Accountability Officer – North Syria

1. 
   Context

About Relief International

Relief International (RI) partners with communities impacted by conflict, climate change, and disaster to save lives, build greater resilience and promote long-term health and wellbeing.

Currently, RI is active in 14 countries around the world, including some of the most fragile: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen.

Relief International includes the four corporate members of the RI Alliance: Relief International Inc., Relief International-UK, Relief International-France and Relief International-Europe Under our alliance agreement, we operate with a single, shared management structure.

About our Country Program

RI operates in Syria across the north, east and south of the country, in the core sectors of Health, Nutrition and Protection. Employing more than 1,000 staff (direct and incentive), we provide life-saving support for Primary Health Centres, hospitals and other health facilities, and vital protection services to vulnerable women and children.

1. 
   Job Profile

The Accountability Officer leads the implementation and strengthening of Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) across RI programmes. This role ensures that communities have access to safe, accessible, and confidential feedback and complaints mechanisms (FCRM), and that feedback is systematically collected, analyzed, and used to improve programme quality. The Accountability Officer promotes meaningful community engagement, supports transparency and participation, and ensures compliance with Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) commitments and RI accountability standards. The role oversees complaint handling processes, including sensitive case escalation, and builds staff capacity on accountability principles and practices.

1. 
   Key responsibilities

Feedback Management and Coordination:

• Receive feedback messages from clients through various channels such as meetings, suggestion boxes, WhatsApp, and telephone hotline.
• Serve as the focal point for complaints received via the local hotline, responding to inquiries and questions during working hours.
• Enter feedback messages into the FCRM Database and refer them to relevant departments (Programs, Log, HR... etc.).
• Follow up on the process for closing and resolving cases with relevant focal points within the organization.

Reporting and Analysis:

• Forward decisions, feedback, and resolutions to reporters/complainants (when applicable) and record their satisfaction level in the FCRM database.
• Conduct surveys (e.g., Accountability Survey, FGDs) with clients, encouraging feedback collection and ensuring quality service provision.
• Prepare accountability reports analyzing complaints, feedback messages, and surveys collected throughout the month.
• Archive closed requests/complaints in hard copy and cloud storage for preservation and future reference.

Complaints Oversight and Escalation:

• Oversee complaints and feedback received, ensuring prompt responses and closure within the organization's response framework policy.
• Refer sensitive and serious complaints to the Incident Management Team (IMT) and safeguarding issues to the protection focal points.
• Escalate unresolved complaints or issues to the IMT if focal points fail to respond within the timeframe or in case of repeated complaints.

Training and Supervision:

• Build staff capacity on AAP principles, CHS commitments, and ethical engagement with communities.
• Promote accountability culture across all departments of RI and partners
• Support integration of accountability into programme design and implementation
• Lead FCRM training for organization staff to enhance their understanding and utilization of the system.
• Provide orientations for new staff members on the FCRM System and accountability principles.
• Act as a focal point for accountability functions within the MEAL Department across operational areas, coordinating accountability activities and ensuring compliance with standards.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Perform other tasks related to accountability and M&E activities as required, such as preparing field monitoring reports and health checklists in collaboration with RI medical or programme officers.
• When needed, lead enumerator teams hired to conduct surveys (baseline, midline, end-line, KAP) across program locations and supervise their work in the field.

Behavior and conduct

• Ensures the highest standards of behavior inside and outside of work, promoting the values in RI’s code of conduct and safeguarding policies at all times.
• Leads by example - is a model for ethical conduct standards for other team members – and acts with integrity and holds themselves accountable for being respectful, inclusive and professional
• Ensures own actions and the actions of their teams’ members do not adversely impact the safety of the RI team and the vulnerable communities we serve.
• Promotes awareness by external stakeholders of RI code of conduct and reporting mechanisms
• Promptly reports any concerns about possible violations of safeguarding, medical standards, or humanitarian principles to safeguarding focal points, line managers and/or senior management.
• Displays cultural sensitivity and the ability to work with diverse communities in an empathetic, non-judgmental manner.

1. 
   Personal Specifications

Essential criteria

• Demonstrated strong understanding of Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), CHS, and humanitarian principles
• Experience in managing feedback and complaints response mechanisms (FCRM)
• Strong communication and community engagement skills
• Tertiary education qualification in a social science or other relevant field
• Good contextual knowledge of local issues, community dynamics, social and cultural constraints and realities in the area of work.
• Ability to work under pressure and adapt to rapidly changing environments.
• Ability to organize and work independently and within teams.
• Ability to use MS Word, Excel, Access, and another analysis software’s like SPSS or Power BI.
• Fluency in Arabic and English.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in monitoring and evaluation activities (surveys, data entry and reporting) highly desired.
• Experience in Protection, Health, and/or Nutrition Sectors.
• Ability to adapt to and utilize new technologies for data management and analysis.
• Experience in handling sensitive complaints and safeguarding referrals
• Experience in community engagement and participatory approaches
• Continuous Improvement Mindset.

1. 
   RI Values

Guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as well as “Do No Harm,” Relief International Values:

• Integrity
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Inclusivity
• Sustainability

How To Apply

• To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button in the job advert page.
• You will be asked to upload a CV .

Closing Date

May 10, 2026

As a humanitarian organization, Relief International is committed to the safeguarding of all those we come into contact with through our work. We are committed to the core humanitarian principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. Relief International expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment and uphold the values and behaviors outlined in the Code of Conduct.

Recruitment to all roles in Relief International include a criminal records self-declaration, references, and other pre-employment checks, which may include police and qualifications checks.