Job Title: Digital Community Liaison Officer (Signpost)
Band / Level / Grade: AB
Department: SARL – Signpost
Location:  Abyan-Aden, Yemen

BACKGROUND: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC responds to people’s acute and longer-term needs with integrated programs that improve health and safety, prioritize children’s education, foster economic wellbeing, and empower communities to regain control over their lives. Our work gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary humanitarian action, including questions of access, conflict sensitivity, coordination, and impact.

The IRC Yemen began its programs in October 2012. Since establishing its presence in the South of Yemen, in the Red Sea Coastal city of Aden, the organization has grown from just an implementing small project to handling large scale emergency and relief operations. Following the war which broke out in Yemen in March of 2015 and the humanitarian disaster, which was crafted by the same, IRC launched one an emergency response program in the southern governorates of Aden, Lahj, Abyan, Shabwah and Al Dhale, and expanded later in Sana’a and Hodeidah in the North.  Currently IRC Yemen is operating in eight governorates in the south and north of Yemen through direct programming and through local partnerships, in Health, WASH, Nutrition, Economic Recovery Development, Education, Child Protection, Gender and Women Protection and Empowerment.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) have been working in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for more than forty years. Today, the IRC has more than 2,200 staff working across the region, including in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Yemen to support those affected by some of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian crises.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The Digital Community Liaison Officer (Signpost) facilitates two-way digital communication with crisis-affected communities through the Signpost platform. The role provides accurate information, responds to community inquiries, collects and analyzes feedback, identifies emerging concerns and information needs, and supports safe referrals to relevant services. The position contributes to accountability to affected populations (AAP) by ensuring community perspectives inform humanitarian programming while adhering to safeguarding, protection, confidentiality, and data protection standards.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Digital Community Liaison Officer (DCLO) is responsible for facilitating two-way communication between crisis-affected communities and IRC’s Signpost platform. The position supports the delivery of accurate, timely, and actionable information through digital channels, responds to community inquiries, identifies information needs and protection concerns, and ensures safe referrals to relevant services.

The DCLO contributes to strengthening accountability to affected populations (AAP) by collecting, documenting, and analyzing community feedback and questions, identifying emerging trends, and supporting the adaptation of Signpost content and outreach strategies. The role works closely with protection, health, nutrition, WASH, child protection, women’s protection and empowerment, and external service providers to ensure communities have access to verified information and appropriate referral pathways.

WORKING RELATIONS:

The Digital Community Liaison Officer (Signpost) is supervised by the Senior Editorial Officer and works closely with the IP manager. The position collaborates regularly with Protection, Child Protection, Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE), Health, Nutrition, WASH, and MEAL teams to ensure accurate information provision, effective referral pathways, and the integration of community feedback into programming and decision-making.

The role also coordinates with local partners, service providers, community representatives, cluster coordination platforms, and other humanitarian actors, as required, to facilitate information sharing, service mapping updates, referrals, and accountability to affected populations (AAP) initiatives.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Community Engagement and Digital Communication
1.    Engage with community members through Signpost digital channels, including social media platforms, messaging applications, and other approved communication channels.
2.    Respond to community questions in a timely, respectful, and protection-sensitive manner.
3.    Provide accurate and verified information on available services, rights, entitlements, and assistance programs.
4.    Support dissemination of approved Signpost content and awareness messages.
5.    Promote community participation and encourage two-way dialogue through digital engagement activities.
6.    Monitor and moderate digital engagement channels in accordance with Signpost moderation guidelines, safeguarding standards, and community management protocols

Information Provision and Referral
7.    Provide information and signposting to relevant services using updated service mapping and referral pathways.
8.    Ensure referrals are conducted safely, ethically, and in accordance with data protection and safeguarding standards.
9.    Coordinate with sector focal points to verify information before dissemination.
10.    Escalate complex protection concerns and urgent cases according to established SOPs.

Feedback and Information Needs Analysis
11.    Collect, document, categorize, and analyze community questions, concerns, rumors, and feedback.
12.    Identify trends, recurring issues, misinformation, and emerging protection risks.
13.    Produce regular summaries and reports on community feedback and information needs.
14.    Support evidence generation for program adaptation and decision-making.
15.    Identify, document, and escalate misinformation, rumors, and harmful narratives affecting crisis-affected populations

Content Development Support
16.    Provide recommendations to the editorial team regarding priority information needs and content gaps.
17.    Support testing and validation of content with community members.
18.    Contribute to ensuring content is clear, accessible, culturally appropriate, and gender-sensitive.

Coordination and Representation
19.    Coordinate with IRC sector teams and partners to maintain accurate information regarding available services.
20.    Participate in relevant internal meetings and coordination forums.
21.    Support service mapping updates and referral pathway reviews.
22.    Maintain positive working relationships with community representatives and service providers.

Monitoring, Reporting, and Documentation
23.    Maintain accurate records of interactions, referrals, and community feedback.
24.    Ensure compliance with IRC data protection and information management standards.
25.    Prepare weekly and monthly reports on engagement activities, community concerns, and key trends.
26.    Support monitoring of Signpost performance indicators and project targets.

Safeguarding and Protection
27.    Adhere to IRC safeguarding, child safeguarding, PSEA, and protection principles.
28.    Ensure confidentiality and informed consent in all communications.
29.    Identify and report safeguarding concerns through appropriate channels.

REQUIREMENTS: (Qualifications, Skills and Abilities):

A.    Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Communications, Journalism, Information Management, International Development, Protection, or a related field

B.     Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of experience in humanitarian programming, community engagement, accountability, communications, protection, or related fields.
• Experience working with digital engagement platforms, social media moderation, community feedback mechanisms, or accountability to affected populations (AAP) initiatives is highly desirable
• Experience working with crisis-affected populations preferred.
• Experience in information provision, referrals, or feedback mechanisms is desirable.

C.     Skills and Abilities:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in Arabic.
• Good English language skills.
• Strong interpersonal and community engagement skills.
• Ability to analyze community feedback and identify trends.
• Knowledge of protection principles, safeguarding, and confidentiality.
• Strong organizational and reporting skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and digital communication platforms.

D.    Languages

• Arabic: Fluent
• English: Working proficiency

E.    Proficiencies:

• Protection Principles: Ability to understand and apply fundamental protection principles (e.g., Do No Harm, confidentiality, inclusivity) in daily activities, especially when identifying and referring vulnerable cases.
• Data Collection & Reporting Fundamentals: Competence in applying basic data collection methods and tools, and optimally contributing to reporting based on captured information.
• Contextual Awareness (Basic): Foundational understanding of the local context, including common protection risks and vulnerabilities, as well as the ability to identify and flag emerging issues.
• Interpersonal Engagement: Shown ability to establish trust and build relationships with community members and other collaborators in a respectful and culturally sensitive manner.
• Ethical Conduct: Adherence to ethical guidelines and human rights principles, including gender equality, in all interactions and tasks.

Professional Standards: The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, marital status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

IRC strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, embody our culture statement creating a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a team and deliver the best possible services to our clients.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Commitment to Client Responsiveness: By committing to Client-Centered Programming, at the IRC Yemen, we place the people we serve - our clients - at the center of our programming and services. The IRC Yemen Staff have an important role to play in supporting the implementation of client-responsive programming through raising awareness among the community and clients about the existing feedback mechanisms and how to use them including the response processes, access, and eligibility to services, and contribute to building an institutional culture that prompts staff to listen to clients.