Psychologist - Education Program - Beqaa

The project:

The Mobile Education Unit was launched in May 2018 to offer quality education services to the most vulnerable children living in the informal tented settlements of West Bekaa. In December 2020, a new phase of the project will start with the implementation of the following outputs:

Vulnerable children enrolled in school (6-15 years old) fill their knowledge gaps and have acquired the knowledge required for the respective year.

School-age children and young people (between 10 and 24 years of age) who are not enrolled in school have an improved level of education

The families of the children and young people, and other inhabitants of the informal settlements in West Bekaa, recognize the benefits of education for themselves and consider it important to prioritize education for their children

The mental readiness of children and young people (between 3 and 24 years of age) to learn is strengthened in an educationally positive environment.

Through the completion of these activities, the project aims to improve the future perspectives of the most vulnerable refugee populations living in the informal tented settlements of West Bekaa. With the support of a larger group of community members (children, youths, adults), the MEU team will have a positive impact on the whole community and strengthen the right to quality education for all. 

Assignment:

The psychologist is based in Amel’s community center in Kamed El Loz. She/He works in close collaboration with the social worker, under the direct supervision of the Head of Center, the management team based in the Headquarter and the Field Officer of the project. She/He is in charge of the identification, individual follow up and referral of the psychological cases living in the informal tented settlements of West Bekaa.

Tasks:

Task #1 – Identification and referral mechanism

- Identify the psychological needs of the children and their families through observation and the implementation of the internal referral pathways (receiving referrals from the social worker);

- Identify protection concerns and provide psychosocial support to cases of concern as needed;

- Collect, analyze, and synthesize information in order to implement and support intervention methods and techniques.

Task # 2 –Direct Psychological support

- Provide adequate psychological support to the children enrolled in the education program and to their caregivers according to the needs identified. The psychologist is conducting individual sessions and focus group discussions according to the intervention plan.

- Coordinate and work directly with the social worker and the animators to develop intervention plans and follow up (suggest the needed sessions to be included in the PSS monthly plan);

-  Keep track of patient numbers/cases through outpatient records;

- Complete intake assessments, evaluations, treatment recommendations, reviews, and other documentation as necessary;

- Implement the Child Protection Protocol and follow up with the project’s team members to ensure that the protocol is carefully followed by all members.

Task # 3-Internal / External referrals

- Being and remained fully informed of all psychological services provided by Amel community centers and Mobile Units through a close coordination with other sectors;

- Contribute to develop a local mapping of the local stakeholders with the Field Officer and the Social Worker to develop Amel’s network and facilitate external referrals. The psychologist is only required to support on the psychological level;

-  Each internal/external referral is discussed first with the social worker.

Task #4: Coordination & Monitoring and Evaluation

- Participate in training and initiate internal meetings in the psychologist’s area of expertise, and depending on the needs.

- Weekly reports to be shared with the field officer and coordinators. The weekly report includes an exhaustive description of all activities, challenges, needs identified, and the achievements of the week. The psychologist is required to fill in the template with all information in a comprehensive way.

-  Submit every week the updated table of patients.

Qualifications, Skills and Requirements: 

• Master’s degree in Psychology and registration with the Order of Psychologists in Lebanon (OPL), established under Law No. 8/2017, is mandatory.
• 3 to 5 years of experience working with vulnerable populations, including refugees and children.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work effectively in challenging and multicultural environments.