Social Worker (2 vacancies)

INTERSOS is a non-profit humanitarian aid organisation that works to bring assistance to people in danger, victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts. Established in 1992 with support from the Italian Federation of Trade Unions, its actions are based on the values of solidarity, justice, human dignity, equal rights and opportunities for all people and respect for diversity and coexistence, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable and the unprotected.

INTERSOS identifies with the core values of CONCORD, the European Confederation of NGOs; it adheres to international codes of conduct for humanitarian organisations and the values and principles expressed within those codes. INTERSOS is recognised by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the European Commission and the principal UN agencies; it is privileged to hold an advisory status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
INTERSOS is an independent association which, through its own humanitarian operators, intervenes to effectively answer the needs of people in serious crises situations, mainly in the world's poorest regions, who are suffering, deprived of rights, dignity and essentials goods. It maintains a flexible operating structure. The head office in Italy coordinates, supports and monitors the planned activities in the countries of intervention carried out by decentralised offices.

Job Location: Akkar, North Lebanon

Tentative vacancies

Job Purpose:

The Social Worker implements activities and/or trainings in  Hrar Women Association center and outreach working directly with women, men, youth and children;

Generic Duties:

1. Conduct a daily variety of structured activities (recreational, psychosocial and non-formal education) within the center or outside, catering to the needs of children of different ages and genders and accordingly to the center activities weekly schedule;
2. Conduct peer-led focus groups discussions, informal skill training and awareness sessions with children, youth, men and women, accordingly to the center activities weekly schedule;
3. Facilitate the participation of all the segments of the target population to the planned activities held at the assigned center, notably the most vulnerable ones (refugees, local community, youth, women, elderly, minority members, people with disabilities etc.), ensuring that proper attention is paid to specific emotional and physical needs;
4. Plan and design the PSS activities in collaboration with all the team members, accordingly to INTERSOS guidelines on PSS activities;
5. Engage the  outreach workers in the planned socio-recreational activities held at the assigned center;
6. Maintain daily attendance registers and a weekly and monthly inventory sheets for each activity conducted Maintain and fill properly any distribution list or attendance lists for the activities conducted or the distribution done
7. Informs the supervisors about any difficulty met in INTERSOS activities implementation;
8. Be updated about all new information send by the PM concerning the project, the context and the beneficiaries;
9. Be available to participate in meetings and trainings in and outside the centers and/or in Intersos Beirut office when requested;
10. Accomplish any other assignments given by supervisors or the PM.
11. coordinate with outreach workers to identify participants to attend awareness sessions and other activities                  

Reporting:

1. Provide daily basic information about project activities and report on a weekly basis to the PSS expert

Specific Duties:

1. Facilitate and encourage the participation of children, adolescent, parents and caregivers, notably the most vulnerable ones, ensuring proper attention to their specific emotional and physical needs / difficulties;
2. ensure children, adolescent, parents and caregivers under her/his responsibility are not exposed to any form of harm or stress during the activities;
3. ensure the adoption of minimum standard required (ex. Child Protection in Emergency) in the conduction of the activities;
4. conduct outreach activities in collaboration with the Community Mobilizers (CM) and other staff members

in order to identify and provide information in services available to children and adolescent engaged in different form of labour, as well as children at high risk or survivors of violence, exploitation, neglect and abuse;

5. conduct Focus PSS activities such as emotional support groups, focus group discussions and knowledge and skills development with children engaged in different form of labour, as well as children at high risk or survivors of violence (at home, at school, at the community level and in the workplace), exploitation, neglect and abuse in order to identify and mitigate these risks;
6. work in compliance with the approach defined by the Psychosocial (PSS) Committee, where culturally appropriate activities with PSS and protection objectives follow structured and age-appropriate curriculum in order to ensure children and adolescents are better equipped to protect themselves;
7. take into consideration core competencies (ex. Interpersonal communication, coping and problem solving skills, setting goals for the future, conflict resolution/social cohesion, etc) with additional components to be tailored and specialized to address specific risks in terms of content, timing and location;
8. for any new groups i) conduct risk assessments in the intended place for activities to ensure that children will feel safe in this space and ii) consult children and parents about timing and duration of the activities to be based on the children’s availabilities,
9. whenever possible (upon caregiver’s approval, schedule of activity, security situation and proximity of centers) link children involved in Focus PSS activities to PSS activities implemented by i) INTERSOS in its community centers / Child Friendly Space Centers, ii) Community Based Organizations (CBO) and iii) Social Development Centers (CBOs) coached by INTERSOS;
10. in the particular case of children involved in child labour, adopt a holistic approach through working with children and duty-bearers (parents, employers and other adults) in the work place and with other humanitarian agencies, implementing:

i) for children involved in worst form of child labor (WFCL): a) focused psychosocial support activities, including emotional support groups and focus group discussion (FGD) to identify and mitigate protection risks; b) referral to education for all children and c) referral of children above 15 who are unable to enroll in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) supported education programmes (Non formal education, Vocational Education, Second Shift schools) to vocational training opportunities.

ii) for caregivers: caregivers programmes for parents of children involved in child labor;

iii) for caregivers, employers, shawish, children and community at large: raising and sensitization awareness adopting key messages developed by the Child Protection in Emergency Working Group (CPiE WG);

iv) for employers, community stakeholders and caregivers: advocacy workshops/discussion sessions with the aim of open a discussion on reduction of working hours, facilitation of access to education, engagement of children in light work, removal of children below the age of 14 from labour all together, while ensuring protection from health hazards and from CP and GBV violations in the workplace.

11.  identify and refer vulnerable cases on the base of the referral pathways adopted by INTERSOS;
12. work in close collaboration with other staff members under the guidance of the PSS coordinator;
13. ensure that the provided material is properly used, kept and cleaned;
14. ensure the storage and distribution of healthy refreshment,
15. Be available to work beyond the normal working hours in order to implement activities achieve expected results. 
16. Provide individual, family and group psychosocial support sessions.
17. conducting interviews with individuals and families to assess and review their situation

Reporting:

1. collect information on number of children, adolescent, parents and caregivers i) participating in the activities and ii) internally and externally referred;
2. collect information on number of of children, adolescent, parents and caregivers i) participating in the activities conducted by CBOs and SDCs and ii) internally and externally referred;
3. prepare weekly and monthly plans of the activities to be validated by the PSS expert;
4. fill in daily, weekly and monthly monitoring tools to be validated by the PSS expert;
5. Prepare weekly and monthly reports on the base of ad hoc models providing qualitative and quantitative information.

Administration:

- contribute to the preparation of weekly liquidity plans and be responsible of it;

Logistic:

- coordinate, through the project manager, with the INTERSOS Logistic Department for i) refreshment and material delivery and ii) centers maintenance.  

Meeting:

• be available to take part in meetings in the centres, in Tyre INTERSOS Office or in any other location required by the general management.

Competencies: (Knowledge, Skills & Abilities)

Professional Competencies:

• A minimum of 1 year of progressively responsible professional experience is required.
• Strong observation, analytical and listening skills
• The capacity to absorb legal/procedural information
• The ability to negotiate/mediate/interpret on behalf of service users

Behavioural competencies:

• Excellent Communication skills
• Good level of planning and organizing
• Teamwork
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative
• Humanitarian motivation and commitment to INTERSOS values
• Respect of Intersos policies and procedures