The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and help people to survive, recover, and gain control of their future.

Job Overview/Summary

The Client Responsiveness and Accountability (CRA) Manager will be responsible to set up and coordinate a robust and contextually appropriate system to collect, record and respond to client feedback, requests and needs, and for supervising the work of the client responsiveness team. S/he will ensure the implementation of client feedback channels which are relevant to clients and to the program team. The CRA Manager will be responsible for supporting all sectors to implement appropriate feedback mechanisms at all phases of projects and will provide reports on the status of each program’s ability to meet Client Responsiveness standards and follow global commitments on AAP.The CRA Manager will also be accountable for making sure that feedback (overall/as a trend) is taken into account during the program design phase, mid-term and end-line evaluation.

Reporting directly to the MEAL Coordinator, CRA Manager will strengthen the MEAL efforts, approaches and systems to foster use of feedback for program quality improvement and decision making and support IRC’s global and measurement ambitions of Strategy 100 and the Country Strategic Action Plan.

Key Responsibilities

Feedback Monitoring, Reporting, and Response

• Strengthen client feedback, ensure effective and sustainable response mechanisms based on regional standards and expectations are in place and functioning as intended.
• Ensuring appropriate client feedback channels are in-place for all sectors and all locations
• Design and develop core processes and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the feedback, reporting, and complaints mechanism, including designing and selection of feedback channels and Do No Harm in project areas.
• Ensure that feedback from all feedback mechanisms (suggestion boxes, hotline, focus group discussions, field visits) are collected and reported.
• Regularly review the feedback collected from all feedback mechanisms.
• Look for and report on trends in the types of feedback received, including analyzing feedback by location or by sector or by other factors.
• Communicate the trends in feedback to the MEAL Coordinator, DDP, and Technical Coordinators to ensure that feedback is reported and taken into consideration during the program design phase.
• Provide suggestions to MEAL Coordinator, DDP, and Technical Coordinators on how to better meet IRC standards and expectation related to client responsiveness.
• Present statistics on feedback received and feedback content in clear formats to highlight feedback trends to the program team, as well as synthesize qualitative feedback in ways which provide the detail that the program team will need to craft an appropriate response.
• Keep a record of how client feedback is responded to through information collection and analysis.
• Ensure that the feedback loop with clients is closed to acknowledge their feedback and inform them about what the IRC has done in response to feedback.
• Report on the number of cases that are closed/responded to, and the timeframe in which they are responded to.
• Ensure that an accurate and secure archiving system for both quantitative and qualitative data is established and being use appropriately
• Support the assessment of client views on targeting process, eligibility and during and after distributions monitoring.

Data usage for Action

• Ensure Clients feedbacks data and its analysis is available for senior management, while considering the confidentiality and clients’ protection.
• Ensure regular flow of Client Responsiveness data from field to country MEAL, analyze and interpret the data to help program management in taking informed decisions.
• Produce and submit high quality reports on client responsiveness within the agreed timelines clearly demonstrating trends and key lessons learnt.
• Lead documentation and sharing of knowledge and emerging practices on CRA internally and externally with the wider partner audience.
• Participate in program coordination meeting and progress against activities and budget

Capacity Building

• Lead the rollout of IRC global strategic initiatives related to CRA, including adapting in-country tools to align and enable reporting against IRC global standards.
• Ensure that all field based staff working on CRA activities receive appropriate technical support and supervision.
• Conduct regular visits to field sites to ensure that CRA tools and strategies being implemented effectively.
• Collaborate in the development and execution of coherent plans for strengthening CRA capacities of implementing partner.

Other

• Maintain open & professional relations with other team members while promoting strong team spirit
• Respond to donor inquiries about feedback mechanisms, when appropriate.
• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs

Requirements

Qualifications

• At least 4 years of experience working in a similar role/with similar responsibilities in a multi-sectoral and multi-donor environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in development studies, Economics, Project Management Statistics, Development Studies, or in any other relevant discipline. A masters’ degree in any relevant field is an added advantage.

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Demonstrated understanding of project management and proven experience of MEAL, specifically in the humanitarian and development context – specific experience in feedback management will be added advantage
• Demonstrated experience developing tools and systems for AAP and community engagement.
• Experience in creating and maintaining feedback mechanisms. These may include surveys, focus group discussions, hotlines, suggestions boxes, Feedback Committees etc.
• Experience of analyzing and presenting data in a way that facilitates effective decision making
• Demonstrated experience in capacity strengthening of staff
• Consistent track record of proactively identifying and communicating potential problems and proposing solutions.
• Able to function efficiently in a sophisticated work environment and to set appropriate priorities and deal effectively with competing priorities.
• Good written and spoken English and Amharic, additional local languages will be added advantage
• Excellent computer skills and proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Kobo Toolbox, CommCare.
• Willingness to travel outside Addis Ababa to field sites.
• Dedicated to the IRC’s mission, purpose, and values.