Senior Advisor, Community Accountability (leave cover 12 months) – UK, NL, or other MC locations At Mercy Corps

Location: UK, NL, or other MC locations – Flexible working environment

Position Status: Full time, fixed term parental leave cover (duration: 12 months)

Salary: The starting salary range for this position in the UK is annual 53,360 GBP; in NL is annual 63,040 Euro – commensuarte on professional experience and local benchmark

Closing date: Please submit application and cover letter by August 5.

Current unrestricted work authorization in UK, NL or other MC location is required at the time of application for this position.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Program / Department Summary

The Program Standards Team, which sits within the Global Technical Resources and Quality Unit, supports effective, efficient and equitable program performance through a culture of quality management, to achieve greater impact for those that matter most — our program participants. The Program Standards Team oversees several business processes including Community Accountability, Program Management, Program Management Analytics; Quality Distributions, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, Process Improvement; Strategic Change Management; and Program Management Learning and Development.

General Position Summary

The Senior Global Advisor – Community Accountability, is responsible for leading agency-wide cultural, behavioral, process, policy, guidance, training, and systems change that results in Mercy Corp’ strengthened accountability to the people and communities we serve in humanitarian, development and nexus contexts, in line with the 2030 strategy. Community accountability requires a series of commitments that puts community voice at the center of Mercy Corps’ work, and involves the provision of timely

information to communities, engaging community members in decision making that affects them, and inviting and responding to people’s voices through community accountability reporting mechanisms (CARM).

Building on the success of agency-wide adoption of CARM, the role will be responsible for: facilitating agency-wide listening activities on accountability to communities; the documentation of promising practice and lessons learned; the development of minimum standards that draw on external and internal learning; the integration of community accountability into existing policies and processes; and for leading the development of guidance, tools and learning opportunities that enable program and country leadership teams to put community accountability commitments into practice.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Strategy, Policy and Minimum Standards

• lead the review of the Global CARM Policy, an agency wide policy, as part of the Program Management Policy Review.
• Oversee the Community Accountability Senior Project Manager to delivery on the Community Accountability Project which will drive the evolution of Mercy Corps’ community accountability framework;
• Drive the Global Community Accountability annual workplan and strategy; lead coordination with stakeholders and Regional Community Accountability Advisors for buy-in and execution
• Serve as the agency-wide Global Community Accountability expert, provide and oversee global community accountability technical direction to the agency.

Frameworks, Guidance, Tools and Resources

• Ensure the successful piloting of a new CARM information management system, that could offer a standardized agency wide system for CARM data storage, case management and global reporting;
• Facilitate the development of an AAP toolkit, leveraging existing internal resources, knowledge and tools (not limited to GDI team, TSU governance team and PaQ MEL), and external examples;
• Iterate the CARM toolkit, with updated guidance and case studies of good practice identified through evaluations, communities of practice and
• Map connections and integrate Community Accountability and CARM tools and guidance into other toolkits; e.g. Program Management toolkit, Remote Monitoring toolkit, Humanitarian Guidance/Emergency Handbook.
• Responsible for technical direction of the CARM Toolkit and all related guidance for updating, promoting and developing.
• Support as needed the CHS verification and assessment processes

Learning and Development

• Provide timely dotted line technical supervision, through mentorship and coaching, to each Regional Community Accountability Advisor, in collaboration with their supervisor in the Regional Leadership Team, through the annual performance cycle;
• Develop and facilitate formal and informal learning opportunities for the regional team of Community Accountability Advisors;
• Lead the re/development of a field focused-CARM Competency Framework among stakeholders;
• Revise the agency-wide Global CARM learning pathway and deploy associated learning products at all-staff (foundation), generalist (intermediate) and specialist (advanced) levels; Serve as the CARM representative for all program management related curriculum and learning products to accurately reflect community accountability and CARM minimum standards; Lead the ongoing refinement of onboarding resources for regional and senior country level roles’ Facilitate the global community of community of practice related to community accountability;

Oversight of the Regional Community Accountability Advisors and related strategy

• Lead on strategy and workplan development, ensuring global harmonization, alignment, coverage and continuity in all technical support, training, and resources.
• Support Regional Advisors to develop targeted support plans to each country based on prioritization that is agreed at regional level
• Provide remote technical support to Regional Community Accountability Advisors / Regional Leadership Team
• Provide, on risk and request basis, direct support to country or program teams, in consultation with Regional Advisor
• Support Regional Advisors with targeted country-level capacity development initiatives as needed, e.g. for country CARM focal points on specific topics
• Plan and enable capacity development of Regional Advisors

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Support the development of the Program Management Dashboard App, through timely input of CARM requirements;
• Utilize data from Mercy Corps systems and processes, specifically the global Minimum Standards Reporting mechanism, Tola Data, CARM information management system, and audit findings, to support in the diagnosis and resolution of community accountability and CARM issues.
• Support and mentor Community Accountability Regional Advisors to utilize the PMD App data.

Internal and External coordination and influencing

• Lead on the collaborationwith internal stakeholders across TRaQ and the Evidence and Learning Unit to gain buy in and technical insights into the community accountability strategy and implementation plan;
• Serve as a primary Community Accountability representative to inter-agency working groups and communities of practice to provide community accountability technical direction, e.g., the Localization Working Group and monthly learning sessions;
• Lead external stakeholder engagement to strengthen Mercy Corps position as a thought leader in community accountability and feedback and complaints mechanisms;
• Represent Mercy Corps’ in all global community accountability related fora, including but not limited to contributing to the work streams of the new inter-agency IASC Accountability to Affected People taskforce and associated working groups.
• Incorporate peer learning into Mercy Corps’ community accountability work;
• Engage with colleagues in conversations around Core Humanitarian Standards verification at the agency level.

Supervisory Responsibility

Technical (dotted line) supervision of four Regional Community Advisors

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Program Standards Senior Director, TRaQ Unit

Works Directly With: Program Performance & Quality Team members, Ethics team, TRaQ technical team; GDI team; HLR team; country and program staff, including focal points.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. Development Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Social Work, International Relations, or related fields);
• 5-7 years of experience in international relief and development;
• Demonstrated knowledge of international standards and frameworks related to community accountability/AAP/social accountability, and operational challenges in this area;
• Experience in managing or implementing an accountability-related commitment in humanitarian or development programming, e.g. communicating with communities, information sharing, participation, feedback and complaints mechanism;
• Experience inclusively and impactfully managing people and complex projects in the context of remote and matrix management;
• Experience of developing and directing global policy, guidance, tools and adult learning products on community accountability for AAP or related areas, including program management, communicating with communities, gender diversity and inclusion, protection, safeguarding;
• Proficiency with MS Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and Google suite (Google drive, docs, sheets);
• High level of fluency in verbal and written English.

Desirable

• Master’s degree in a relevant field (MA/MS/MBA or equivalent);
• Training on Core Humanitarian Standards;
• Knowledge and / or experience of establishing strong global networks and internal communications;
• Knowledge and / or experience of theories and practice related to adult learning.
• Demonstrated knowledge, commitment and experience with diversity, equity and inclusion in development/humanitarian programming

Success Factors

The individual would need to be a skilled communicator, able to develop and utilize strong relationships with team members and departments internally, as well as with external bodies. They will have a positive and dynamic working style that enables them to work independently in a remote team. They will harness the expertise, experience and ideas of diverse Mercy Corps team members and external partners to strengthen Program Management within Mercy Corps. The individual will be customer focused and able to provide contextualized products and services that meet the needs of the user.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position can be based in London, UK. or the person’s home location, as applicable. There is some travel required, estimated between 15 – 30% to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. Housing for this role is in individual housing and staff will have access to good medical services and the living situation is of a high standard.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. This is done following the conclusion of recruitment and prior to assuming full employment.

Our screening process is designed to be transparent and completed in partnership with new Team Members. You will have the opportunity to disclose any prior convictions at the conclusion of the recruitment process before the check is initiated. We ask that you do not disclose any prior convictions in your application materials or during the recruitment process.

Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for US-Based Employees

Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status. This policy is necessary to ensure not only the safety of our workforce, but the ongoing functionality of the organization.

This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.

For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment. Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.