Senior Community Accountability Officer (National position)

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps is responding to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the surrounding region that has been affected by war since 2014 and has rapidly escalated as a result of the Russian invasion of February 2022. Ukrainian team members, their families and their loved ones have been exposed to persistent attacks and many have witnessed death and destruction first-hand, experienced injuries, gone without basic supplies and resources, and have had to flee their homes. Many continue to live with the psychological and physical trauma from this in addition to ongoing daily worry, fear, and uncertainty. As the war in Ukraine continues, team members also face enhanced danger through their humanitarian work.

Dealing with past and ongoing psychological trauma is often associated with stigma and misunderstanding which results in delayed, or no, care seeking and support. Being able to quickly and effectively support team members with basic psychosocial support, identify team members who need additional and more specialized support, and ensure early referral is critical to improving their overall outcomes. Context specific and culturally appropriate support is essential for ensuring Mercy Corps’ duty of care to our team members. Being able to communicate with team members’ families, as needed, is also a role that requires the support of an experienced psychosocial support professional.

In addition to the effects of war, team members face health threats such as COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks which may occur as a result of damaged infrastructure.

Accountability and Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism

Accountability to affected populations (AAP) is at the core at Mercy Corps’ programing and we are committed to accountability to all our stakeholders, the resources that are entrusted to us, and especially to the people we serve.

Mercy Corps takes a participatory approach in engaging with local partners and communities throughout the program design and implementation processes. The Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism (CARM) is an essential part of Mercy Corps’ commitment to program quality, integrity, and to enable communities to provide feedback and continuously influence and shape programs. It further is a mechanism for the prevention of corruption, fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse. Mercy Corps’ CARM in Ukraine consists of multiple two-way channels and a database system to manage feedback. CARM provides individuals, partner organizations, local groups, and other stakeholders with a way of raising questions, ideas, suggestions, and complaints with Mercy Corps – while also remaining safe and secure and receiving a timely response from our organization.

General Position Summary

The Senior Community Accountability Officer is a key team member responsible for working with partners and/or implementing Mercy Corps CARM. The position holder may supervise one or more Community Accountability Officers in Mercy Corps’ sub-offices.

In situations where our partners do not have their own community accountability reporting mechanism, the Senior Officer is responsible for ensuring that the partner’s staff advertises Mercy Corps CARM channels, and that all feedback is handled by Mercy Corps Community Accountability Officers according to our developed standard operating procedures.

In situations where the partner is developing their own community accountability reporting mechanism, the Senior Community Accountability Officer will assist in capacity strengthening activities with those partners, including training and mentoring, while coordinating with Mercy Corps’ Community Accountability Manager and Partnerships Officers in these duties.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

Planning & Implementation

• In locations and communities where programming is new, coordinate community discussions to determine which feedback channels are appropriate to ensure that feedback channels are accessible, known, and trusted by the community.
• Test awareness raising materials and important messages to communities, while working with our partners to messages to ensure meaning is communicated clearly.
• Ensure the distribution of awareness raising materials and delivery of key messages that inform community members on how to use CARM across all field locations.
• Continuously monitor, review and update program CARM Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the program area with the program team.
• Supervise the implementation and monitoring of Country CARM Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for guidance on how all feedback and complaints are recorded, graded and responded to.
  • Support timely recording of feedback and daily updating of country CARM database.
  • Ensure that appropriate action is taken, through the use of internal referral system, FAQs, and decision making by case management committees (CMC/s), which will involve collaboration with our partners when needed.
  • Ensure all ethics-related reports are immediately escalated to the Headquarters Ethics team.
  • Ensure compliance of global data protection and privacy standards such as the GDPR while confidentially receiving, following up on, and reporting on CARM feedback received.

Monitoring & Adaption

• Monitor intervention sites, with help from program staff, to ensure that feedback channels are functioning
• Review dashboard reports with the Community Accountability Manager, on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) data related to CARM
• Develop, implement, and monitor action plans to address weaknesses in CARM – such as plans to remove barriers preventing participation by marginalized groups and ways to reduce average case closure times.

Capacity Development / Sharing

• Train and mentor Community Accountability Officers, in ways that align with our capacity development strategy that has been established and monitored by the Community Accountability Advisor and Community Accountability Manager
• Help to implement capacity sharing plans with all partner organizations who are transitioning, with Mercy Corps’ support, to managing their own CARM

Position Accountability:

Reports Directly To: Community Accountability Manager

Works Directly With: Community Accountability Officer/s, Community Accountability Coordinator, Program and Partnership teams, MEL Team, Operations Teams and Ethics/Assurance/Safeguarding.

Works Closely with: All Mercy Corps Ukraine Response staff members

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders:

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in an area related to social science and humanities (sociology, anthropology, psychology, etc.), social work, IT, education, or other related fields is preferred
• Candidates with previous professional experience in customer service, market research, project management, IT, or other related areas are encouraged to apply.
• Excellent listening, interpersonal, communication and networking skills; and the ability to work with diversified populations.
• Experience in an international or local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) is an asset.
• Experience in remote data collection, and data management.
• Excellent Computer skills: proficiency in MS Office package, and strong knowledge of database management is required.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced emergency response environment and adapt to the rapidly evolving context as necessary.
• High level of self-awareness and self-development with the maturity to deal with constructive feedback.
• Fluency in Ukrainian is required. Proficiency in Russian and English is preferred.

Success Factors: Any skills gained through education, volunteering, work, or life experience that are relevant for the position will be considered. Be sure to fully explain transferable skills and success factors and how they apply to this position in your cover letter.

The successful Senior Community Accountability Officer will have good communication and interpersonal skills, good attention to detail, will be committed to working long hours, and with Mercy Corps stakeholders regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, abilities or gender. S/he will be highly motivated, and capable to work with or without direct supervision. Other factors include:

• The ability to work under pressure
• Willingness and ability to quickly learn new information/concepts and implement them
• Strong team player with initiative and positive attitude towards problem solving
• A learning approach to work with excellent capacity building skills
• Attention to detail and patience to double check data results
• Self-starter, multi-tasker, solution-seeker, and innovator

Ongoing Learning: In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Safeguarding & Ethics: Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.