Accountability Officer at Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC)

Background
Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) is a non-governmental organization which has been engaged in developmental works in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States for the past 50 years. JDPC also focuses on Agriculture, WaSH, Nutrition, MHPSS and other emergency programming, reaching out to all persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality.
JDPC is inviting suitably qualified candidates to apply for the above-mentioned position to work in Kaga and Magumeri LGAs.
Candidate must be prepared to start work as soon as possible.
Project Background
The ECHO funded project, ‘Scaling-up Assistance in Hard-to-Reach Areas’ (SAHaRA) is providing safe, accessible, dignified, and inclusive humanitarian food and WASH assistance to the most vulnerable IDPs and host communities in Kaga and Magumeri LGAs.
This intervention is jointly implemented by Caritas Germany, Catholic Foundation for Overseas Development (CAFOD), Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN), and the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) Maiduguri.
The project is overarching in three key areas: Food security, WaSH and Protection. The Food Security component seeks to improve Food Consumption Score of households through cash transfers, ensuring targeting of the most vulnerable (women, children, people with special needs) and making sure that access to cash is fair and dignified.
The WaSH component seeks to improve freshwater access to people in need, while improving hygiene of beneficiaries of cash transfers, and improving access to WASH facilities for elderly and disabled.
Lastly, the Protection component seeks to improve awareness of and access to Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and child protection services by establishing or supporting community-based protection structures, through gaining better understanding of communities‘ protection needs, and resolving protection risks emanating from within the communities.
Accountability Officer
The Accountability Officer is responsible for the implementation of activities mainly in its aspects related to transparency, complaint and feedback mechanisms and participation across our area of intervention. Accountability Officer will also contribute to the definition of Accountability plan and activities such as beneficiaries’ satisfaction survey, community consultation, Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM) and ensure its implementation supported by M&E team for field activities.
The post holder is also responsible for producing regular analysis of the information collected, and for presenting that in relevant internal forums in order to inform longer-term programme strategy, as well as external forums for advocacy purposes where appropriate.
Responsibilities (Accountability Officer):

• Ensure functioning complaints and response mechanism, through effective collection of complaints including field visits, management of beneficiaries’ hotline and complaints boxes.
• Ensure constant contact with affected population and contribute to improve community participation in programming.
• Contribute to the definition of accountability strategy for each project following accountability plan and guidance.
• Contribute to the monitoring of beneficiaries’ satisfaction, by leading in the conduction of follow ups around satisfaction of beneficiaries with the responses of project officers in the field
• Receive complaints and feedback referred from field/enrollment staff and ensure proper documentation.
• Maintain an effective record and filing system for all complaints solved and pending issues including correspondences with subsequent regular updates to the respective focal point.
• Compile data and submit internal and accurate reports to the concerned programs/projects on a weekly basis.
• Ensure that confidentiality of complaint data is respected.
• Respond to beneficiaries’ complaints as per the Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM).
• Build staff awareness and commitment to complaints mechanism, ensuring that all SOPs are respected.
• Liaise with camp management and community leaders regarding the response on the complaints received.
• Support and follow-up program team for the application of the recommendations done based on the findings of any accountability activities
• Perform any other duties as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree in Management, Social Research, Development Studies or a related field
• At least with 1-year relevant experience in developing and maintaining accountability and learning activities.
• Demonstrated knowledge of accountability especially feedback mechanisms concepts
• Ability to operate Microsoft Word, Excel, Project & database Management software
• Ability to write reports.
• Experience of carrying out design and implementation of accountability and complaints reporting mechanisms.
• Ability to work in partnership with local communities and other NGOs as appropriate.
• Knowledge of Hausa and / or other relevant language.