GBV/CARM Assistant

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004. In partnership with civil society organizations, academic institutions, private sector, and the government, Mercy Corps Ethiopia has reached more than five million Ethiopians with interventions to save lives and build secure livelihoods. Our programs emphasize market-driven solutions, reinforce social bonds, and help Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, and South Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), and in Dire Dawa Administration and the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa – Mercy Corps Ethiopia is driven by the mission to contribute the emergence of a peaceful, resilient, and prosperous Ethiopia which is inclusive of youth and women. Our strategic directions focus in promoting inclusive and dynamic markets; promoting peace and social cohesion through strengthening formal/informal governance structures and citizen engagement; improved natural resource governance; and integrated humanitarian response.

Position Title: GBV/CARM Assistant         

Duty Station: Negele Borena

Open Position:  1                                                     

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps takes a participatory approach in engaging with local communities throughout the program design and implementation. A Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism (CARM) is an essential part of Mercy Corps’ commitment to excellence and integrity, by providing individuals, organizations, local groups, and other stakeholders a means of raising concerns about potential staff misconduct or sharing feedback or programmatic activities (positive and negative) with Mercy Corps, independently from program operations. In the context of Ethiopia, rolling out and implementing CARM will ensure that the Ethiopia country team will continue to uphold Mercy Corps’ high standards of accountability. In addition to this the position holder shall be in charge of technical quality implementation and delivery of the standalone Child Protection and GBV related activities and mainstreaming of Gender and protection in all focus area of the EHF multisectoral project in the assigned Woreda. The position holder will mainly be responsible in the daily implementation; and consultation with government agencies, humanitarian actors and community members to identify Children, GBV and protection risks and to develop possible strategies to mitigate protection risks and to strengthen response and prevention capacity of various actors. In addition, the position holder is also responsible to provide capacity building trainings on different protection topics including basic protection principles, GBV and CP case management, prevention, and response mechanisms, PSEA and safeguarding to government line bureaus, community representatives, community volunteers, and other humanitarian actors. S/He will be responsible for day-to-day activity implementation in the Women and Girls Safe Spaces and Child friendly Spaces and community-based sensitizations. S/He will also be responsible for  documentation of GBV and Child Protection related activities, compile reports (weekly, and monthly); as well as represent Mercy Corps in protection and GBV related coordination forums such as Zonal and Woreda levels protection, CP/GBV cluster, PSEA Network and so on.

GBV program magment

• Facilitate proper implementation of GBV and Child Protection related activities of the project.
• Provide trainings for Mercy Corps, government staff and other service providers in the areas on GBV and CP case management and PSS, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, interagency standing committee guideline/IASC/ on Gender Based Violence /GBV/, GBV and CP basic concepts, GBV and CP referral and coordination mechanism and so on.
• Work with Women and Social Affairs office and other service providers of CP, GBV and psychosocial support providers on case management and MHPSS.
• Conduct Safety Audit, protection risk assessment, analysis and share the information to service providers and CP and GBV protection clusters.
• Conduct GBV and CP service mapping and coordinate with service providers to strengthen service provision and to support vulnerable children and GBV survivors to have timely and multi- sector response services as required.
• Lead the process of strengthen the GBV and CP coordination mechanism in the area.
• Organize review meetings and other periodic meetings with community members, government representatives and other humanitarian actors on the GBV, CP and protection concerns in relation to the project.
• Ensure that the GBV and CP referral and psychosocial support related activities are properly implemented at the local level in collaboration with women and social affairs office.
• Provide on job training for the safe space facilitators, protection officers and community volunteers in GBV, CP and protection related activities.
• Lead the process of dignity kit and UASC material distribution for affected community members (women and girls)
• In place and lead the process of WGSS and CFS activities in the selected areas.
• Coordinate and prepare weekly and monthly reports on GBV and CP, and protection related services and submit to relevant staff including the protection adviser at the country office.

General Position Summary

Under the supervision of the MEL officer (based in MC Negele Field office) the GBV/CARM assistant officer will lead CARM implementation within the program, dividing his/her time between the continued establishment, maintenance, management, and adaptation of CARM implementation in the program.

Essential Job Responsibilities

CARM DESIGN, ADAPTATION AND ROLLOUT 

• Work with program team to establish feedback collection channels.
• Work with program teams to establish internal and external referral mechanisms.
• Develop Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials for community members that include Mercy Corps values and how to provide feedback and/or report concerns.
• Design and disseminate communication material that promotes the use of feedback mechanisms (e.g. distribution signs, community signs and banners, etc.).

OVERSEE CARM IMPLEMENTATION

• Collect, record and response to feedback from the community & parnters using the established CARM feedback channels.
• Establish and follow up appropriate feedback is efficiently directed through the correct channels.
• Identify, and follow-up on complaints which are serious and sensitive, including engaging management as necessary to respond appropriately.
• Conduct field visits, spot checks, trainings, and follow-up on specific feedback cases.
• Support program team to encourage community participation during program implementation.

MAINTAIN CARM DOCUMENTATION

• Create and consolidate monthly program -level CARM report for relevant stakeholders, that presents CARM findings, successes, trends, tweaks to implementation processes, and adaptation as a result of feedback received.
• Capture programmatic adaptation resulting from CARM feedback within impact stories on a monthly basis, meeting with other team members as necessary.
• Ensure maintenance of CARM program-level database.

SUPPORT CARM COORDINATION

• Brief the program team on a weekly basis and/or as necessary regarding the status of and updates regarding high-level CARM cases.
• Liaise with Mercy Corps country level CARM team as necessary regarding the status of high-level CARM cases
• Advocate for CARM needs at the program-level, identifying gaps in budgeting staffing, time, or other areas.

CAPACITY BUILDING

• Conduct CARM & safeguarding sensitization sessions for program team, community and other stakeholders
• Train staff on receiving complaints and feedback and on community sensitization, particularly on informing communities and handling feedback on sensitive subjects of potential staff misconduct.
• Conduct training on different CARM channels to staffs, community and other stakeholders.

COORDINATION

• Collaborate with other actors to develop referral maps and mechanisms for communities in the program implementation area.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field programs.

 GEDSI (GENDER, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION)

• Coordinate with GEDSI Technical Team Improve gender-responsiveness of program /Project MEAL

Supervisory Responsibility

No Supervisory role

Accountability

Reports Directly To: MEL Officer and GBV Advisor

Technical Line Report To: Country CARM Advisor

Works Directly With:

Area manager, MEL officer, Field officers, country CARM advisor, PaQ team, including Mercy Corps participants.

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.

Knowledge and Experience

• BA degree in Gender and social development, Sociology, Psychology, Social work, or other similar social science field of studies
• Minimum two years’ work experience in GBV, Child Protection and Protection related roles (Experience working in NGO is an advantage)

Success Factors

Define the specific behavior and attitudes critical to success in the position at time of hire and as it develops over time in paragraph form (soft skills).

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.

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.

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply for the position advertised.  All applications submitted electronically include a CV, three references, and all relevant official documents.

Only candidates that are short-listed will be acknowledged and called for interviews.

“Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity and    diversity. Qualified female and young candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women and youth.”

DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: 02 June 2023/ 4:00 PM