BACKGROUND

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan has over 80 years’ experience and works in more than 75 countries across the world. We strive for a just world, working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners.

Plan International has been working in Tanzania since 1991. Our work supports marginalised children and youth, especially adolescent girls, to grow up physically and mentally healthy and ready to shape their future. We create an enabling environment and empower girls to be active drivers of change in realising their rights. We prioritise working with partners, and ensuring all of our work is evidence based.

The PlayMatters project is aimed at supporting play-based learning for children aged 3-12 years in the 3 refugee camps and host communities in the Kigoma region. The project will focus on reaching out to nearly 1 million pre-primary and primary school aged refugee and host community children impacted by the humanitarian crises in East Africa and living in Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania. This project aims to build children’s social, emotional, cognitive, physical and creative skills through play in their homes, schools, and communities and will be implemented in partnership with War Child, International Rescue Committee, Behavioural Insights Team and Innovations for Poverty Action.

role PURPOSE

Plan International Tanzania is looking for an experienced Feedback and Accountability Officer responsible for all PlayMatters project related accountability activities in Kibondo and Kakonko districts as well as in Nduta and Mtendeli refugees’ camps. The Feedback and Accountability Officer will also support on the feedback mechanism, handling complaints/feedback from community, incoming calls on helpline, assigning and managing complaints/feedback to go through feedback cycle, collating feedback from helpdesk and from other sources into a consolidated feedback report, providing general administrative support to the Help desk (static and mobile) and documentation of success stories and case studies from the community members/beneficiaries.

Dimensions of the Role

• Feedback and Accountability Officer will directly report to MEAL Coordinator in Kibondo. She/he will provide onsite support to EiE officers in Kibondo.
• Feedback and Accountability Officer activities will be 60% field visit aiming at supporting all camp accountability initiatives.
• The role will ensure the effective information sharing (Transparency), fully participation of of beneficiaries in PlayMatters project intervention and handling beneficiary’s complaints and feedback and tracking effectively complaints/feedback reach in PlayMatters project interventions.
• Feedback and Accountability Officer will collaborate with other consortium partners and participates in consortium meetings, Camps meetings to ensure Plan International visibility.

Accountabilities

The Feedback and Accountability Officer specific roles will be:

• Collecting beneficiaries’ complaints and feedback from different channels and document them accordingly for further sharing with program team for action.
• Manning the static and/or mobile helpdesk for receiving and giving complaints and feedback from the refugees and host community members.
• Receive refugees and host community (children, youths and adults) with queries for information or support and assist them as appropriate.
• Accurately record complaints and feedback to the Complaints and Feedback mechanism Database.
• Assign complaints/feedback to interagency feedback cycle/referral pathway and monitoring progress.
• Appropriately document and respond to incoming calls with complaints/feedback and provide them with relevant responses.
• Collating feedback from helpdesk and from other sources into a consolidated feedback report.
• Tracking and updating on accountability indicators performance progress.
• Provide excellent customer service to refugee community, host community and agency staff visiting the help desk centre.
• Participate in routine feedback sessions with community and/or its leadership structures.
• Participating in UNHCR /Inter agency and host community-based feedback mechanism activities
• Supervise the dedicated feedback incentive workers or community members in collecting and responding to community feedback/complaints.
• Work with Field officers and Social workers in collecting, acknowledging, and responding to community feedback/complaints.
• Process and coordinate the follow up of feedback/complaints responses at camp and host community level.
• Ensuring information sharing by providing adequate and timely communications about the Emergency Response Program activities to refugees in the camps.
• Advise the Emergency Response Program to select the most appropriate feedback mechanisms based on the refugee camp and host community realities and context.
• Represent organization in the inter-agency, host community and other partners meetings at camp and host community level.
• Conduct Focus Group discussion, meeting and dialogues with beneficiaries to collect complaints/feedback and share feedbacks.
• Consolidating weekly and monthly accountability reports.
• Conducting Accountability capacity building to program staff and other stakeholders to be involved in PlayMatters intervention.
• Supporting any other MEAL assessments, surveys, and research initiatives.
• Perform any other duties as assigned by his/her supervisor

Key relationships

Staff Management

• This position does not directly supervise any staff or refugee incentive workers; however, s/he will be collaborating with other EiE Officers and Incentive workers to support the implementation of PlayMatters activities.
• Report any violations of Plan International’s Code of Conduct and Policies as per Plan International-Tanzania.

External – Close collaboration and strong working relationship with project consortium partners and members of the Education Working Group (IRC, Caritas, Save the Children, UNHCR, UNICEF, MHA, District Education Officers) etc. The Feedback and Accountability Officer will also maintain relationship with local authorities, relevant Government institutions, and UN agencies to ensure Plan’s work is well linked to other initiatives.

Internally– The Feedback and Accountability Officer will directly report to the EiE Programme Manager, and She/he will coordinate with EiE Specialist, Communication and Advocacy team (CO), Illustrations Officer, EiE Coordinator, MEAL Coordinator and EiE Officers for the implementation of project activities at camp level. S/he will also work closely with finance team, Procurement team, Communications and advocacy team and Human resources team. S/He will also work closely with the Child Protection team and ensure that protection is integrated in all Education activities.

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

• Degree in Social Sciences or related fields
• People skills especially communication and facilitation skills with people of various backgrounds
• Sufficient experience in using spreadsheets especially excel, SPSS and any others software to collate feedback data
• Sufficient experience working in a refugee service delivery role or customer service work
• Demonstrated ability to explain the value and purpose of a feedback mechanism
• Demonstrated ability to identify key parts of a complete feedback loop
• Demonstrated capacity to apply best practices in setting up and managing effective feedback mechanism
• Ability to foster the programming approach and mind-set that actively seeks community feedback
• Demonstrated understanding on how to use and respond to feedback from beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in targeted communities.

Desirable

• Demonstrate good understanding of community-based CP system in the country
• Experience with refugees will be an added advantage
• Interpersonal, problem solving and decision-making skills
• Patience and stress management
• Good knowledge of computer applications
• Good training abilities
• Capacity to work under pressure

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people

We strive for lasting impact

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.

• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

Physical Environment

The job holder requires 60 % field work in 3 camps and 40 % Office-based environments.

Level of contact with children

High interaction with children