Accountability Officer

CONCERN WORLDWIDE IN LEBANON JOB DESCRIPTION  ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICER               Job Identification  Job Title:                              Accountability Officer Location:                              Akkar district, North Lebanon Reporting Line:                 Emergency Coordinator/Programme Manager Staff Reporting:                                None Job Status:                          Temporary – 6 months Job Grade:                          Grade 6 Prepared by:                      Emergency Coordinator Date Prepared:                 10 June 2013 Approved by:                    Country Director   Job Summary The Accountability Officer is responsible for ensuring mechanisms are in place in Concern’s programmes to fulfill two key Concern commitments namely: HAP (Humanitarian Accountability Partnership) standards especially in regards to information sharing, beneficiaries’ participation, complaints and response mechanism, and accountability in monitoring and evaluation; and Concern’s Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4).  Whilst ultimately it is the responsibility of all staff to follow P4 and embed the 2010 HAP standard within the organization, the Accountability Officer will be the primary support person, will build capacity, monitor our performance against 2010 HAP standard, and, crucially, will, in the first instance be the first point of contact for beneficiary complaints.  As such the Accountability Officer will need to be neutral and establish a role and mechanisms based on the highest integrity which beneficiaries will trust.  Duties and Responsibilities Train and support all staff, contractors, partners etc in Concern’s Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4) and Concern Code of Conduct a)      Ensure that P4 and Code of Conduct is widely available to all targeted personnel in a language that they understand b)      In coordination with HR Manager and Programme Manager, and using Concern’s P4 guidelines, develop training and refresher modules that ensure that all participants have an indepth understanding of P4 and are equipped to apply it in their working lives. c)       Facilitate P4 training for all required personnel using appropriate language, adult learning methodologies and materials d)      Regularly assess effectiveness of P4 trainings and incorporate findings into refresher training module and improving trainings e)      Maintain records of training participation and submit to HR Manager as required f)       Be available to provide informed advice and guidance for personnel, bearing in mind the responsibility of all Concern staff to report suspected and actual breeches of P4 g)      Use existing and modify Concern’s P4 brochures and posters to promote awareness of P4 as appropriate   Ensure all beneficiaries are aware of the key elements of Concern’s P4 and the expectations and standards required of Concern staff, contractors, partner staff etc so they can hold them to account against P4 and Code of Conduct a)      Develop and adapt P4 IEC materials from other countries in language that can be widely understood (including people with low levels of literacy) by Concern’s programme participants in Lebanon.  Where appropriate combine this with information that Concern is required to share about the organization and our programming in Lebanon (as per our commitment to 2010 HAP standards). b)      In coordination with Project Managers, facilitate, or support others to facilitate, awareness sessions and promotion of P4 in a way that can be widely understood by programme participants c)       Regularly assess effectiveness of all information sharing efforts (including P4 awareness raising, beneficiary selection criteria, programme decisions etc) and incorporate findings into revised approaches d)      Maintain records of P4 awareness raising and promotion activities (including approximate numbers of participants) and submit to Programme Manager as required   Support all Concern staff to understand 2010 Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) Standard and how this should be applied within their roles a)      Become familiar with the 2010 HAP Standard and its relevance to the work of Concern in Lebanon b)      Lead the development, and oversee the implementation, of a plan for Concern Worldwide 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 behaviour expected of Concern (and partner organisation if appropriate), sharing information, participation, beneficiaries have informed consent before the programme starts, who beneficiaries can contact if they wish to complain and apply lessons learned into programme plans. c)       Building up our progress on minimum accountability standards, lead the development of a plan to meet Concern’s global accountability commitments in Lebanon d)      Ensure that the 2010 HAP standard is widely available to all staff in a language that they understand e)      In coordination with Programme Manager, 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 f)       Maintain records of training participation and submit to HR Manager as required g)      Support programme staff to apply HAP principles and standards to their work in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Concern’s projects in Lebanon.  This could involve reviewing project plans to ensure they reflect 2010 HAP standard and developing activities with Project Managers to promote compliance with 2010 HAP standard h)      As the focal person for Concern staff in regards to accountability , be available to provide informed advice and guidance for personnel i)        Remembering that HAP is a system of quality management, help programme and operations staff to use 2010 HAP standard as a basis for them to assess their effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement j)        Develop IEC to promote awareness of 2010 HAP standard by adapting  existing tools for each HAP benchmark to assist in integrating accountability, including pictorial images on accountability commitments, and P4 k)      Assist programme staff in ensuring that the 2010 HAP standard is integrated into each stage of the programme cycle.    Establish a sustainable Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM) in each site which ensures all beneficiaries can make confidential complaints and be confident in response processes a)      Using 2010 HAP standard and available tools, in coordination with programme staff, and in consultation with programme participants, design CRM that all beneficiaries can safely access. It is suggested that the feasibility of establishing a hotline is gauged as a starting place for the CRM.  The CRM could be used to promote accountability to beneficiaries of Concern staff behaviour against the P4 as well as HAP standards b)      Monitor complaints received and response (follow up) processes through developing and maintaining a logging or tracking mechanism c)       Adapt and improve the CRM based on monitoring of its effectiveness d)      Remembering confidentiality, with the Programme Manager, analyse patterns and trends in complaints to help Concern improve its programming   Monitor Concern’s performance in regards to P4 and 2010 HAP standard and provide regular reports to supervisor or Country Director   Support Concern’s work in Lebanon by undertaking other tasks as appropriate and required     Skills, Qualifications, Experience and Attitude Required   Degree in Social Work/Social Sciences or equivalent High integrity and willingness to conduct her/himself transparently      and open to scrutiny Familiarity with work of NGOs and with refugees is desirable Training development and facilitation skills highly desirable Excellent verbal communication skills especially in Arabic Strong empathy skills and genuine care and respect for needs of      others especially female refugees A belief in empowering marginalized and disenfranchised people Strong written and spoken English The ability to work in a systematic and organized manner Ability to respect and maintain confidentiality Strong negotiation skills The ability to prioritise competing demands. Commitment to humanitarian principles and values Commitment to Concern equal opportunity and gender practices, Concern’s      Programme Participant Protection Policy and Concern’s accountability      commitments       CONCERN STAFF CODE OF CONDUCT AND PROGRAMME PARTICIPANT PROTECTION POLICY Concern Worldwide has a staff Code of Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy which have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern Staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behaviour expected from them. In this context staff has the responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standard in day to day conduct in their work place in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Programme participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract employment. Any breach of Concern Staff Code of Conduct or the Programme participant Protection Policy by employees of Concern Worldwide during the course of their employment will result in disciplinary action up to, and including dismissal.   Counter Terrorism Policy   ‘Concern receives a substantial amount of funding from external donors each year.  Increasingly donors are introducing requirements whereby future funding is conditional on Concern ensuring that the names of any new employee or volunteer do not appear on terrorism lists generated by the European Union (List of person, groups and entities to which Regulation (EC No. 2580/2001 applies), the US Government (Office of Foreign Assets Control list of specially designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) and the United Nations (Consolidated List).    ‘Any offer of employment (either paid or voluntary) with Concern Worldwide will not be made pending a clearance check being conducted on the applicant.  For additional information please consult our web site or contact the Human Resource Division in our Head Office.   By submitting a formal application for paid or voluntary employment to Concern, you agree to Concern carrying out a clearance check as outlined above and that Concern will not proceed to recruit you should your name appear on any of the aforementioned lists.’