Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) Officer

Job Purpose

Under the supervision of the Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) Team Leader, the CEA Officer will support the Turkish Red Crescent Society (TRCS) and IFRC to enhance the impact, reach and efficiency of earthquake response activities through the integration of CEA activities and approaches into the response. This includes communication with communities, participation and feedback systems, behaviour and social change communication, and evidence-based advocacy.

The CEA Officer works under the direction and guidance of the IFRC CEA Team Leader. As a member of the CEA team, he/she will work closely together with the TRCS CEA and other teams such as M&E, Outreach and Referral, Field, etc.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Technical support to the operation

• Support assessments to be transparent, participatory and accountable, capturing people’s information needs and trusted and preferred communication channels
• Support TRCS to integrate community participation in operational planning, design and implementation
• Provide input to existing feedback mechanisms and advice on improving efficiencies, including processes to make sure feedback is analysed and acted upon by operational teams
• Provide input on enhancing the communications systems for sharing information with affected people about Red Cross and Red Crescent services, including selection criteria.
• Support the response team to increase reach and impact by advising TRC on methods to gain a deeper understanding of community perceptions, beliefs, culture and values and to implement innovative behaviour and social change communication activities.
• Support TRC to explore ways to involve affected people in assessing the impact of the earthquake response.
• Provide input the processes for TRC that ensure women, children, older people, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups have equal access to information channels and feedback mechanisms particular to their needs, and taking into account any specific protection issues.
• Prepare and update the CEA products on a timely manner (dashboards, rumour tracking bulletins,etc.)
• Other relevant tasks that can be assigned by the Supervisor.

Capacity building

• Support the IFRC CEA team leader in providing training and mentoring support to earthquake response staff, working closely at all times with TRCS counterparts.
• Support the review of existing CEA processes and develop plans to encourage the adoption and adaptation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement tools, methodologies and activities, as defined in the CEA guide and toolkit.

Coordination, representation and reporting

• Work closely with the IFRC country office to ensure there is consistency and sustainability between CEA in the earthquake response activities and other Turkey programmes.
• Contribute to the coordination of CEA activities and reporting with TRCS and IFRC counterparts.
• Provide input to feedback mechanisms and two-way communication processes and work with TRC counterparts to ensure they are continued across earthquake response activities, with adequate capacity to given for data analysis.
• Support the response team to include CEA data in existing Information Management systems and platforms so it can be used to inform decision-making processes at strategic and operational levels.
• Support evidence-based learning by assessing and monitoring levels of community engagement through research, impact surveys, perception studies and case studies.
• Support the positioning and visibility of Red Cross and Red Crescent CEA achievements and share data with the wider humanitarian network to inform and influence the overall response.

Education

Required:

• University degree Social Sciences such as Sociology, Political Science, International Relations, Public Administration, Communication Sciences, etc.

Experience

Required:

• At least three years of experience working in community engagement and accountability initiatives, community-based protection, communication for development or social mobilisation in Turkey for a humanitarian or development organisation, especially within refuge, asylum and migration contexts, besides good understanding of refugee reprotection and knowledge about the stakeholders actively working in the humanitarian sector in Turkey
• Experience of working as part of a team responding to complex humanitarian emergencies
• Experience in setting up and managing tools for communicating with communities such as radio programmes, TV shows, SMS systems, community committees, social media accounts, call center besides preparing surveys and organizing focus group discussions

Preferred:

• Experience in planning targeted and appropriate behaviour change communication strategies
• Experience setting up and managing accountability to community systems. For example, feedback and complaints mechanisms, rumour tracking systems, or participatory planning processes
• Experience of coaching, training and developing National Society staff and volunteers in order to build long-term capacity and create ownership
• Experience working with Red Cross/Red Crescent National Societies

Knowledge, Skills and Languages

Required:

• Good planning skills, with the ability to identify areas for improvements in operations through the integration of CEA approaches and activities.
• Good understanding of – or training in – current developments in the field of communication with communities, behavioural and social sciences, or community engagement and accountability, community media
• Good knowledge of protection, gender and diversity issues
• Team player, with the ability to coordinate and engage others and build good working relationships with internal and external partners
• Good knowledge of the socio-cultural background of affected populations and capacity to practice political and cultural sensitivity
• Strong written, presentation, facilitation and training skills
• Willing to travel extensively to support field operations
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and networking skills
• Fluently spoken and written English

Preferred:

• Understanding of and/or experience with Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies
• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic)

How to apply

Please click here to apply.