Shelter Social Officer

Job Purpose:

S/he will work on the identification of the most vulnerable beneficiaries for shelter intervention and support them to safeguard their occupancy in these shelters and access nearby services. The role includes identification of people in need of shelter assistance, provision of Cash for Rent, Emergency Cash Assistance, relocation of families in shared shelters and emergency temporary shelters, facilitation of relations between refugee and host communities, awareness raising on Housing, Land and Property rights (HLP), negotiation and signature of Occupancy agreement between Landlord and families, capacity building of resident committees at collective shelter level, assessment of received referrals on RAIS, information sharing about nearby services (health, protection, etc.) and referral to appropriate services.

Main duties & Responsibilities:

Programme Implementation

• Identification and assessment of people at risk with high/severe socio-economic vulnerability and with a focus on Female Headed Households and People with Specific Needs within Concern’s area of intervention to be eligible for Cash for Rent and shelter rehabilitation
• Identification of collective shelters in need of rehabilitation of their common area and hosting persons of Concern
• Assess and assist beneficiaries for emergency cash assistance (ECA)
• Assess and assist beneficiaries for relocation to unoccupied shelters and emergency temporary shelters
• Assess beneficiaries for Core Relief Items (CRIs) needs and conduct the necessary requests and distributions
• Ensure that the programme is being implemented in accordance with the objectives agreed with the donor, Concern procedures, and best practices
• Develop weekly, monthly and quarterly work plans and ensure that these are implemented
• Ensure that accurate programme databases are maintained for different activities such as Emergency Cash Assistance, Cash for Rent, Core Relief Items distributions, relocation, etc.
• Liaise as necessary with the Shelter technical team, as well as other Concern programmes, systems, and logistics teams
• Provide guidance to ensure that refugees and stakeholders understand their entitlements and agree to written tenure agreements
• Assist with ensuring that programme targets are reached in accordance with agreed programme objectives, as per donor contracts, in line with the overall programme approach
• Full monitoring of beneficiaries holding Occupancy Agreements secured by Concern at a minimum of 1,3 and 6 months after the start of the agreement
• Preparation of contractual agreements documentation with adequate filing system.
• Secure tenure situations through dialogues with landowners and beneficiaries with the aims of supporting refugees to remain in their location for a set period of time following the signed agreement after the improvement of their housing conditions.
• Awareness raising of Housing, Land and Property rights of refugees, when engaging with building owners, local authorities, and the households.
• Resolve property disputes and evictions or property issues as they arise with relevant stakeholders and authorities.
• Support the Community Mobilization staff in implementing the awareness raising activities, including mass events, to target gaps in hygiene, MHM, water conservation etc.

Reporting and Information Management

• Support on case identification within target populations and subsequent referral for service provision (health, education, legal assistance, livelihoods, WASH, etc.).
• Manage and track the Shelter referrals through RAIS and in coordination with the other Concern department.
• Provide documentation and information about all services in the area (including addresses and contact details) to beneficiaries after identification of service of each Municipality of intervention as well as nationwide.
• Identification of beneficiaries requiring other services and full follow up of referral to other services, especially for beneficiaries residing in unoccupied and transitionary shelters.
• Coordination with Concern Case Management team for identification of protection cases eligible for shelter assistance
• Sharing of Concern Complaint Response Mechanism and contact details.
• Follow up on incoming referrals to the shelter team including assessment and response.
• Follow up on outgoing referrals from the Shelter team
• Ensure that Concern’s and donors’ reporting commitments are met, including weekly, monthly, quarterly reports as necessary in accordance with Concern’s procedures and those of donors
• Ensure that collected project data and documents are properly stored, analysed and backed-up.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Ensure that the Shelter Social project activities are accurately reflected in the integrated M&E system, identifying activities to be monitored and data to be collected.
• Ensure Programme Quality through working closely with the MEAL team to develop the M&E system to measure impact, outcomes and outputs. This would include CFR assessments, baseline and endline assessments, post-distribution assessments and reports, etc.
• Coordinate with the MEAL team on the referrals reporting
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• Ensure Programme Quality through working closely with the MEAL team to develop the M&E system to measure impact, outcomes and outputs.
• Ensure proper follow up of beneficiaries after receipt of the services for additional support and referra
• Representation and Coordination
• Participate in Shelter and Protection working groups and Cash working groups at regional and national level when needed
• Coordinate the project activities with different stakeholders, including area based committees and municipalities
• Work closely with Concern’s Shelter and Protection teams on the program implementation and on coordination

• Staff management

• Line manage the Social Assistant(s) contributing to their capacity building and career development through technical support and on-the-job training and coaching, including in particular a thorough induction at the start of their contract.
• Ensure that all managed positions have accurate job descriptions and that each member of the team fully understands outcomes, which are expected of them, by setting SMART objectives, and that they are aware of the success criteria relating to their work.
• Ensure that all managed staff are aware of and comply with all of Concern’s policies and procedures.
• Monitor and review performance of the Social Assistant(s) and hold staff accountable for meeting their success criteria; give corrective feedback where required and take decisive action in the case of poor performance.
• Ensure that work within the team(s) is planned and organized in a way which will meet the organization’s needs in the most cost effective manner possible; ensuring that the managed staff are given appropriate workloads and are working efficiently

• Other:

• Actively participate in collective exercises such as preparation or updates of Preparing for Effective Emergency Response (PEER) plan, Security Management Plan (SMP) and other Concern initiatives. 
• Take active measures to address equality issues, particularly relating to gender, in programme as well as operational activities.
• Ensure the highest stands of accountability through ensuring good communication and information sharing within and outside the organisation.
• Be aware of, understand and comply with all of Concern’s policies and procedures (P4, finance, logistics, HR, security management etc).
• Contribute to ongoing security management and planning as necessary.
• Actively participate in any emergency response if called upon to do so (within the existing programme area or in a new one).

• Undertake other related duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Country Director or the Shelter and Infrastructure Coordinator.

Emergency response

Concern is committed to responding to emergencies efficiently and effectively in order to help affected people meet their basic needs, alleviate suffering and maintain their dignity. To this end, when emergencies strike and Lebanon Programme is to respond, all staff are required to actively participate in the response, regardless of location and contribute to the efforts aimed at achieving the humanitarian objective of the organization.

Person specification:

Essential

• University Degree in law, construction, social sciences  or similar
• At least 2 years of experience in humanitarian organisation, especially in the Shelter and Protection sectors
• Experience in working in social activities including household assessments, consultations and/or case management
• Proven experience with rental agreements
• Experience in working with vulnerable populations
• Strong negotiation and mediation skills and ability to work independently
• Strong organizational skills and able to coordinate and manage a diverse array of activities and stakeholders
• Experience in conducting surveys, managing data and statistics
• Sense of security management and willingness to follow security guidelines and regulations

Desirable

• Specific experience with UN agencies in similar projects

Special Skills, Aptitude or Personality Requirements:

• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Flexibility and willingness to adapt to change
• Report writing skills and computer skills in word processing and spreadsheets
• Able to take initiative and work independently to deliver on tight deadlines
• Willingness to learn
• Strong commitment to ensuring the protection of refugees
• Good language skills in English

Concern Code of Conduct and its Associated Policies

Concern has an organisational Code of Conduct (CCoC) with three Associated Policies; the Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4), the Child Safeguarding Policy and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation, and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organisation, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context, staff have a responsibility to the organisation to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and Associated Policies as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Concern Code of Conduct, candidates acknowledge that they have understood the content of both the Concern Code of Conduct and the Associated Policies and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these policies.