initiatives, closely with the Partnership and Resource Development (PRD) Unit.
• Oversee the preparation of accurate and timely CEA operational analyses and reporting.

Strengthen capacity

• Lead regional capacity strengthening initiatives for the National Societies including in support of the Ukraine response. Identify opportunities to build the cadre of CEA resources in the region e.g. through supported “developing delegate roles”.
• Oversee the adaptation and adoption of global RC/CEA tools, methodologies, and resources such as the IFRC CEA guide and toolkit, including the IFRC Feedback Kit, and the IASC feedback data operational guiding principles and standards, and the Movement-wide commitments for Community Engagement and Accountability. Identify gaps and commission the production of new products and processes to support the application of guidance.

Ensure relevant and accessible information provision

• Engage with IFRC and National Society focal points to ensure relevant, accessible information provision to people affected by crises. Guide country offices and National Societies to establish agile systems for tracking and responding to evolving information needs in humanitarian contexts.

Establish feedback mechanisms

• Recommend feedback mechanisms at the national and local levels to build National Societies’ responsiveness to community priorities. Ensure systems are in place to respond to feedback through programme adaptation, communication and community initiatives.
• Roll out regional research e.g. perception surveys to gain a deeper understanding of community perceptions, beliefs, rumors and complaints and trends across the region including in response to migration and other issues of concern e.g. health risks.

Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)

Develop integrated and sector-specific CEA approaches

• Oversee and develop sector-specific CEA approaches working in collaboration with the relevant sector leads.
• Work in close cooperation with Protection, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI) colleagues to ensure connectivity and coherence in approaches.

Ensure coherence and partnership across CEA approaches

• Works closely with Movement partners to support the rolling out of coherent and consistent CEA approaches across the region.
• Supports National Societies in actively engaging with in country coordination mechanisms and stakeholders to ensure synergy, coherence, and harmonization of community engagement actions.
• Create partnership opportunities with key local and international partners. Including interagency groups e.g. RCCE, inter-agency Ukraine response regional and country AAP working groups.

Lead CEA-related learning across the cluster

• Lead initiatives to support evidence-based learning and community-informed humanitarian diplomacy. Engages in dialogue with key stakeholders’ leadership to ensure community engagement issues and insights drive humanitarian action.
• Lead IFRC CEA regional learning initiatives and participate in regional CEA team structures and learning processes.

Education

• An advanced university degree in a relevant area such as social sciences/behavioral/communication sciences or equivalent experience is required
• Basic delegate training course, IMPACT or equivalent knowledge is required

Experience

• 7 years of experience in a CEA-related role, for example, beneficiary communication, social mobilization, community engagement, communication for development, accountability officer is required
• Experience in emergency response settings including conflict-affected, migration and/or refugee contexts is required
• Experience in a coordination role, including with multi-sectoral stakeholders is required
• Experience in leading community engagement approaches and capacity building efforts of local organizations is required
• Experience in planning targeted and appropriate behavior change approaches is preferred
• Experience of designing and implementing assessments, community consultations, research activities is required
• Experience in leading teams and managing people is required
• Experience within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is preferred
• Experience in an international organization or NGO is required

Knowledge, Skills and Language

• Good understanding of current developments in the field of communication with communities, behavioral and social sciences, community engagement processes, strategic communication, research approaches is required
• Good understanding of CEA issues in emergencies contexts is required
• Sensitivity to challenging political contexts and understanding of risk management processes is required
• Excellent analytical skills and knowledge of quantitative, qualitative, and participatory research methodologies and analysis is required
• Advanced analytical skills, able to capture learning and use it to make improvements in programming and operations is required
• 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 is required
• Good knowledge of gender and diversity issues in humanitarian programming is required
• Facilitations and training skills is required
• Fluently spoken and written English is required
• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic) is preferred
• Good command of Ukrainian is preferred

Competencies and Values

• Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability
• Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust