JOB ADVERT  

Accountability Officer  

 (National Status) 

Action Against Hunger is an equal opportunity employer 

Women are strongly encouraged to apply 

ABOUT US 

International Non-governmental organization, Action Against Hunger has been working to fight undernutrition and support communities affected by crisis across the globe for almost 40 years and across nearly 50 countries. Action Against Hunger established its presence in both Liberia and Sierra Leone in 1991 during the Civil War and since then has been operational in the two countries by implementing various humanitarian and development programs related to health, nutrition, food security/livelihoods and advocacy geared towards the reduction of the prevalence rates of undernutrition in both countries. The Sierra Leone Coordination office is based in Freetown, Sierra Leone overseeing the operations in Bonthe and Moyamba.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Under the technical and line supervision of the MEAL Manager and in close collaboration with other members of the ACF-Sierra Leone program team and MEAL team, the Accountability Officer will provide support to the mission’s MEAL Manager in all aspects of the design, planning, and implementation of the accountability strategy and the feedback and complaints response mechanism (FCRM) across Action Against Hunger’s programs in Sierra Leone, including the “Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS)”, framework documents and “Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)”. In particular, the Accountability Officer will design and develop operational guidance notes and tools for Accountability and FCRM in close linkage with the guidelines and tools developed by the ACF network. He/she will promote and monitor the use of the developed tools by the program and MEAL teams. He/she will strengthen the capacity of program team members to ensure the integration and consideration of accountability aspects in the implementation of activities and will coordinate closely with MEAL staff, program, and other departments’ staff to ensure a systematic approach of integration and implementation of quality and accountability engagements. He/she will ensure that lessons learned from the information generated by the FCRM are shared and communicated to key internal and external stakeholders, while reviewing, contributing to the development of, and managing the processes that will enable this.

Objective 1 Strengthen the accountability system and its procedures in the mission 

• Support the Country MEAL manager in the setup and deployment of an effective accountability policy in the mission in compliance with the minimum standards and related SOPs set up by Action Against Hunger.
• Ensure and establish accountability requirements mainly through FCRM in line with Core Humanitarian standards – CHS and ACF’s HQ Guidelines.
• Strengthen the capacity of Action Against Hunger staff and implementing partners on the concept of accountability and CHS.
• Work closely with Program Managers to ensure that they have adequate support to develop and implement accountability system across their programs.
• Develop checklists to monitor and evaluate the application of the accountability framework in the programs implemented in the mission.
• Coordinate, consolidate and document lessons and best practices learned from the FCRM and share them with all relevant actors.
• Propose various solutions to address gaps and weaknesses in the accountability system of the Action Against Hunger mission in Sierra Leone.

Objective 2. Ensure the management and oversee the operationalization of the feedback and complaints response mechanism.

• Support the development of standardized methodologies and tools for consulting communities on their preferences (based on the operational context) for feedback and complaints collection channels to ensure that the channels used are safe, accessible, and adapted to the local context.
• Develop visual, auditory, or other communication tools (adapted to the local context) for community mobilization on the FCRM, in line with the tools developed by the ACF network.
• Develop training materials to help project managers ensure that all beneficiaries, stakeholders, and other community members understand ACF’s Accountability Framework, the PSEA policy, and how to access the channels that have been set up.
• Support the establishment of standards for feedback to communities, promotion of community participation and engagement, and community-based FCRM.
• Provide support to implementing partners in setting up FCRM that comply with ACF’s policies on accountability to affected populations.
• Contribute to the improvement and harmonization of accountability tools (training modules, mobilization tools, FCRM information collection and management, briefing manual for new staff, etc.).
• Develop adapted training modules on the FCRM for Action Against Hunger employees and Accountability Committees.
• With the technical support of the Country MEAL Manager, organize training for staff, partners, and local structures (focal points, local feedback and complaints management committees, targeting committees, community leaders, etc.) in accountability, quality and community engagement.
• Ensure the management of the FCRM, including the various communication channels and procedures.
• Provide technical support to Field Coordinators and MEAL staff in the implementation and monitoring of the FCRM.
• Develop and improve internal and external communication materials for the FCRM.
• Ensure monthly centralization, compilation, archiving, and data protection of the complaints and feedback databases from the operational bases.
• Ensure that feedbacks & complaints are properly recorded and categorized in the database and processed on time.
• Continuously upgrade the FCRM information system and prospect for innovative technological solutions.
• Manage the overall FCRM information database, compile monthly data from all projects, analyze it and produce a summary report of trends to be shared with mission coordination and the program to draw out learning elements.
• Work with the Country MEAL Manager and Program Managers to facilitate and monitor the use of learning elements from the FCRM for program improvement.
• Provide support in the investigation of sensitive complaints cases on demand.
• Provide up-to-date consolidated information for monthly Mission KPI indicators related to accountability.
• Support the Country MEAL manager in conducting regular evaluations to assess FCRM performance and user satisfaction, using tools developed by the ACF network.

Objective 3. Support the development and deployment of community participation approaches within the scope of Accountability

• In collaboration with field staff, analyze the mechanism and determine corrective measures to continuously improve the feedback and complaints mechanism using a participatory approach with different stakeholders, especially community members.
• Promote and develop approaches to improve the knowledge of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries on Action Against Hunger’s programs, interventions and key messages related to the fight against sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as fraud and corruption according to the organization’s policies
• Support Program Managers to gather feedback from communities during implementation and use it to adjust their projects.
• Develop sources of verification to help the Country MEAL Managers and Program Managers demonstrate community participation at different stages of the project cycle.
• Develop training materials to ensure that all beneficiaries, stakeholders, and community members understand Action Against Hunger’s accountability framework and PSEA policy and how they can access to the feedback and complaint mechanisms
• Accompany field teams and Senior MEAL officer to ensure that beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries have knowledge about ACF’s programs and interventions in their communities and have access to key messages related to the fight against sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as fraud and corruption according to ACF’s policies.
• Ensure that program teams provide all relevant information about ACF, the projects concerned, the rights of the community members and the expected behavior of ACF staff, during their introduction to each community.
• Contribute to the creation of a positive image and credibility of ACF, notably through the application of the code of conduct, ethics, values, and the promotion of the consideration of the views of other internal and external actors.

• Proficiency in social research methodologies, including strong analytical and communication skills and the ability to process and disseminate information to a wide range of audiences.
• Training Certificate in MEAL
• Knowledge of database management, information analysis, presentation of results and report writing.
• Proficiency and familiarity with data information management systems and data visualization software (e.g. Power BI, Tableau, etc.).
• Mastery of Pack Office mandatory.
• Strong commitment to the core principles of ACTION AGAINST HUNGER, and the ability to consistently uphold them with all stakeholders (beneficiaries, colleagues and partners)
• Proficiency in at least one platform commonly used in data collection (e.g. KoBoToolbox, ODK, Data Winners, iForm Builder, Comcare, etc.) is an asset.
• Knowledge of the operational environment of Action Against Hunger is highly valued – in one or more of the following areas: nutrition, health, EHA, food security, mental health.
• Familiarity with CHS and experience conducting CHS self-assessment or quality management assessment desirable.
• Previous experience in development and emergency projects is an asset.
• Ability to speak local languages in ACF operational communities. Example, Mende, sherbro, etc.