Staff Role Profile:Adviser for Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) and the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS)[1]
Job Level / Level 4 / Job reference / REQ0000019QWDepartment / Performance and Accountability / Directorate / International
Work location / UK Office, London / Reports to / Head of Performance and Accountability*
Contract / 18 months – from 1May 2018 / Last updated / 9 April 2018
* While line management will be to the Head of Performance and Accountability, it is expected that the Senior PMEAL Adviser will provide task management for selective activities.
Scale and scope of role
Budgetary responsibility / accountability / Up to £50k / Accountability for other resources / None
Reach and impact / Develop, monitor and maintain an 18 month CEA implementation project plan, leading a range of specific activities identified in the plan.
Working with the Programmes and Partnerships Department to support partner National Societies in strengthening the inclusion of CEA within programmes.
Lead BRC’s activities related to the annual CHS verification / certification processes, together the resulting corrective actions. Develop, manage and facilitate the delivery of BRC’s annual CHS improvement plan.
Work in collaboration with key members of the Red Cross Movement on strategic CEA and CHS related issues
Manage the compilation of an evidence base of good CEA and CHS practice, sharing the resulting learning internally and externally.
+Primary contacts in International (outside of P&A) /
- Heads of Regions, Country Managers, Programme Managers and Disaster Management Co-ordinators
- Technical advisers
- BRC UK service leads
Context
The international work of BRC is managed by an International Directorate of more than hundred people based in the organisation’s UK Office in London and by staff employed overseas supporting BRC programmes. The International Directorate consists of six departments:
Programmes and Partnership - providing integrated management of disasters, recovery programmes and long-term programme support through National Society partners; thematic technical advisers are also part of the Programmes and Partnership Department
Performance & Accountability – as below
Humanitarian Policy - including management of key external relationships
International Law - providing advice on international legal, statutory and constitutional matters to BRC and to outside bodies
International Finance – providing financial support to the Directorate
International HR– providing HR support to the Directorate
The International Directorate’s Performance and Accountability (P&A) Departmentconsists of: a Head of Department ; a four-strong PMEALadvisory team; a three-strong Impact and Evidence team; a five-strong DFID Strategic & Programme Funding team; a one-strong NSD&P[2] advisory team; the CEA and CHS Adviser; and a P&A Team Co-ordinator.
The purpose and role of the P&A Department is to lead, manage, enable and facilitate others, primarily in the International Directorate, to systematically and sustainably demonstrate and improve the quality, effectiveness and accountability of their work.
The P&A Department takes the leading role in the Directorate on the ongoing development and embedding of six foundational P&A related “building blocks“ that are necessary in order to promote and secure long-lasting change and improve the quality, effectiveness and accountability of our work:
Quality programmes and quality partnerships are central to how the International Directorate will deliver its strategic plan and these need to be supported by an appropriate set of quality assurance mechanisms.
Demonstrating evidenced effectiveness and impact, and encouraging and facilitating the systematic application of learning.
A “fit for purpose” PIMS (Programme and Information Management System) that provides the underpinning systems support.
There are also a number of specific P&A focus areas in which the P&A Department will have a significant involvement (leading, managing, facilitating and/or enabling) whilst working with others in the Directorate:
intentional engagement with DFID both related to programme funding, and related to influencing and policy;
organisational strengthening of National Societies, including national society development (NSD);
community engagement and accountability (CEA)
support to/influence of the Directorate in both developing programmes, and in strategy & strategic initiatives; and
providing P&A support to/influence of the Movement and sector; and
Our principles and values
Our values (compassionate, courageous, inclusive and dynamic) underpin everything we do. As a member of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the British Red Cross is committed to, and bound by, its fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.
Backgroundto CHS and CEA in BRC
What do we mean by Community Engagement and Accountability?
Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) puts people, vulnerable to and affected by crisis, at the centre of what we do. It is a set of activities that embed and integrate participation, communication, feedback and learning throughout the programme cycle, in service delivery and in strategy development. CEA promotes collaborative working between all relevant stakeholders and is underpinned by changes in attitudes, beliefs and behaviours.
CEA is integral to the delivery of quality programme and services. It encompasses working with and through our partners to engage people vulnerable to and affected by crisis, especially the most marginalised, in an ongoing dialogue in which their voices are heard, responded to and acted upon, whilst respecting fundamental humanitarian principles and guaranteeing personal data protection. Through our work, people vulnerable to and affected by crisis will become more skilled and empowered to lead and shape positive, sustainable change in their own lives, to influence decisions affecting them and to hold all relevant stakeholders to account.
Why Community Engagement and Accountability?
The necessity to engage with, and to be accountable to people vulnerable to and affected by crisis is not new. While the importance of beneficiary participation was recognised in the 1980s, the origins of accountability to beneficiaries can be traced back to the sector’s response to the uncoordinated and unregulated nature of humanitarian action in the 1994 Rwanda crisis. More recently the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) was developedthat describes, from the perspective of communities and people vulnerable to and affected by crisis, the essential elements of principled, accountable and high-quality humanitarian action. The CHS also underpins the 2018 version of the SPHERE standard.
CEA has a particular resonance within the Movement, with commitments made by both the IFRC and ICRC to develop of a Movement-wide CEA approach. For the IFRC, CEA is based on their earlier development of Beneficiary Communications; for the ICRC it is reflected in their organisational commitment to Accountability to Affected People (AAP) which will underpin their new 2019-22 strategy. For BRC, CEA is a named focus areas within its 2019-25 International strategy and its commitment to CEA reflected in our organisational adoption of the CHS, of which CEA is core component.
While other actors in the sector have adopted different (albeit quite similar) terminology, our longer-term vision for CEA is one where people, vulnerable to and affected by crises, lead and shape positive, sustainable change in their own lives, communities and society.
CHS and the BRC
The CHS was launched in December 2014and sets out nine Commitmentsthat organisations and individuals involved in humanitarian response should use to improve the quality and effectiveness of the assistance they provide. It also facilitates greater accountability to communities and people affected by crisis: knowing what humanitarian organisations have committed to will enable them to hold those organisations to account.
As an organisation, BRC became members of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) in 2013, which transferred to membership of the CHS Alliance in 2015. We have committed at Board level to the CHS through our membership of the CHS Alliance and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), who decided in 2015 to use the CHS as the basis for all its members to demonstrate accountability to people affected by crisis.
We carried out a self-assessment against the CHS in 2016, including a review of International and UK operations. In 2017/18, we underwent an external verification audit, carried out by the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative (HQAI). We are currently considering converting our verification audit to CHS certification.
We are implementing an annually updated CHS improvement plan to strengthen our capacity across both our international and UK work.
Overall purpose of the role
The CEA and CHS Adviser will provide a critical role in delivering International’s CEA ambitions and BRC’s corporate CHS commitments, noting that community engagement and accountability underpins the delivery of the nine CHS Commitments. The role has significant cross-directorate and cross-organisational responsibilities, and will work through both formal and informal steering groups and working groups.
In particular, the CEA and CHS Adviser will need to build and maintain strong linkages with the PMEAL Advisory team who lead on the practical implementation of CEA and CHS in programmes, countries and regions.
The CEA and CHS Adviser will be line managed by the Head ofP&A. However it is expected that the Senior PMEAL Adviser will provide task management for selected activities.
Main responsibilities and duties
1. Provide technical advisory support, project management and selected leadership of BRC International’s CEA 2018-19 ambitions (65%)
Internal- leadership:
Develop, monitor and maintain an 18month CEA implementation project plan, recognising that CEA is an integral part of delivering our CHS ambitions.
Lead and support the integration of CEA into BRC’s programme cycle methodology (PCM) and disaster management standard operating procedures (DMSOPs) – as part of the International Quality Methodology
Adopt, revise and develop common tools and approaches to CEA for BRC – this will include making use of Red Cross Movement and sector materials and resources.
Identify BRC International’s existing and potential CEA skills and capacities and devise a skills-building curriculum for BRC International’s own staff in CEA and coordination.
Develop a CEA communications and awareness programme for staff
Manage an initial analysis of current BRC CEA practices and achievements, including documenting BRC's own domestic learning and evidence of CEA.
Manage the compilation of an evidence base good CEA practice that demonstrates the measurable value, benefits and effectiveness of CEA in delivering programme outcomes and impact.
Lead on developing CEA related training materials and managing the delivery of CEA training
Internal –advisory:
Support the Head of P&A in leading the CEA working group (and/or CEA steering group)
Working with the PMEAL Advisory team, support the integration of CEA within a number of selected pilot projects / programmes, identifying lessons to be applied in the future
Review, revise and monitor progress against BRC’s CEA theory of change, including establishing and tracking indicators and responses to learning questions.
Support the development of a resourced approach to investigating, selecting and investing in innovative tools that capture the needs and views of communities and affected people
Identify and share learning related to CEA.
Support the identification of possible coordination mechanisms between International and UK operations in relation to CEA
External:
Develop approaches for the CEA capacity building of National Society partners.
Support the development of a Movement-wide approach to CEA, including working with the IFRC, ICRC and selected donor NS identify opportunities for collaborative working in CEA.
Support the BRC emergencies team to understand and find ways to support and promote CEA in global tools / Movement responses, including identifying appropriate surge capacity
Develop a CEA communications and awareness programme for NS partners and the broader Movement.
Support the PMEAL Advisory team in working with selected implementing national societies to prioritise CEA within their programmes and services
Track progress with the development of CEA in the sector and share learning
2. Provide leadership, technical advisory support and management of BRC’s CHS related commitments(30%)
Internal - leadership:
Lead BRC’s activities related to the annual CHS verification / certification processes, supporting the external HQAI auditors in UK and international programme visits.
Lead and manage BRC’s response to corrective actions identified through the CHS verification / certification processes.
Develop, manage and facilitate the delivery of BRC’s annual CHS improvement plan which will include liaising with and monitoring the progress of other BRC Directorates.
Lead on developing CHS related training materials and managing the delivery of CHS training
Lead and support the integration of CHS into BRC’s programme cycle methodology (PCM) and disaster management standard operating procedures (DMSOPs) – as part of the International Quality Methodology.
Internal–advisory:
Provide technical advisory leadership to BRC International related to its organisational commitments to the CHS.
Provide technical advisory support to BRC UK services in understanding the implications of organisational commitments to the CHS.
Support BRC’s PSEA related action plan, including the implementation of complaints and feedback mechanisms
Support the Head of P&A in leading BRC’s CHS Steering Group.
External:
Provide technical advisory support to partners, the IFRC and ICRC in considering the implications of CHS on their ways of working.
Represent BRC on the DEC Accountability Leads working group.
Track progress with the development of CHS in the sector
Develop and maintain linkages with other National Societies who have, or are considering committing to the CHS, sharing relevant learning.
3. Participate in the P&A Department (5%)
Contribute to the overall work of the P&A Department in strengthening institutional performance and accountability
4. Uphold the Fundamental Principles of the Movement and work within the Society’s Equal Opportunities Policy
You will be responsible for the duties detailed in your job description and may also carry out such other duties as are reasonably required of you.
Diversity
We are committed to being an inclusive employer with a diverse workforce. We encourage applications from people from the widest possible diversity of backgrounds, cultures and experiences – including disabled and ethnic minority candidates. This is to contribute to the breadth of experience we need to respond to people in crisis. You can read more about our commitment to diversity on our website.
Person Specification
Requirement
/Evidenced through Shortlisting (S) Interview (I)
Knowledge
/ Essential / Educated to graduate level in an area relevant to international humanitarian aid and/or development.
Significant hands-on and up-to-date understanding of community engagement and accountability.
Significant hands-on and up-to-date understanding of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) particularly in the context of working in partnerships.
Up-to-date knowledge of good practices in performance and accountability including programme cycle management (PCM), M&E, and learning. / S
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Desirable / Master’s degree in relevant subject desirable / S
Skills
/ Essential / Strong advisory skills in international, cross-cultural contexts (ideally from an HQ perspective)
Ability to facilitate and advise on participatory approaches
Strong workshop facilitation skills
Confident use of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint and Excel)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
Ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders to influence practice / S & I
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Desirable / Quantative and qualitative data analysis skills / S
Experience
/ Essential / Significant overseas experience in the humanitarian or development sector
Experience with systems and processes in project management, managing against milestones, dependencies, resources, and associated risks
Experience coordinating complex projects with multiple stakeholders
Experience of developing an evidence base and generating, documenting and sharing the resulting learning.
Experience of managing and/or undertaking the CHS assessment of an organisation, including the resulting corrective actions and implementation plan.
Practical field experience of designing and establishing beneficiary accountability tools and systems; and using participative approaches
Experience of using a variety of approaches to build capacity of individual staff and organisations, with a focus on CEA and/or CHS capacity / S & I
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Desirable / Experience of delivering presentations at large workshops
Experience leading / commissioning / supporting evaluations and learning reviews
Experience of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement / S & I
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Behaviours
/ WORKING COLLABORATIVELY : Pro-actively builds collaborative relationships internally and externallyCOMMUNICATING AND INFLUENCING: Takes multiple steps to communicate and influence
SEEKING INSIGHT: Digs deeper and supports others to makes best use of information
SOLUTION FOCUSSED: Constructs and customises solutions and makes plans / I
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Additional requirements
/ Essential / Able to travel for up to 30 days per year and operate in a physically demanding working environment
Ensure anti-discriminatory practice and promote diversity.
Willingness to work out of office hours when necessary.
Willing to work in situations of political insecurity.
Upholds the fundamental principles and acts with integrity, in accordance with the Society’s values (inclusive, compassionate, courageous and dynamic).
Ensures inclusive practice and promotes diversity / I
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In order to be shortlisted for interview, you need to meet the essential criteria as outlined above.N.B. All disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria () will be short-listed for interview in line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme
1[1] Referred to as the “CEA and CHS Adviser” in the rest of this staff role profile
[2] National Society Development and Partnership