Duration: 12-months

Based: Iraqi Red Crescent Society, Headquarters in Baghdad

Job purpose

Community engagement and accountability is at the core of Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) programme and operations. It is an approach geared towards putting people and communities, vulnerable to and affected by COVID-19 and crisis, at the center of what we do. It encompasses a set of activities that embed and integrate participation, communication, feedback and learning throughout the programme cycle, in service delivery and in strategy development. The goal is to enable people and communities to lead and shape positive, sustainable change in their own lives, communities and society. The Community Engagement and Accountability Officer – RCCE will support the IRCS HQ and governorates branch teams to enhance the impact, reach and efficiency of programme and operations through the integration and coordination of CEA activities and approaches. This includes participatory approaches, feedback systems, risk communication and evidence-based advocacy. The focus of the CEA Officer will be to ensure the inclusion of community participation and feedback in all phases of the operation through mainstreaming different CEA techniques and activities across sectors. The CEA Officer will have a specific focus on setting up community feedback systems, ensuring community feedback and complaints are collected, analysed and acted upon by the sectors. The role will also be expected to work closely with IRCS and IFRC PMER and IM counterparts to ensure all information and feedback from communities is effectively visualized, profiled within the operation, and used to inform strategic decision-making.

Job duties and responsibilities

1. Ensure that the operation is implemented in accordance with the RCRC Movement set of standards, policies and guidelines relevant to CEA.
2. Support the planning, rolling out and adaptation of risk communications and CEA tools, methodologies, trainings and activities based on needs assessment and are suitable to the local context and cultural practices.
3. Ensure quality, consistency and relevancy of community engagement activities and materials in relation to target audiences with focus on the most vulnerable.
4. Support and ensure use across operations teams of the most relevant research, impact surveys and perception data (including social-cultural data, sources of vulnerabilities, community structures and power dynamics) to assess and monitor communities’ knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to targeted behaviours and inform evidence-based risk communication and community engagement action.
5. Support the setting up/strengthening of appropriate feedback methods and systems to gain a deeper understanding of the community feedback, including perceptions, beliefs, rumours and complains.
6. Ensure feedback, community perceptions and insights are regularly analysed and shared with key operation teams and decision makers to inform course correction in the operation and bring about positive changes in communities.
7. Work with operation teams to ensure the most vulnerable groups have equal access to information channels and feedback mechanisms and participate in decision making processes.
8. Design and facilitates the training of staff and volunteers on essential CEA aspects, with focus on risk communications and community engagement in epidemic preparedness and response and feedback systems.
9. Guide teams to create opportunities for community’s voices to influence local and at the national level decision making processes.
10. Raise awareness on the importance of risk communications and CEA with management, staff and volunteers through presentations trainings and briefing sessions.
11. Participate in relevant inter-agency coordination groups and supports National Society’s engagement to ensure Red Cross Red Crescent community engagement efforts are coordinated and recognized.

Education

1. A university degree bachelor/master in social sciences/behavioural/communication sciences or equivalent experience.
2. Diploma or basic training courses or equivalent knowledge.

Experience

• 2-3 years of experience in a risk communications, social and behaviour change communication and CEA related role.
• 2 years of experience in epidemics preparedness and response settings.
• Experience in setting up and managing community feedback approaches and systems.
• Experience in delivering risk communication and community engagement capacity building, coaching, behaviour change communication training and developing local organizations’ staff and volunteers.
• Experience in setting up and managing community engagement tools (including technological solutions) such as social media, radio, TV, SMS and rolling out risk communication approaches.
• Experience within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, or
• Experience in an international organization or NGO.

Knowledge & Skills

• Good understanding of – or training in – current development in the field of communication with community’s behaviour, community engagement processes, strategic communication, research approaches.
• Basic understanding of CEA issues in emergencies contexts.
• Sensitivity to challenging political contexts and understanding of risk management processes.
• Good analytical skills and knowledge of quantitative, qualitative and participatory research methodologies and analysis.
• Good planning skills, with the ability to identify areas for improvements in programme and operations NS ways of working through the integration of CEA approaches and activities.
• Good knowledge of gender and diversity issues in humanitarian programming.
• Facilitation and training skills.

Languages

• Fluently spoken and written Arabic.
• Good command on English and other languages.

send requests to the email below:

ircs.job@ircs.org.iq