Accountability to Children and Communities Officer

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:  

Level 3: the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE: 

The Accountability Assistant/Officer will work to put the children and communities we serve at the centre of our work through supporting the humanitarian response to integrate child-friendly, gender-sensitive, inclusive, accessible and appropriate accountability systems (including information sharing and Feedback and Reporting Mechanisms) and support child participation. The Accountability Assistant will work closely with the MEAL, Child Safeguarding, and programme teams to support accountability to children and communities.  

In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly. 

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:  

• Support the implementation of the Response Accountability to Children and Communities Framework.  

• Support data collection on, and analysis of, of information needs, appropriate and trusted information sharing approaches, and inclusive and accessible feedback and reporting channels, based on primary and/or secondary data, led by the MEAL Area Manager 

• Ensure information about Save the Children (SC) and its partners (where relevant) as well as key programme outcomes and activities are shared with children and the wider community in appropriate, timely and accessible ways. This may involve developing information sharing materials such as posters, facilitating the development of “Frequently Asked Questions” documents, and helping programme implementation and child safeguarding teams to develop information sharing plans.  

• Support child and community participation processes across the programme cycle (including in needs analysis, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation). This could involve facilitating/supporting child-friendly discussions, adult focus group discussions, community meetings, child or community committees and other approaches.  

• Support the development and roll-out of accessible and inclusive feedback and reporting channels, to enable Save the Children to receive feedback from children and adults. The channels will vary depending on context, but may include focus group discussions, surveys, helpdesks, hotlines, face-to-face feedback, social media, and other channels.  

• Ensure feedback is handled in line with the agreed Feedback Handling Standard Operating Procedure, and that feedback and responses are registered in Feedback Database. Quality assure the documentation of feedback (quality of data, categorisation, etc.). 

• In line with the Feedback Handling Standard Operating Procedure, receive and register feedback and their responses in Feedback Database. Make sure that feedback is logged in a professional and timely manner. 

• Refer feedback to the appropriate team, including rapid identification and referral of serious concerns such as those related to child safeguarding, unsafe programming, sexual exploitation and abuse, and fraud and corruption.  

• Respond and communicate in a dignified and respectful manner with children and adults regarding their feedback, including informing them of what decisions have been made related to their feedback, and ensuring this is documented in the Feedback Database. Where relevant, support implementation staff to close the feedback loop meaningfully.  

• Contribute to Programme Key Performance Indicator (PKPI) quarterly reporting at national level.  

• Contribute to a strong understanding of child rights principles, accountability to children and communities and child participation through inductions and training, together with other Accountability staff 

• Contribute to the analysis and interpretation of feedback and findings from participatory processes for programme management and decision making. 

Generic technical competencies: 

• G1 “Skilled”: Works to protect and promote children’s rights as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of Children  

• G1 “Skilled”: Displays a commitment to the safe, meaningful and ethical participation of all children 

• G7 “Skilled”: Demonstrates the ability to embed safeguarding policies, concepts and approaches in all work  

• G5 “Skilled”: Displays a commitment to ensuring everything we do considers children the most affected by discrimination and inequality 

• G8 “Skilled”: Demonstrates an understanding of the phases of humanitarian response  

MEAL technical competencies: 

• P6 “Skilled”: Shows an understanding of accountability standards and guidance in own work 

• P6 “Skilled”: Demonstrates an understanding of the principles of safe Feedback and Reporting Mechanisms, database management and quality assurance 

• P6 “Skilled”: Acts to close the feedback loop with communities to promote transparency and accountability 

• P2 “Skilled”: Uses available standards and processes to ensure appropriate ethical practice and data quality  

• S4 “Skilled”: Demonstrates understanding of child-friendly participatory MEAL approaches 

Child Rights Governance Technical Competencies: 

• P1 “Accomplished”: Utilises a rights-based approach in the design and implementation of programmes 

BEHAVIOURS 

Accountability: 

• holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values 

• holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved. 

Ambition: 

• sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same 

• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others 

• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale. 

Collaboration: 

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters 

• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength 

• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to. 

Creativity: 

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions 

• willing to take disciplined risks. 

Integrity: 

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity 

QUALIFICATIONS  

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. Development Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Social Work, International Relations, or related fields)  

• Fluency in Ukrainian and Russian, both verbal and written. English desired.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

• Recommended a minimum of 1-3 years Accountability to Children and Communities (ACC) experience in  both emergency and development contexts 

• Experience of working with children and/or with groups most affected by discrimination and inequality 

• Creativity, curiosity and enthusiasm, and the ability to develop and test new ways of working and solutions to problems. 

• Commitment to actively listening to other people’s ideas and viewpoints. 

• Excellent interpersonal and oral and written communication skills. 

• Passionate, self-directed and the ability to manage multiple competing demands and commitments, and to work flexibly in a team. 

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. 

• Ability and willingness to travel regularly to conduct visits to project locations.  

• Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours temporarily, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies. 

• Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children. In particular, a good understanding of the Save the Children mandate and child rights, and an ability to ensure this continues to underpin our support. 

Desirable

• Experience of supporting meaningful and ethical child and community participation. 

• Experience in assessing information needs and communication preferences, and of designing appropriate information and communication approaches. 

• Experience of establishing and/or managing Feedback and Reporting Mechanisms.  

• Experience working for an NGO, civil society organisation or similar.  

• Experience of analysing and presenting data in a way that facilitates effective decision making

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience. 

Equal Opportunities  

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures. 

Child Safeguarding

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse. 

Health and Safety 

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.