Psychologist for Mental Health Services – Staff Care (Consultant) - BML, South, North and Bekaa - National Candidates Only

Background/IRC Summary:  Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (www.theIRC.org) is a world leader in relief, rehabilitation, and post-conflict development services for those uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression. The IRC is currently working around the world, addressing immediate and lifesaving needs of conflict affected people and the reconstruction needs of post-conflict societies.  The IRC has been working in Lebanon since 2012 to provide support to refugees and vulnerable host community members.

The IRC Child Protection (CP) team works to improve the protection of children in Lebanon focusing on 2 pillars: the first pillar consist on direct implementation of child protection case management services for vulnerable children; the second pillar consist on supporting the capacity development of CP service providers to provide quality case management services and strengthen community-based protection mechanisms for children at risk, and through working directly with children and youth at risk and with their families.

within the coaching program, IRC continued to provide technical and organizational support for CP national actors including the Union for the Protection of Juveniles (UPEL) that assigned a team of social workers  and case managers to conduct child protection case management and provide the needed response to children subject to violence neglect exploitation and abuse .this support consists of delivering learning sessions, training , case reviews for complex cases  as well as psychological support and staff care sessions with the aim of improving the staff wellbeing to cope with stress resulting from dealing with the complicated cases of abuse as well as the repercussions of the latest crisis..

Job Overview/Summary:

IRC is aiming to recruit a psychologist to collaborate with UPEL staff and support them improving their wellbeing’s to cope with stress resulting from dealing with the complicated cases as well as the repercussions of the latest crisis.

Scope of Work

The scope of work for the Clinical Psychologist will be as follows:

• Group Counselling:

A minimum of one session per month for each UPEL office. The topics of the sessions are to be discussed with the IRC coaching Manager and the UPEL President first, while preserving confidentiality of the UPEL staff member.

• Workshops:

A minimum of one workshop to be facilitated during the duration of the consultancy. The topics of the workshops should be discussed together with the UPEL President and staff and the IRC Team (Child Protection Senior manager, Coaching Manager, and CB Officer).

• Individual Counselling:

            Provision of individual counseling for UPEL staff as needed.

• Coordination:

Coordinate with the IRC Child Protection senior manager and CP coaching Manager, as well as the UPEL President or assigned focal point to gain an understanding of the strengths, challenges, and needs of UPEL staff.

Coordinate with the IRC Coaching manager to ensure proper scheduling and organization (e.g., logistics, administration, etc.) of group counselling sessions, individual counselling sessions, and workshops. This may also require coordination with the IRC coaching Capacity Building Officer and the UPEL Case Managers as needed.

Coordinate with IRC administration/operations staff (e.g., HR, Supply Chain, Fleet Management) as needed to ensure proper implementation of the consultancy.

• Reporting:

Monthly report on the sessions provided and broken down by region The report should include the main topics, (inclusive of dates and times), names of staff who participated in each activity, and overview of the session structure, observations/analysis (flagging any challenges or concerns), feedback of participants and recommendations. individual sessions do not require details and breakdown.  should be submitted to the IRC Coaching Manager no later than 3 days after the close of each month.

Workshop report for all workshops conducted. The IRC will provide a workshop reporting template to be completed.

Final report due no later than 5 days after the completion of the consultancy. The report should include an overview of what was accomplished, the main outcomes, challenges, and recommendations. All reports should respect the confidentiality of UPEL staff to the maximum extent possible.

The Clinical Psychologist will be responsible to submit a:

1. Monthly reports as detailed above.
2. Workshop reports as detailed above; and
3. Final assessment report as detailed above.

The Consultant will be selected jointly by IRC and UPEL.

Job Requirements:

• The qualified candidate must have a degree in psychology, mental health counseling.
• Minimum of 7 years of professional experience in MHPSS.
• Familiarity with the Group Interpersonal Therapy model.
• Previous experience training MHPSS staff and supervising implementation is strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting children at high risk level
• Knowledge of and experience in using established inter-agency standards and guidelines in MHPSS, such as the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Ability to maintain confidentiality, respect, non-discrimination, and safety always.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to developing a consistent and acceptable improvement plan with clear objectives.
• Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills, creativity, and flexibility.
• Ability to work autonomously, take initiative and responsibly escalate issues.
• Excellent coaching skills, including the capacity to provide structured feedback.
• Knowledge about the predictable stresses of humanitarian aid work and the policies and practices needed to mitigate them.

Language Skills: 

• Ability to communicate and write clearly in English is desirable.

Working Environment:  The Consultant might not have a dedicated office space at UPEL but will have access to UPEL offices for the purpose of meeting with relevant staff. 

Payment Mode: Payment is done as a lumpsum based on a certificate of completion and number of hours completed.