Social Accountability Quality Assurance Officer ( 4)

IWCIDA is a nationally operating, nongovernmental and not for profit organization established in the year 2004 with the certificate and license number, 0107. It is devoted to bring about developmental changes in its operational localities in collaboration with indigenous local community and government bodies, as well as, international and national agencies committed to reduce poverty. In its strive to achieve its development objectives , IWCIDA, in collaboration with Palladium Group, is planning to implement a project titled “NPI EXPAND Project” in four woredas of Southwest Ethiopia People Regional State (TerchaZuria & ZabaGazo woredas of Dawuro Zone, and Amaya &Chida woreda of Konta zone).The project will work to improve the quality, availability and demand for family planning (FP) and maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services in aforementioned woredas through intervention of Social Accountability Activities with particular application of Community Score Card (CSC) tool. Henceforth, ILu would like hire qualified professionals on the following positions.

Job Summary

Social Accountability Quality Assurance officer position holder person is responsible for safeguarding the quality of social accountability intervention activities aimed for improvement in the quality, availability and demand for family planning (FP) and maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services among targeted community in project operational woredas. He/She will collaborate with other project team including M&E officer, social support and accountability officer and social accountability project manager in ensuring proper and of high quality implementation of planned social accountability activities.  She/He assesses the quality of overall project implementation activities, supervise data collection processes and prepare reports. Besides, the position holder is responsible for verification of reported data from community level and provides timely feedback upon deviations. Accordingly, She/He will couch pertinent project staff and government line staff for their improved collection and documentation of valid data at office and facility level.

 Responsibilities and tasks:              

Responsibility # 1: Project Implementation

• Ensure the social accountability activities implementation has ensured quality, availability and demand for FP/MNCH services among targeted communities.
• Closely work with project team to promote qualities of SA activities implementation
• Prepare or review quality social accountability activities implementation and accordingly orient the project staff for their informed action in the course of their engagement with the project.
• Execute quality improvement testing and activities like observing while planned activities are under accomplishment, monitoring facility level service uptakes and on job coaching pertinent staff.
• Identify bottlenecks to quality implementation of social accountability project activities and devise possible solutions
• Organize periodic reports of related to quality implementation of planned project activities; challenges, actions taken and best practices.
• Properly understand key project activities and follow up for its proper implementation to the required quality
• Encouraging change and improvement in performance and quality in all project milestones
• Analyze project performance data thoroughly to find out areas of improvement
• Identify low performing staff, in terms of project activities implementation, and suggest early capacity building, warning or if any.
• Record and use actions points pointed out on different project events (e.g., review meetings) for quality improvement decision makings.
• Jointly review project implementation progress with other project team and voice observed quality gaps for potential action.
• Ensure the service providers standard of FP/MNCH service provisions are met with the input from social accountability activities implementation.
• Assure project activities implementation followed proper projects guidelines and operational manuals and such that quality of tasks accomplishment will not be compromised.

Responsibility #2: Partnership and accountability

• Closely work with primary health care unit directors and woreda health office on ensuring quality of planned social accountability activities implementation.
• Hold project staff and/or stake holders accountable for potential low quality undertaking of planned project activities
• Ensures productive relationships are established and maintained with implementing partners, governmental and non-governmental organizations at all levels and with expert institutions;
• Continuously monitor the ‘heart beat’ of strategic partners (including the beneficiaries of the project) and devise mechanisms to ensure feedbacks feed into accountability of all institutions horizontally and vertically;
• Proactively develop and maintain a good learning platform with all stakeholders and ensure that good practices are shared widely.
• Avail her/him in different platform like GO-NGO forums and other NGO network platforms for sharing and learning.

 Responsibility # 3: Learning, documentation and sharing

• Monitoring the performance of staff members to ensure that they are performing their jobs effectively
• Reviewing reports submitted by social support and accountability officers and provided necessary support for improved performance of social accountability activities.
• Support social accountability activities implemented through school girls club and ensure proper documentation of data generated from targeted households.
• Learn and share with other like-minded organizations operating in the project implementation locality
• Support and guide project staff in documentation of community level performed activities and make pertinent informed decisions

Responsibility #4: Leadership and representation

• Contribute to transparent, participatory, supportive and accountable management and decision making processes;
• Actively participate and support programmatic coordination and synergy;
• Contribute to a healthy working environment;
• Contribute to cohesive team spirit among staff and partners, while ensuring the achievement of the program objectives;
• Represent IWCIDA and other implementing partners on government coordination meetings at different levels;
• Exhibit and model behaviors consistent with IWCIDA’s principles, values, vision, mission and a good sense of ownership and leadership for gender equity and empowerment;
• Proactively seek feedback, work towards improving working conditions and relations and solve issues brought to her/his attention promptly.
• Maintain effective and positive communications internally, with NPI-EXPAND Ethiopia staffs and other stakeholders at all levels;

Pay attention to ensuring that the project implementation process per the standards and are accountable to beneficiaries and to actively engage beneficiary communities as equal partners in the monitoring and evaluation of the project initiatives.

Education, Experience, Technical Skills and Competencies

• Required: BSc/BA in public health, nursing, psychology, sociology, social work or related fields
• Experience: 2-3 years of work experience related to partnership and/or accountability; out of which 1 year either in social accountability, social worker or community based project facilitator.

Technical Skills

• Excellent planning, organizational, analytical and decision making skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, Amharic and other local language spoken in project operation woredas
• Excellent- demonstrated analytical skill in the field of partnership, understanding of different stakeholders and a progressive worldview of mutual respect, downward accountability, social justice and equality;
• Proficiency in computer (Word, Excel & Access);
• Effective interpersonal skills, maturity, intuitive, tact and a high sense of responsibility,
• Ability to work harmoniously with people of different educational, cultural and technical backgrounds;

Competencies:

Respect, accountability, courage, and excellence), building partnerships, and managing performance for success, initiating action, interpersonal skills, contributing to team success, pro-active problem solving and organizing, good temperament and good sense of humor.