Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) Coordinator _ Armenian Red Cross Society

The Armenian Red Cross Society, in partnership with IFRC, have identified Community Engagement and Accountability as a strategic priority area to support diverse programme delivery and its disaster preparedness and response capacities. CEA is an approach acknowledged and supported by all partner National Societies of the ARCS. So far, CEA has already been integrated in the different programmes and operations of the ARCS, e.g., the risk communication and community engagement efforts as part of the COVID-19 response, the community-led healthy aging and active aging groups, the smiley clubs which focus on the empowerment of youth groups, as well as the cash intervention delivered as part of the winterization DREF.

A fundamental pillar of ARCS’s CEA approach centers around establishing and managing a well-functioning and sustainable central feedback mechanism. A community feedback mechanism comprises the tools and processes for receiving feedback, managing, analyzing, and sharing feedback data, ensuring feedback is acted upon and providing communities with a response and informing them of the actions taken. A CEA workshop with key ARCS staff was organized to agree on the vision, concrete roles and responsibilities, and an action plan to roll out the central feedback mechanism.

General objective: The CEA coordinator supports the National Society to enhance the accountability, impact and efficiency of the ARCS programmes and operations through the integration of CEA activities and approaches. This includes establishing systems for transparent communication, community participation, and feedback and complaints, as well as supporting technical sectors to engage communities in their interventions. 

1. Specific objectives

• Manage a central community feedback mechanism to collect and respond to community feedback and ensure that this data is used for learning and adaptation of the whole NS. Work with PGI to ensure this feedback mechanism can appropriately respond to and refer sensitive feedback safely and appropriately
• Institutionalize the CEA approach by supporting the development of a CEA strategy for ARCS, raising awareness and enhancing capacity on CEA through briefings and trainings and fostering regular exchange on CEA with interested colleagues on the NS
• Work with the information dissemination department to establish systems to share timely information with communities about the ARCS and its programmes and operations, including services available, selection criteria, distribution processes, delays and exit strategies
• Coordinate CEA activities across the Movement including with the NS, IFRC, PNS and ICRC and ensure good information sharing and collaboration with CEA colleagues at the regional and global level

• Manage the central feedback mechanism in coordination with IM and PMER, including
  1. raising awareness on the feedback mechanism in the NS through briefings and trainings
  2. supervising the data collection process (in coordination with the NS IM officer)
  3. prepare regular reports on community insights
  4. ensure community feedback insights are shared and discussed in monthly coordination meetings
  5. manage a central document for documenting recommendations and monitoring action
  6. ensure the feedback loop is closed (and the closing of the loop is documented)
  7. lead on the review and adaptation of the feedback mechanism in coordination with IM and PMER
• Participate in CEA trainings on the country and regional level
• Improve the understanding of CEA in the NS through briefings and trainings
• Input into strategic and operational planning documents to ensure CEA is integrated and budgeted for
• Support technical sectors to integrate CEA into their activities where needed and stay informed of ongoing CEA related activities (where no support is needed)
• Participate in regular meetings with the IFRC CEA Delegate and other CEA colleagues in the South Caucasus cluster

University degree in a relevant area such as social sciences/behavioral/communication sciences or equivalent experience

• Extensive experience in working with communities
• Experience working for humanitarian or development organisations
• Experience of delivering trainings and providing coaching to local staff and volunteers, preferably Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies
• Team player, with the ability to coordinate and engage others and build good working relationships with colleagues and external partners
• Experience coordinating and working with Government Ministries, UN and other NGO agencies in a humanitarian response

• Good understanding of - training in - current developments in the field of communication with communities, behavioural and social sciences, community engagement processes, strategic communication
• Advanced analytical skills, able to capture learning and use it to make improvements in programming and operations
• Knowledge of quantitative, qualitative, and participatory research methodologies and analysis
• Highly motivated, self-starter able to take initiative and lead a team or process
• Fluent spoken and written English