Senior Officer (Community Engagement and Accountability)

Job Posting Organization:
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, established to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote humanitarian activities by its 191-member National Societies. The IFRC aims to prevent and alleviate human suffering while contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace globally. It operates through a network of regional offices and country delegations, guided by principles such as humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality. The organization has a zero-tolerance policy towards misconduct and adheres to strict child safeguarding principles, ensuring that community engagement and accountability are central to its operations.

Job Overview:
The Senior Officer (SO) for Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) is a pivotal role within the Protection, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI) team, operating under the Health, Disaster, Climate and Crises (HDCC) unit. This position focuses on ensuring that communities are actively engaged in Red Cross Red Crescent activities, emphasizing accountability and the institutionalization of CEA. The SO CEA collaborates closely with technical teams across the Asia Pacific Regional Office (APRO) and engages with CEA focal points and staff in Country Delegations and Country Cluster Delegations. The role involves understanding community needs, ensuring timely responses to feedback, and creating inclusive opportunities for community participation in decision-making processes. Additionally, the SO CEA is responsible for integrating CEA approaches into health and climate change programs and emergency responses, providing technical guidance, and building the capacity of National Society and IFRC staff to apply CEA systematically across various cycles.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The duties of the Senior Officer include supporting the operationalization of Movement-wide commitments for CEA, providing technical guidance on risk communication and community engagement, and facilitating a network of CEA focal points across the Asia Pacific region. The SO CEA will monitor the CEA budget, strengthen the institutionalization of community engagement into programs, and support evidence-based learning to demonstrate the impact of CEA. Responsibilities also include operationalizing CEA in emergency operations, ensuring vulnerable groups participate in decision-making, developing country-level CEA policies, and coordinating community data collection systems. The SO CEA will attend regional inter-agency forums on Accountability to Affected People (AAP) and RCCE to ensure coordination with other organizations.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a university degree in social sciences, development studies, community development, international relations, or a related field. They should have a solid understanding of accountability, participatory programming, and community engagement processes, along with excellent analytical skills to capture learning and improve programming. Sensitivity to political contexts and risk management processes is essential, as is the ability to identify areas for improvement in programs and operations through CEA integration.

Educational Background:
A university degree in a relevant area such as social sciences, development studies, community development, or international relations is required. Preferred qualifications include knowledge of the World of Red Cross (WORC), IMPACT, or equivalent knowledge about the Red Cross Movement.

Experience:
Candidates should have 5-7 years of experience in a CEA-related role, including community participation, engagement, and accountability to affected people. Experience in leading community engagement approaches, capacity building, and working with multi-sectoral stakeholders is essential. Preferred experience includes 3 years in the Asia Pacific region, particularly in emergency response settings, and familiarity with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Languages:
Fluency in spoken and written English is required. A good command of another IFRC official language, such as French, Spanish, or Arabic, is preferred.

Additional Notes:
The position may involve work-related travel to National Societies in the region. The role is likely to be full-time, and the organization may recruit internationally or nationally. Compensation and benefits details are not specified in the job ad.