Lebanon Humanitarian & Development NGOs Forum (LHDF) - PSEAH & AAP Officer

The LHDF is committed to ensuring accountability to affected populations (AAP) and preventing and responding to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEAH). The AAP and PSEAH Officer will play a critical role in ensuring that all member organizations understand and adhere to these standards. The AAP and PSEAH Officer will support the Forum’s Secretariat, Steering Committee, and LHDF members in advancing the AAP & PSEAH agenda in Lebanon, in line with the Forum’s mandate and priorities, to contribute to a safe and respectful work environment, protect beneficiaries from SEAH, and ensure that forum’s organization are accountable to the populations they serve.

Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)

LHDF aims to strengthen accountability among organizations working in humanitarian assistance and development in Lebanon. Accordingly, the AAP related responsibilities of the AAP and PSEAH officer will include:

• Promoting AAP's principles and good practices: this includes sharing knowledge, resources, tools, and case studies that demonstrate effective AAP implementation.
• Facilitating learning and peer exchange and provide a platform for members to share experiences, challenges, and solutions related to AAP.
• Strengthening capacity: organize and facilitate training and capacity-strengthening for members on various aspects of AAP.
• Advocating for AAP: inform the advocacy efforts of the LHDF Secretariat on AAP with policymakers, donors, and other stakeholders.
• Representing LHDF in AAP national or regional platforms
• Managing the AAP Community of Practice (CoP) on Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) by ensuring a work plan is in place for the CoP, which is updated regularly and implemented promptly, maintaining regular communication with CoP members, supporting to LHDF members to document and share learning, organizing the CoP meetings and any other activities (e.g. in-person events and training)

To support the AAP CoP, the AAP/PSEA focal point will set up a small reference group (consisting of 2-3 AAP focal points from LHDF members), which will support the development and implementation of the work plan.

CoP will undertake a variety of activities to achieve its mandate, including:

• Regular online CoP meetings (once every two months), which can be used to share updates, discuss specific topics, exchange learning, discuss challenges, etc.
• Additional events and activities, as needed, to competent regular CoP meetings
• Trainings to support capacity strengthening, informed by the needs of CoP members (in person and online)
• Knowledge Management: ensure there is an online environment where CoP members can access resources (such as guidance, tools and other documents, whether developed by LHDF or its individual members)
• Documenting and sharing learning of CoP members
• As and when appropriate, the CoP will invite representatives of Affected Communities, academics or representatives of INGOs/UN agencies.

AAP Communication

The AAP/PSEAH Focal Point of the LHDF Secretariat will ensure regular communication with the CoP members. This will be done through:

• E-mails for more formal updates and invites to meetings/events/etc.
• WhatsApp group to support more informal communication and ensure easy connections between members of the CoP
• Monthly Digest via e-mail to highlight important updates, resources, studies, etc.

AAP Advocacy

The AAP CoP will also function as a platform to identify key challenges, potential solutions and other concerns that require joint advocacy that the LHDF Secretariat can engage in, with the HCT. The LHDF Secretariat will ensure the feedback loop is closed with the AAP CoP on progress on advocacy efforts.

Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (PSEAH)

• Mapping PSEA focal points for each LHDF member and preparing a contact list with their names and alternative focal points.
• Conducting monthly meetings with PSEA focal point of LHDF membership to share updates and support to them.

• Supporting the tracking and reporting of LHDF’s commitments on PSEAH
• Supporting PSEAH compliance and capacity building with LHDF members, in line with global UN and IASC policies and best practices. This includes implementation of personnel codes of conduct, PSEAH policies, strengthening HR practices, internal and external reporting procedures, ensuring support for SEAH survivors and requirements for investigations and protection of whistleblowers.

• Representing LHDF at the PSEA Network meetings, workshops and related events and ensure decisions and resources, SOPs and guidelines developed by the PSEA Network are communicated to LHDF members.
• Encouraging LHDF members to register in the PSEA network, share with them all needed documents and support for them to join the network.
• Attending PSEA working groups with inter agency as LHDF was elected as a member of this community till March 2022.
• Supporting the Inter-Agency PSEA Coordinator in the planning and delivery of PSEAH training to LNGOs on the values and standards of behavior expected of LNGOs, PSEAH compliance in line with global standard and best practices, how to take and action SEAH complaints, including ensuring support for survivors, reporting and investigations
• Supporting the Inter-Agency PSEA Coordinator in the mapping of PSEA capacity and identification risks among LHDF members and partners and in the implementation of associated risk management measures.
• Jointly with Inter-Agency PSEA coordinator recommending action to integrate inter-agency community-based complaints and feedback mechanisms (CBCMs), or where required support LNGOs in developing complaints and feedback mechanism, and PSEA Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and reporting procedures

• Supporting the IA PSEA coordinator in monitoring and reporting on PSEA, including SEA cases, trained PSEA SEA Focal Points and appropriate PSEA policies for LNGOs.

• Engaging with partners and women, girls, boys, and men of communities of concern to raise awareness on their rights, standard of conduct and PSEA, and to design, implementation and evaluation of CBCMs to ensure that established mechanisms are confidential, culturally appropriate and accessible to all, and to ensure affected communities have access to required information about their rights and reporting channels

• Performing other duties, as required.