Alternative Care Advisor - Beirut

ROLE PURPOSE: The role of the Alternative Care Expert will focus on three main areas of work: Based on assessment of existing capacities, support the development of common minimum standards as well as the identification of capacity building and support needs for residential care institutions to meet national and international legal framework and standards; Support reaching clarity and consensus on the application of Law 422 and the implementation of its provisions regarding children at immediate exposure to risk of abuse, neglect, violence and exploitation in Lebanon, particularly as it relates to alternative temporary care including foster care; Support Save the children Lebanon revise and develop an in-depth appropriate/ alternative care strategy for 2016-2018 (in consultation with the CMTF) for continued collaboration with Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA). SCOPE OF ROLE: Reports to: Child Protection Technical Advisor Staff directly reporting to this post:  N/A  KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: Under the direct supervision of the Child Protection Technical Advisor, the Alternative Care Expert will be responsible for: Residential care assessment: Lead on an assessment of 15 interim care institutions, across Lebanon, identified in close collaboration with MoSA and CMTF: Develop the assessment toolkit for interim Care institutions, with focus on minimum standards: admission criteria of children, time needed for placement, staffing structures and capacity of staff, availability of specialized services, issues of structural facilities such as bed space, number of bathrooms and WASH services available within the institution; Develop training materials and conduct training for assessment team; Ensure the consolidation of data collection, analysis and report writing on interim care institutions assessment; Based on the assessment results, support the development of Inter Agency common minimum standards for interim care institutions and of a capacity building plan for relevant staff. Alternative care legal framework and minimum standards: Lead on the organization and support facilitation of a roundtable workshop with MoJ on Alternative Care legal framework and applicable minimum standards; Ensure, within that roundtable, sharing of experiences and advice on Alternative Care practices in Lebanon from all relevant stakeholders; Support clarification – from relevant professionals and representatives of MoJ – on how to apply Law 422 and other formal and informal mechanisms to provide protection for children at risk in need of temporary family based care; Identify time-bound practical steps for the way forward to reach endorsement by Government relevant ministries (MoJ & MoSA) on the Alternative Care in Emergencies developed toolkit and for its implementation; Develop a road-map for continued future collaboration between MoJ and MoSA to put in place Alternative Care mechanisms, which can apply to both Lebanese and non-Lebanese children; Write a report on the results of roundtable workshop to be widely shared.  Support to Save the children Alternative care strategy development and roll-out: Review and further develop alternative Care Strategy and way forward for SCL in coordination with CMTF/MOJ/MoSA, based on both the interim care institutions assessment and MoJ roundtable workshop results; Review, revise in consultation with Save the children’s CP case management teams, and validate the training toolkit on Alternative Care; Plan and deliver training to CP case management staff based on needs identified and agreed upon at the beginning of the mission with the CP TA; Review, revise or validate pilot on foster family placements and foster family training toolkit, and support their roll–out implementation. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE Master’s degree in human rights, child rights, international law, psychology, social work or other relevant social science degree; At least 5 years of professional work experience in fields relevant to child protection, including proven technical expertise in case management and alternative care programming in emergency contexts; Demonstrated experience in building capacity of teams and staff; High-level communication skills, including ability to speak formally, negotiate, demonstrate tact and diplomacy, and advocate for child protection issues with humanitarian community and authorities; Highly developed leadership, facilitation and coordination skills; Strong report writing skills, Ability to analyse information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically Fluency in written and spoken English  Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children International. Ability to work well in a team as well as independently, and under pressure in response to changing needs; Ability to plan well, set own targets and meet them; Commitment to Save the Children values, including willingness to abide by and enforce the Child Safeguarding policy.