Internal/External Job Announcement
About CRS: “Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.”
In Ethiopia, CRS has a long and rich history of providing emergency relief and development assistance to the people of Ethiopia since 1958. At present, CRS/Ethiopia implements multiple projects through different partner organizations. CRS/Ethiopia has a highly diverse portfolio ranging from very large food-supported emergency response to cutting edge development programs. The current CRS/Ethiopia budget stands at $100 million with funding from the U.S. Government, UN agencies, private foundations, individual donors, and CRS private funds.
CRS strictly adheres to its Policy on Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults among its staff, consultants, volunteers, and affiliates. CRS is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer: women, minorities and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
As part of CRS family, you will join the more than 5000 strong and vibrant individuals working globally to accomplish the mission of CRS. CRS/Ethiopia invites you, the qualified candidate, to apply for the following position;
Position Title: | Officer, Accountability (ELRP) |
Duty Station: | Addis Ababa, with 40 – 50% field travel |
Employment Term: | Indefinite Term, contingent upon ELRP funding |
Reports to: | ELRP MEAL Program Manager |
Application Deadline: | June 9, 2017 |
Job Summary:
CRS Ethiopia is seeking an Accountability Officer for the Ethiopian Livelihoods and Resilience Program (ELRP), a five-year USAID Office for Food for Peace (FFP) Title II Development Food Assistance Project (DFAP). The ELRP will focus on building resilience to shocks, enhancing livelihoods and improving food security and nutrition for rural households vulnerable to food insecurity. ELRP will operate in Oromia Region as well as Dire Dawa administrative unit. The Accountability Officer is responsible for ensuring ELRP mechanisms are in place to fulfill two key CRS commitments namely: HAP/CHS (Humanitarian Accountability Partnership/Core Humanitarian Standard) standards and good enough guide especially in regards to information sharing, beneficiaries’ participation, complaints and response mechanism, and accountability in monitoring and evaluation; and CRS’ Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning Policies and Procedures.
Specific Duties
System development
Develop systems and guidelines for CRS staff and implementing partners to consult with male and female beneficiaries to define indicators for ELRP project success.
Help CRS staff and partners to document and respond to all community feedback received.
In collaboration with ELRP programming and MEAL staff, review and refine accountability practices on a periodic basis and address any gaps or challenges that arise.
Establish systems that will ensure ELRP MEAL systems meet donor MEAL requirements.
Track that all reporting requirements have been met by all projects.
Build capacity of all staff, partners and project participants as appropriate in MPP with special emphasis on accountability standards:
Ensure that CRS’ Beneficiary and Donor Accountability Policies and Procedures are widely available to all targeted personnel in a language that they understand
In coordination with ELRP MEAL Program Manager and the broader country program MEAL Community of Practice, use CRS’ MEAL Policies and Procedures to develop training and refresher modules that ensure that all participants have an in-depth understanding of Accountability and are equipped to apply it in their working lives.
Facilitate training for all required personnel using appropriate language, adult learning methodologies and materials.
Establish orientation curriculum on accountability for new ELRP staff in CRS and implementing partners.
Regularly assess effectiveness of Accountability policy trainings and incorporate findings into refresher training modules and improving trainings.
Develop and facilitate training that help all relevant staff to have an understanding of 2010 HAP standard and are equipped to apply it to their work.
Maintain records of training participation and submit to ELRP MEAL Program Manager as required.
Provide informed advice and guidance for personnel, bearing in mind the responsibility of all CRS staff to report suspected and actual breaches of Accountability.
Ensure all beneficiaries are aware of the key elements of CRS’ accountability policy and procedures and the expectations and standards required of CRS staff and partner staff, especially 2010 Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) Standard and how this should be applied within their roles.
Develop and adapt Accountability IEC materials from other countries in language that can be widely understood (including people with low levels of literacy) by CRS’ program participants in Ethiopia.
In coordination with ELRP Managers, facilitate, or support others to facilitate, awareness sessions and promotion of Accountability in a way that can be widely understood by program participants
Regularly assess effectiveness of all information sharing efforts (including MPP awareness raising, beneficiary selection criteria, program decisions) and incorporate findings into revised approaches
Maintain records of Accountability awareness raising and promotion activities, including numbers of participants, and submit to ELRP MEAL Manager as required
Become familiar with the 2010 HAP Standard and its relevance to the work of CRS in Ethiopia with an emphasis on ELRP implementation in Oromia and Dire Dawa
Lead the development, and oversee the implementation, of a plan for CRS to deliver on its minimum accountability standards in emergencies. From the outset assist in putting in place minimum standards on: staff competency, including standard of behavior expected of CRS (and partner organization if appropriate), sharing information, participation, beneficiaries have informed consent before the program starts, who beneficiaries can contact if they wish to complain and apply lessons learned into program plans.
Lead the development of a plan to meet CRS’ global accountability commitments in Ethiopia.
Support program staff to apply HAP principles and standards to their work in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of CRS’ projects in Ethiopia.
Assist program staff in ensuring that the 2010 HAP standard is integrated into each stage of the program cycle
Establish a sustainable Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM) at woreda level which ensures all beneficiaries can make confidential complaints and be confident in response processes
In coordination with program staff and partners and in consultation with program participants, design CRM that all beneficiaries can safely access. The CRM could be used to promote accountability to beneficiaries of CRS and partners staff behavior against the CRS’ values as well as HAP standards
Monitor complaints received and response (follow up) processes through developing and maintaining a logging or tracking mechanism
Adapt and improve the CRM based on monitoring of its effectiveness
Remembering confidentiality, with the Program Managers, analyze patterns and trends in complaints to help CRS improve its programming
Support CRS’ work in Ethiopia by undertaking other tasks as appropriate and required
Minimum Requirement:
Education & Experience
Degree in Social Work/Social Sciences or related field.
Related experience for 5 years with B.A. or 3 years for M.A. Out of which 2 years were hands on experience as Accountability Officer.
Competencies /Knowledge, Ability and Skill
Demonstrated experience in participatory methods and understanding of adult learning principles.
High integrity and willingness to conduct her/himself transparently and open to scrutiny.
Familiarity with work of NGOs is desirable.
Thorough familiarity with principles and current approaches to monitoring and evaluation of relief and development programs using both quantitative and qualitative methods
Demonstrated experience in facilitation skills and training.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong empathy skills and genuine care and respect for needs of others especially women and other marginalized group.
Strong written and spoken English, Amharic and other local languages
The ability to work in a systematic and organized manner.
Ability to respect and maintain confidentiality.
The ability to prioritize competing demands.
Commitment to humanitarian principles and values.
Accountability: Improving our accountability to a range of stakeholders, including beneficiaries, through increased participation, transparent communication, and responsive feedback mechanisms.
Critical Thinking: Engaging with data, challenging biases and assumptions, posing thoughtful questions, pursuing deeper understanding of evidence through reflection and perspective taking, and making informed programming decisions.
Learning: Promoting collaborative learning processes at the project, program and institutional levels, generating robust evidence for project and programmatic learning that leads to action, decision-making and influence.
ICT4D for MEAL: Applying knowledge on information and communication technologies ICT4D, both hardware and software, for opportune and accurate data collection, database management, conducting analyses, and making information easily accessible.
Agency-wide Competencies for all CRS positions:
These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.
Serves with Integrity
Models Stewardship
Cultivates Constructive Relationships
Promotes Learning
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