Background:

Active in Jordan since 2008, Acted’s focus has been on responding to the needs of refugees and Jordanian host communities affected by the influx of refugees and the Syrian crisis. As such, Acted has played an integral role in ensuring the provision of basic services to refugees and vulnerable Jordanians. In recent years, Acted’s focus has shifted to longer-term development programming, working in close partnership with local stakeholders to improve infrastructure and service provision, as well as being a key actor in strengthening civil society organisations in Jordan.

In addition, Acted is promoting a circular economy approach in Jordan, and thereby creating positive social, economic and environmental impact. To this end, Acted implements projects focusing on WASH and sustainable resource management while creating sustainable and inclusive income-generating opportunities.

Acted implemented more than 15 projects in 2020 with a budget of c. 10 million EUR, reaching over 90,000 beneficiaries of both host and refugee communities along three programmatic pillars: WASH & Sustainable resource management, Civil Society engagement and Livelihoods & Economic Development.

The Accountability Unit, part of the independent Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and learning (MEAL) Unit of Acted, has a core mandate of accountability towards affected populations (especially (non)beneficiaries in the locations where Acted implements its programmes) and quality of the programme delivery. Through its dedicated mechanism, it contributes to ensuring and fostering programmatic quality and relevance within the organisation. 

-Location: North of Jordan / Azraq and Zaatari camps.

adherence with Acted’s greening policy:

Acted’s greening strategy aims to tackle environmental degradation and climate change while meeting the needs of the most vulnerable who are often those most affected by the deepening environmental crisis. Each Acted employee will adhere to these principles through key green programming responsibilities:

• Contribute towards the adherence and development of the greening strategy plan.
• Explore innovative green programming opportunities and/or solutions within your realm of responsibilities and roles
• Encouraging and promoting environmental safeguarding processes and environmental programming standards in accordance with SOPs and technical guideline notes.

adherence with Acted’s pseah policy:

The Accountability assistant has the responsibility to adhere to the PSEAH Policy (Protection against Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment). The Accountability assistant has the obligation to complete all mandatory trainings related to the Code of Conduct and the PSEA policy and report any safeguarding concern such as breaches of organisational policies or codes of conduct according to Acted’s procedures. The Accountability assistant carries out work duties in a way that does not harm children, vulnerable adults or other staff or volunteers. 

Job Purpose:

Under the supervision of the MEAL officer, the accountability assistant is responsible for managing, recording, sharing, following up and consolidating the inquires, feedback and complaints about Acted intervention. He/she also contributes to the dissemination of appropriate AFM messaging and communication strategies. In addition, the Accountability Assistant will support the MEAL officer with the data processing for the monitoring and evaluation activities within the department.  

Duties and Responsibilities:

1.     Identification and deployment of a range of available, accessible, relevant and appropriate communication means

a)     Under the guidance of the Country MEAL Unit, and at relevant frequency, assess communities’ preferred means to formulate complaints / feedback with Acted;  

b)     Ensure the AFM offers as many communication means as possible, while taking into account the specificities of the local context and culture, as well as the type and resources of the project, beneficiaries’ specificities, vulnerabilities and preferences, etc.;

c)     Ensure all communication means guarantee total confidentiality of the information shared, in order to protect the privacy and safety of the complainant, the subject of complaint and other witnesses;

2.     Promotion of the AFM

a)     Provide a AFM training to Acted staff, partners and contractors on beneficiary accountability and more specifically on the objectives and functioning of the AFM, as well as on what to do / not to do when receiving a complaint;

b)     Conduct field visits throughout the project cycle (i.e. before, during and after the intervention), and coordinate with the MEAL and project implementation teams for the same, in order to spread information / awareness about the AFM to beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, as well as local authorities and stakeholders in Acted’s areas of implementation;

c)     Contribute to the development and dissemination of a  clear country-specific AFM information / awareness raising materials in a language and visual format that can be widely understood (including people with low levels of literacy);

d)     At all times ensure (non)-beneficiaries feel safe to express concerns, complaints and feedback to an independent and unbiased staff member.

3.     Complaints handling

a)     Responsible for answering calls to hotline and follows internal procedures to provide information and advice to callers in a friendly, patient manner.

b)     Entry of complaints received through the different channels (hotline – Acted staff – etc.) into the COMPFU (COMplaints Follow-Up).

c)     Ensure that the content of complaints/feedback is adequately captured, categorized and analyzed in the COMPFU (COMplaints Follow-Up) as per Acted procedures, paying specific attention to data quality;

d)     Maintain a good understanding of Acted programs, including through frequent meetings with Project implementation teams, to be able to respond directly, whenever possible, to requests for information (i.e. level 1 complaints as per Acted’s sensitivity grid);

e)     Treat urgent and/or sensitive complaints with the immediate attention they require;

f)      Follow-up in person into complaints received in accordance with Acted procedures;

g)     Follow up in a constructive and proactive manner on pending complaints with relevant persons responsible for complaint follow-up, and verify that all complaints are adequately and comprehensively addressed;

h)     Respond to complaints respectfully, objectively, accurately, and in a timely manner (15 days), as per talking points defined with line manager, as per talking points agreed with relevant persons responsible for complaint follow-up;

i)      Close complaints in the COMPFU once adequately addressed and a comprehensive response has been provided to the complainant, duly tracking all complaint resolution steps and efforts in the COMPFU;

j)      Under the guidance of the Country MEAL Unit, and at relevant frequency, assess communities’ feedback and satisfaction on the AFM, and incorporate findings into revised approaches;

4.     Reporting and Capitalization

a)     Maintain records of AFM information / awareness raising / promotion activities (including approximate numbers of participants) for each project, and share with Project implementation team and line manager as required;

b)     Maintain consistent, confidential and detailed records of all complaints in the COMPFU platform (and other electronic and hard copy filing systems, as appropriate) as well as enquiry reports (as relevant);

c)     Ensure the COMPFU and relevant documents are password-protected at all times and all locations, the confidentiality of complaints data is respected, and this information is shared only with authorized persons as per Acted procedures;

d)     Analyze patterns and trends in complaints and regularly share findings with line manager, to identify and discuss lessons learned, and help Acted improve its programming;

e)     Produce a quarterly and yearly analytic AFM report for use by the country mission;

f)      Provide regular and timely updates on progress and challenges to line manager;

g)     Integrate any accountability-related lessons learned and/or recommendations to the MEAL-managed country learning database, and contribute to their diffusion with coordination / MEAL / project staff.

5.     Other

h)     Assist MEAL team with other activities, as requested by immediate supervisor, including but not limited to data collection, On Site Monitoring missions, data entry, data analysis;

i)      Perform any other related activities as assigned by immediate supervisor.

Skills

QUALIFICATIONS:

-        Good English written and verbal communication skills.

-        University Degree in a relevant specialization Computer Science, Information Management Systems, Statistics, Mathematics, etc. or any related field.

• Experience: 1-2 years of work experience in NGOs especially in the accountability and Complaint Feedback Mechanism fields.
• Good technical experience in MS Excel, PowerPoint and Word.

-        Strong communication skills and building positive relationships with colleagues and supervisors Ability and willingness to work under pressure and handle multiple tasks.

-Knowledge of and experience in data collection methods, data analysis and reporting.