Organizational Context
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (“the Federation”) is the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network with 192 member National Societies. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, our work is guided by seven fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.
The general object of the IFRC is to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National (Red Cross) Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.
Our work is guided by our seven fundamental principles, our humanitarian values (integrity, partnerships, diversity, leadership, innovation), and Strategy 2030 (S2030), which is our collective plan of action to tackle the major humanitarian and development challenges of this decade.
In the Americas, the Secretariat of the Federation is organized through a group of support service and technical functions, and geographical configurations of Country Cluster Delegations and Country Offices. The Americas Regional Office, with its Headquarters in Panama, supports 35 national societies in 6 different Delegations: Panama, Central America, Caribbean, Venezuela, Andean & Southern Cone.
Job Purpose
The CEA Intern will be responsible for supporting the regional team in driving the development of CEA across the Americas Region and ensuring CEA is built into National Society (NS) and IFRC ways of working, emergency operations and long-term programmes at both country and regional level.
The position will provide technical support to build the capacity of NSs and the IFRC to integrate a more systematic approach to CEA throughout the programmes, emergency cycle and institutionalization processes. This will include working with colleagues in order to develop the CEA Network, make tools and materials available and develop proposals that integrate meaningful community participation, open and honest communication, and mechanisms to listen and act on feedback, within programmes and operations.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
CEA development and capacity building
- Review, assess and translate CEA materials with the objective to mainstream CEA in NSs and IFRC plans, processes, and procedures.
- Support the development of the Regional CEA Practioners Network.
- Support the IM for inter-agency coordination
- Review and organize CEA documents divided between Teams, Google Drive, Dropbox, and other sources. Organize the data and ensure documents:
- Capture the understanding of the context, team’s needs and priorities, and most appropriate approaches for community engagement.
- Ensure documents are aligned to programmes and responses’ needs.
- Help the team to identify the best channels and ways to share information about CEA, programs, emergencies, tools, and NSs’ work, using the best approaches to reach different groups.
- Support the documentation of community engagement and risk communication approaches into behaviour change programmes and responses, including:
- Capture a thorough understanding of the community context and existing knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, practices, and rumours
- Help the established feedback mechanisms and/or analyse community beliefs, fears, rumour, questions, and suggestions.
- Ensure feedback, community perceptions and insights are regularly analysed and used to inform changes and improvements to the programme/response.
- Share timely, accurate information about key risks or behaviours through the most trusted and preferred sources and channels of communication.
- Support programmes and operations, update information shared by the NSs about their work with communities though different channels (mail, WhatsApp, and others).
- Work with the IFRC CEA focal points in countries and clusters to identify community-led solutions, CEA opportunities, address challenges and improve behaviours.
- Work closely with regional CEA colleagues to ensure there is consistency and coordination between CEA efforts at the country, cluster and regional levels.
- Support IFRC CEA trainings to NSs and IFRC’s staff and volunteers
- Data systematization to contribute with the regional Social Data Science tasks.
Education
Advance student or degree in a relevant area such as community engagement, community development, social and behaviour change communication, sociology, anthropology, health education, or relevant work and/or RC volunteer experience.
Experience
- One year experience working in community engagement and accountability for a humanitarian or development organization
- Experience of designing and implementing CEA approaches, including community feedback mechanisms, tools for communicating with communities (radio, social media, social mobilization) and participatory planning processes.
- Experience working across multiple cultural contexts
- Preferable experience as volunteer or staff within the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement
Knowledge, Skills and Languages
- Excellent interpersonal, communication and networking skills, able to build relationships with people at all levels of the organisation and with external partners and organisations.
- Excellent project management skills, able to work under pressure and manage multiple projects simultaneously, to a high standard and to deadline. Able to work hybrid.
- Proficient in English and Spanish, (French is an asset).
- Good understanding of gender and diversity issues.
Competencies, Values and Comments
- Communication, facilitation and listening skills
- Respect for diversity
- Integrity
- Learning and improvement
- Empathy
- Accountability
