Consultant, Community Engagement and Accountability

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian network, with 191 member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. IFRC uses the Triple R – response, resilience and respect – to deliver on Strategy 2030. IFRC responds to disasters and crises, ensuring timely, coordinated and locally led humanitarian action. IFRC supports its members in building community resilience in the areas of climate and environment, health and wellbeing, and migration and displacement. IFRC promotes respect for our fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality, including in our work on values, power and inclusion. The IFRC focuses throughout on our core mandate – our raison d’être – of strategic and operational coordination, humanitarian diplomacy, National Society development, and accountability.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General and has its Headquarters in Geneva and five regional offices in Africa (Nairobi); the Americas (Panama); Asia Pacific (Kuala Lumpur); Europe (Budapest); and MENA (Beirut) as well as representation offices, service centres and delegations across the globe.

The IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.

‘Community Engagement and Accountability’ is a programmatic approach which ensures that communities we serve receive lifesaving and useful information, can provide feedback to responders (and that this feedback is acted upon) and can participate in decisions affecting them. Effective community engagement helps to ensure that humanitarian organizations are more accountable to the people they serve. In December 2019, the Council of Delegates adopted the Movement Commitments on Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA). Over the years, IFRC has considerably increased its capacity in all regions and at global level to better support National Societies, humanitarian operations and health emergencies in integrating community engagement approaches.

Through the Global Protection and Partnership (GTPP) with ECHO, IFRC, in close partnership with National Red Cross Societies in the EU and through National Societies in the countries of humanitarian action, provided effective and adapted local response to communities in need, while increasing the reach, quality and impact of the unique network of local actors constituted by IFRC’s network of National Societies. The programme will drive strategic leadership, be a catalyst for driving change and demonstrate IFRC network’s interoperability while contributing to DG ECHO’s objectives as well as IFRC’s Strategy 2030 and Agenda for Renewal. In order to enhance quality, impact and cost-efficiency and to ensure a people-centred approach, there will be an acute focus on seamlessly integrating cash and voucher assistance as a key modality for humanitarian assistance and integrating risk communication, community engagement and accountability to ensure that communities are active partners at all stages of the programming cycle.

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Moreover, through the Lloyd Register Foundation, IFRC is working with National Red Cross Societies’ volunteer network, local actors, and universities to translate 2024 and 2026 World Risk Poll data into action, addressing gaps in access, trust, and use of early warning systems Mozambique and Nepal. Vulnerable groups, with low individual, household, and community resilience, struggle to act on warnings. Using tools like the Community Trust Index, the project integrates national data with community-level evidence. Through participatory research, community validation, and community interventions, it fosters trust, strengthens resilience, and enhances warning uptake. Beyond early warnings, the project builds trust across risk domains, contributing to safer, more prepared communities worldwide.

The consultant will be support key CEA deliverables as part of the ECHO GTPP and Lloyd Register Foundation initiatives.

Project objectives

The consultant will work closely with IFRC’s Community Engagement unit in achieving the following:

• Increase knowledge among National Societies of CEA fundamentals, and how to apply these to the ECHO GTPP and beyond.
• Ensure readily available tools to better integrate CEA within ECHO GTPP activities and IFRC’s programmes and operations.
• Provide technical support to countries with trainings, plans, policies, guidelines and operating procedures to ensure that communities actively participate in RCRC programming according to the Movement minimum actions and commitment.
• Provide quality assurance, reporting and monitoring support to the unit’s initiative with Lloyd Register Foundation.

Desired outcome

National Societies have the tools and capacity to integrate CEA in ECHO GTPP and Lloyd Register Foundation initiatives, and in other IFRC programmatic activities as required.

1. Scale up and roll out the Community Engagement and Accountability Ambassador’s Network, which provides coordinated, structured, multi-year, support to National Societies to institutionalize community engagement. Support includes mentoring, training, peer learning and advocacy and guides National Societies through the steps to meet the new community engagement standard in the National Society Certification.
2. Scale up the CEA Ambassadors Network, to provide sustained, coordinated support to NS to embed CEA, facilitate peer-to-peer learning and address gaps in practice, including those identified through the NS Certification and BOCA process.
3. Support NS to scale up feedback mechanisms to be country-wide and sustainable long term, with robust SOPs to ensure feedback and insights are used to inform organisational, programme and branch decision-making.
4. Provide technical support and guidance to NS to make sure their feedback mechanisms are child-friendly and capable of managing sensitive issues safely and securely, in collaboration with PGI, safeguarding and the OIAI.
5. Support sectors to mainstream community engagement into guidelines, toolkits, and trainings so technical staff can ensure good accountability in their programmes.
6. Monitor and report on progress against the Movement-wide Commitments to CEA through the new global CEA monitoring framework, with findings shared via a global public dashboard and through global, regional and country-level reports.
7. Develop a project implementation plan detailing activities and milestones, as part of the Lloyd Register Foundation initiative, including in-country activities.
8. Draft global monitoring reports on all activities conducted as part of the Lloyd Register Foundation initiative, including in-country activities.
9. Provide quality assurance and deliverable review reports assessing compliance with project requirements and recommending improvements.

Location

Work will be conducted remotely, with travel as needed.

Application Instruction

Please submit your application in English only.

The closing date and time for this vacancy are based on Geneva time. Applications must be submitted by 23:59 (11:59 PM) Geneva time on the advertised closing date.