Hargeisa, Somaliland with frequent travel to other locations in Somalia
OVERALL OBJECTIVE
This is a new position for the project “Piloting Accountability Systems for Humanitarian Aid in Somalia”. The Communication Officer will play a pivotal role in enhancing the accountability of DRC operations in Somalia. He/she will advocate for other agencies to adopt beneficiary feedback systems. He/she will moderate discussions on Facebook in both Somali and English; generate information on Twitter, Flickr and YouTube; analyze SMS from communities; prepare updates and reports for managers and other stakeholders.
BACKGROUND
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has been providing relief and development services in the Horn of Africa since 1997. Using a protection of human rights framework, DRC has mainly focused on Somalis who are displaced by conflict. Programmes include protection, livelihoods, Water and Environmental Sanitation, food and NFI distribution, Community Driven development and advocacy amongst others.
DRC recognizes the importance of public access to information for accountability and good governance, and for enabling citizen participation to be meaningful. It plans to address this challenge by harnessing ICTs solutions. The proposed project aims to foster citizen participation, by encouraging citizens to “express their demands, aspirations, engaging in the process of formulation of humanitarian interventions, planning, monitoring and evaluation”.
The overall objective of the proposed project is to contribute to strengthen (the demand-side of) local level governance and community-based organisations. The specific objective is to make interventions from DRC and other humanitarian agencies operating in Somalia more transparent and more responsive to citizen’s views and needs.
The outputs are (a) the establishment of a beneficiary feedback through text messages over mobile phones, and (b) the creation of on-line communities on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.
In an initial stage, the potential beneficiaries of this project will be the beneficiaries of current DRC projects. The project will be first piloted under the Community Driven Recovery and Development project and, later, under other DRC projects. In a later stage, DRC will involve other humanitarian actors and will help them mainstreaming the accountability systems into their operations.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Develop communication strategies for the CDRD project and other DRC projects, which are aimed at enhancing the accountability of DRC operations in Somalia;
• Generate content and moderate discussions on Facebook, i.e. CDRD page at www.facebook.com/somCDRD to improve the project accountability towards its stakeholders; for the same purposes, create Facebook pages for other DRC projects and generate content;
• Generate content on Flickr and YouTube on CDRD project, i.e. pictures and videos with short descriptions; create Flickr and YouTube communities for other DRC project and generate content;
• Set up Twitter communities for CDRD project and other DRC projects and generate content;
• Contribute to the development of the Beneficiary Feedback System, in particular design the information campaign to be carried out in the targeted communities targeted (i.e. communities where the CDRD and other DRC projects already operate);
• Manage the database of the Beneficiary Feedback System, in particular analyze SMS from beneficiaries of communities supported by the CDRD and other DRC projects, forward SMS to project managers for action, monitor the follow-up by project managers, and provide feedback to beneficiaries;
• Conduct regular field visits to DRC projects locations to monitor the Beneficiary Feedback System;
• Organize and conduct workshops, seminars and trainings for other international organizations operating in Somalia who are willing to adopt beneficiary feedback systems and make use of social networks for accountability purposes;
• Liaise with organizations representing the Somali diaspora who may have a stake in humanitarian interventions in Somalia, and sensitize them about beneficiary feedback systems and the use of social networks for accountability purposes;
• Prepare updates and reports for DRC managers and other stakeholders;
• Supervise the Management Information System (MIS) Officer, who will receive and classify SMS from communities, and collect data, pictures and videos that are meant to be posted on the social networks.
REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS
Reports to Coordinator of the CDRD project. Will work in close liaison with Quality Assurance Unit and the Deputy Country Director.
QUALIFICATIONS
• Post-graduate degree in one of these sectors: Communication, Marketing, Social studies, Management, Monitoring and Evaluation,
• A minimum of six years relevant experience;
• Knowledge of Humanitarian Accountably Partnership (HAP) standards, participatory monitoring, and beneficiary feedback;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English and Somali is required. Extensive experience in report writing and editing is an asset;
• Knowledge of on-line social networks is required.
• Good command of general purpose computer programs and applications;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• Self-motivated and able to work with a minimum supervision;
• Willingness and physical ability to perform field missions in remote areas under restricted security conditions;
• Somali national is an advantage (candidates who are not of Somali origin but are proficient in written and spoken Somali will be considered).
CONDITIONS
Availability: August 2011
Duty station: Based in Hargeisa, Somaliland. This is a non-family post.
Contract: 15 months. Salary and other conditions in accordance with the Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Field Recruited Expatriates recruited by the Horn of Africa (HOA) Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya. Salary is $3,000 per month, no additional allowances.
Benefits: Guesthouse accommodation in Hargeisa, insurance, and R&R after every 12 weeks with flight and allowance as per DRC policy.
For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.drc.dk.
GENERAL
Commitments: DRC has a Humanitarian Accountability Framework, outlining its global accountability committments. All staff are required to contribute to the achievement of this framework (http://www.drc.dk/HAF.4265.0.html)
APPLICATION PROCESS
The deadline for applications is 15 July, 2011. Applicants should send a 1-page cover letter that clearly states how they are qualified, and why they are interested in, the post together with their CV (not longer than 4 pages) to drcjobs@drckenya.org . Please indicate “Communication Officer” as the subject heading.
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