Child Protection Officer (CM&PSS) - Access to Justice - Beirut

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, the IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 40 countries and 22 cities in the United States, the IRC restores safety, dignity, and hope to millions of vulnerable individuals who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

In Lebanon, the IRC implements programs in the education, protection, women’s empowerment and protection, economic recovery and development, and child protection sectors. In child protection, one of the IRC’s main objectives is to strengthen the national child protection system to provide a quality response to children and families facing protection issues both during and outside of emergencies. To reach this objective, the IRC partners with local child protection actors to build their capacities.

In Lebanon, Syrian and Palestinian refugee and/or stateless children who require protection, such as adolescent boys working on the street have been referred to the judicial system as they have been perceived as children in conflict with the law. Whilst humanitarian agencies aim to ensure basic services for the most vulnerable children and their families, these interventions are not able to protect Syrian and Palestinian children from harm that may result from a child in contact with the judicial system.

Job Overview/Summary: The IRC Child Protection program is seeking a Child Protection Officer to ensure the good delivery of Child Protection activities all over Lebanon.

Major Responsibilities:          

The Child Protection Officer will be supporting the design, set-up monitoring, and evaluation of the program in the North and Bekaa and also in other governorates within the scope of the program, ensuring timely, effective, and quality programming by sharing tools and resources and providing capacity-building support and on-the-job coaching to the child protection staff recruited by IRC and IRC’s local partner.

The CP Officer will supervise caseworkers implementing direct case management intervention in North and Bekaa, to ensure that children in conflict with the law, and children at risk of conflicting with the law are receiving quality case management services and will report feeling supported throughout the process

In addition, will play a crucial role in supporting partner organizations under the Access to Justice program to enhance their capacity in child protection. The officer will provide technical assistance, training, and resources to ensure that partner organizations can effectively implement child protection policies and practices in line with national laws and international standards.

The scope of work for the Child Protection Officer will be as follows:

Case Management & Psychosocial Support :

• Direct supervision, coaching, and mentoring of the caseworkers covering all project implementation areas and any case management tasks.
• Case management audit will monitor case management work achieved by the caseworker through regular audits.
• Case review meetings with the Access to Justice case workers, responsible for ensuring the preparation of case action plans and handling and updating all related forms ensuring accountability.
• Update the Access to the justice manager and the IRC coaching program on the trends related to case management in implementation.
• Regularly conduct service mapping to update existing services in the area and strive to facilitate access to services for the child and his/her family even if the process requires thinking outside of the box, advocating for upper management, working groups, national entities, or relevant authorities to facilitate.
• Communication with other agencies for referrals and service provision, lead case conferences and attend Child protection meetings.
• Responsible and accountable for drafting and updating reports which include case management reports, Data in the Monthly report, and juvenile reports.
• Responsible for handling referrals through the IRC hotline number, responding to emergency cases, and facilitating access to information and services whenever possible.
• Support and Monitor the Child Protection case management staff of the partner team on the implementation of center-based and mobile outreach psychosocial support activities.
• Follow the PSS committee guidance on the implementation of the PSS component.

Capacity Building

• Assess the child protection capacity of partner organizations through regular evaluations and needs assessments.
• Develop and deliver training programs tailored to the specific needs of partner organizations, covering areas such as child rights, child safeguarding, National CP SOP, and legal frameworks.
• Provide ongoing mentoring and support to build the skills and knowledge of staff within partner organizations.
• Set timely Capacity building plans based on identified needs for the partners and community stakeholders in the areas of the intervention.
• Raise all the training materials and plans to the Access to Justice manager for his/her review and approval before putting them into action.
• Conduct weekly monitoring visits to the partner's activities sites share documented feedback on the visits with the partners, and fill observation tools
• Support the design, set-up, monitoring, and evaluation of the child protection Psychosocial Support, and Case management activities implemented by IRC CP’Partners all over Lebanon.
• Provide technical support and on-the-job coaching to CP local partners implementing PSS activities and delivering Case management for children and caregivers in the areas of intervention.
• Liaise closely with the Access to Justice manager and senior Monitoring and Evaluation officer to develop M & E tools needed for training and other capacity-building activities, (training pre/posttests, observation tools, database, training evaluation forms, etc.…).
• Work closely with the M&E officer to support the CP partner’s capacity on M&E. 
• Assist partner organizations in developing and implementing child protection policies and procedures that are in line with national legislation and international conventions.

Networking and Collaboration:

• Foster partnerships and collaboration with government agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders working in child protection.
• Represent the organization in child protection coordination meetings, workshops, and other relevant forums.
• Build strong relationships with local partners, through maintaining mutual respect and vision.
• Seek opportunities for close coordination and collaboration with IRC programs (i.e. education, Early childhood development, protection and women’s protection and empowerment, MHPSS, Protection) to ensure smooth mainstreaming and integration of Child protection across sectors.

Documentation and Reporting:

• Compile and analyze data related to child protection activities and outcomes achieved by partner organizations.
• Prepare comprehensive reports documenting progress, challenges, and lessons learned in child protection capacity building.
• Fill out observation checklists whenever conducting field visits.
• Document success stories in close coordination with the Communication Department.
• Assume full responsibility for all relevant monitoring and evaluation activities (capacity-building reports, training evaluation reports, Pre – post-test analysis reports, etc...)

Other

• Liaise with the CP Manager to ensure that all logistical and operational requirements for the training are finalized.
• Participate in the development of lessons learned and best practices.
• Assume full responsibility for tracking individual participants in training databases, and ensure data entered is accurate and up to date.
• Document all trainings, workshops, and field visits using the appropriate tools.
• Participate in team meetings and partner meetings with the Access to Justice project manager.
• Conduct weekly monitoring visits to the partner's activities sites and share documented feedback on the visits with the partners.
• Other CP activities as requested by the supervisor.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree (required) or master’s degree (preferable) in social work, Law, or related field.
• Work experience: 3 to years working in child protection and capacity building preferably in Juvenile Justice, including a minimum 2 years of experience in case management supervision.
• Strong understanding of child rights and child protection issues, particularly within the context of Access to Justice programs.
• Experience in designing and delivering training programs and conducting capacity assessments.
• Familiarity with international standards and guidelines on child protection (e.g., UNCRC, ILO Conventions).
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong knowledge of Child Protection and the Juvenile justice system in Lebanon.
• Strong drafting and reporting skills.
• Knowledge and experience in using and updating Excel databases.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word and Excel
• Staunch advocate of child protection and child rights.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports: to the Child Protection - Access to Justice Manager
  The position directly supervises Child Protection Caseworkers.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Team player, flexible, network-builder, able to handle pressure, enjoys working in the field, Ability to develop partnerships, network, and attend coordination meetings good communication skills, Analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Commitment to child protection principles and ethical standards.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Language Skills:

Fluency in writing and typing in Arabic and English is mandatory

Working Environment:

Office work with 80% field trips to North, Bekaa, and South Lebanon, and visits to partners.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. By 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.