Volunteer Role - Individual member to HQAI’s Advisory and Complaints Board (ACB)
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Individual member to HQAI’s Advisory and Complaints Board (ACB) – Volunteer Role
August 2024
HQAI is currently looking to hire committed individuals to join HQAI’s Advisory and Complaints Board (ACB) on a volunteer basis. Please take a moment to review the terms of reference below. If you believe you are the right fit for the role, we would love to hear from you!
This is an important opportunity to contribute your skills, experience, and time in a rewarding pro-bono role to enhance accountability in the aid sector.
Location: home-based
Duration: 4 years, renewable once
Specificities: Pro-Bono Governance Position
Start date: end 2024
Engagement: variable, depending on the number of requests; approximately 4 to 8 days per year (used flexibly hour by hour)
Background
HQAI’s objective is to improve the Quality and Accountability of organisations working in the humanitarian ecosystem through the provision and promotion of meaningful and adapted independent quality assurance. Its services are intended to build capacity in the sector and provide consistent, measurable data in the delivery of quality action, thus improving principled, accountable, efficient provision of aid to vulnerable and at-risk populations.
To all its stakeholders, HQAI is an accountable, open and trustworthy partner which applies the internationally recognised ground rules of auditing, which are impartiality, competence, responsibility, openness, confidentiality and responsiveness to complaints. Our policies, procedures and tools for independent quality assurance follow relevant ISO standards requirements. HQAI’s CHS certification scheme is accredited against ISO/IEC 17065:2012.
The Advisory and Complaints Board (ACB), as described below, is also a cornerstone of HQAI’s credibility toward its stakeholders.
HQAI and the CHS
HQAI has developed robust tools to measure efficiently where an organisation stands in relation to the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) on Quality and Accountability. HQAI is committed to the nine fundamental principles of the CHS and implements them as far as they are applicable to its own staff management, auditing and capability building activities.
These are:
- delivery of services that respond to the rights, needs and priorities of users without discrimination and through participation in actions that affect them.
- timely delivery of quality services.
- avoidance of negative effects, particularly prevention of harm to people or the environment.
- transparency and participation in decision-making.
- provision of safe complaint mechanisms.
- avoidance of duplication.
- responsible management of staff, including prevention and management of bullying, harassment, and discrimination and taking a zero-tolerance approach to inaction on sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH).
- responsible and ethical use of resources.
Scope
This is a non-paid role as a member of HQAI’s Advisory and Complaints Board (ACB), offering the potential to support a unique quality assurance mission for the humanitarian and development ecosystem.
The ACB safeguards the rules of impartiality, confidentiality and avoiding conflicts of interest in the work of HQAI. In this function, the ACB acts independently from the Secretariat and from other corporate bodies but reports through the ACB Chair to the Board of Directors.
The Advisory and Complaints Board (ACB)
The role of the ACB is to provide guidance to the management of HQAI with particular regard to the following aspects:
- maintaining a robust complaints process;
- providing HQAI with support and advice;
- maintaining rules of impartiality, confidentiality and avoiding conflicts of interest in all the work of the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative;
- assisting with the development of policies relating to impartiality and counteracting the risk of financial considerations infringing on the independence of decisions;
- advising on socialising the services provided by HQAI with all stakeholders, including HQAI users (especially I/NNGOs and CSOs), aid beneficiaries and communities, multilateral agencies, bilateral donors, and other stakeholders concerned with integrity and accountability in the delivery of aid and associated services;
- providing quality control of HQAI’s certification decisions;
- appointing an appeal panel, when required (Chair);
- review annual management reports provided by HQAI.
Tasks & Responsibilities
The ACB meets at least twice a year (online), or more frequently if the ACB deems necessary.
A minimum of 50% of the members of the ACB must be present at any meeting to form a quorum.
At each meeting, the ACB shall, as a minimum, review the following items
- all quality assurance assessments completed since the previous meeting;
- a justification of all Major Weaknesses or Major Corrective Actions issued during the reporting period;
- all situations where a potential conflict of interest may have existed (questioning of impartiality), and the appropriateness of the actions taken to address each such situation;
- all instances where audited partners and/or interested parties have expressed dissatisfaction with HQAI’s services;
- any significant change in HQAI’s schemes (benchmarking, verification and certification);
- HQAI’s updated risk matrix.
Once per year, the ACB conducts sample-based quality control of certification decisions.
The ACB may establish ad hoc sub-committees to consider specific matters which it deems to require in-depth study.
The Chair of the ACB will set-up an Appeal Panel in the event of an organisation appealing a quality assurance decision of HQAI (according to POL049 Appeal policy and PRO049 Appeal Procedure).
All meetings are facilitated by the Chair, who also reports ACB matters to the Board of Directors (four times a year) and holds additional responsibilities, including managing processes amongst ACB members and with the Secretariat.
The ACB membership is home-based. Meetings are usually online. Should face-to-face meetings be organised travel expenses will be covered by HQAI.
Also, read HQAI’s Articles of Association at this link: GOV001.
Timing and duration
ACB membership shall be for a period of four (4) years, renewable once (pending approval by the General Assembly).
The proposed new membership is planned to start in Q4 2024, pending election by the General Assembly.
Qualifications and skills
The members of the ACB shall be well experienced (minimum five years) and qualified professionals in their respective fields. Collectively, they should represent the following expertise:
- Knowledge of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and other relevant standards applicable to organisations that work with people affected by crisis;
- Experience of verification and/or quality assurance and/or accreditation processes;
- Experience in dealing with complaints and appeals in a mediator or ombudsman role;
- Experience in the development of policies relating to impartiality and independence;
- Experience in ethics and integrity;
- Experience in legal matters;
- Fluency in English.
The members of the ACB shall be able to represent the interests of the following HQAI stakeholders' categories:
- national and international aid organisations;
- international aid experts;
- donors / due diligence processes;
- auditors.
This is a key opportunity to invest your skills, experience and time in a gratifying pro-bono role to strengthen accountability in the aid sector. If you are excited by this proposition and can demonstrate ability to understand, analyse and review technically complex information, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Application
Interested candidates should submit their application in English by email to: recruitment@hqai.org.
Please email your CV and a cover letter (no longer than 2 pages) explaining the skills and experience you can bring to this role and your motivation for doing so. Please mention the job title in the subject line.
Deadline for applications: September 25, 2024.
Please note that at the end of this process a criminal record certificate of less than 3 months will be required.
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