Educational Psychologist

Job purpose

The Educational Psychologist supports the wellbeing and learning of children by assessing mental, physical, emotional and social difficulties they may be having and helping them to improve their experiences of learning and achieve their full potential.

Under the direct supervision of the Program Manager, the Educational Psychologist will design, implement and oversee the psycho social support sessions and will conduct follow-up calls with the learners and their parents under the Psycho-Social Support project in response to Beirut Blast. S/he will support families and learners to deal with and to overcome the psychological effects of the Beirut blast in order to enable a stimulating and safe learning environment.

S/he will share weekly videos and awareness sessions with 50 households and conduct weekly calls to support parents and learners for a duration of 5 months. S/he will ensure long term intervention with parents and learners affected by Beirut Blast through weekly calls to share guidance and tips.

S/he will support teachers on site to deal with children and issues that will interfere with teaching and learning and will risk the wellbeing of the child and other stakeholders. S/he will detect the learners with special needs and refer them to receive specialized services according to the needs.

S/he will ensure protection, safeguarding and PSS principles are understood, maintained and enforced; identify families and learners’ problems and difficulties and support them; design, follow-up, document, evaluate and report the psychosocial and emotional intervention plan with the concerned families/ learners and other stakeholders.

Duties and responsibilities

The Educational Psychologist will perform remote sessions and follow-up calls with 50 households.

The tasks and responsibilities can evolve depending on the project’s needs.

Identification of the most vulnerable stakeholders in need

• Contact parents and schedule remote sessions with learners
• Support parents with awareness sessions and tips related to specific topics.
• Provide parents and learners with self-care and emotional wellbeing tips and activities.
• Provide positive parenting tips and guidance on how to deal with trauma consequences.
• Ensure case assessment including environmental, social, emotional, and behavioral factors as well as resources and strengths that impact mainly the child well- being but all stakeholders as well
• Provide case referral for children in need for specialized service

Assessment and follow-up of stakeholders, mainly the learners, to ensure social and emotional support

• Assess the needs of the stakeholders, mainly the learners, and their families giving particular attention to protection and psychosocial concerns
• Listen with respect and attention to the stakeholders
• Establish a case folder for each family to note the family situation, plan of intervention, follow-up and updates
• Monitor and follow up the outcome of the assistance provided
• Plan at the level of the community any needed intervention to sustain the improvement plan

Reporting

• Provide weekly and monthly activity reports to the Program Manager.
• Cultivate and facilitate contact with local organizations related to the position, in close collaboration with the Program Manager.
• Design an action plan resulting from a needs assessment.

Priorities of the program

• Provide the needed support and basic counseling to cases with PSS/social and emotional concerns
• Manage referrals and follow-ups for protection and safeguarding cases
• Work with children with specific problems until reaching a solution
• Keep an updated referral pathway for cases.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Educational Psychologist/Social Sciences License or a related field
• Good command of English and Arabic (speaking, reading, writing).
• Minimum of 2 years experience working with children in vulnerable communities.
• Experience in working with refugees is a plus.

• Ability to communicate and to listen
• Good analytical skills
• Teamwork
• Good organizational and reporting skills
• Respect for professional confidentiality
• Patience and willingness to make a change