Alternative Care Case Worker - Beirut

ROLE PURPOSE:

Under the direct supervision of the Alternative care case management officer and guidance of the alternative care specialist, and acting within the child protection SOP’s, the case worker will be responsible for case managing vulnerable children that fall under the alternative care scope of work from all nationalities and legal statuses (national, resident, refugee, asylum seekers, undocumented, returnees..) within the Beirut Mount Lebanon region. Working with the child, in addition to which applies from the following: biological family, extended family, neighbours and friends of the family, the host community and host family, institutions or other service providers/ NGO’s, all fall within the scope of work of the alternative care case worker, as part of focusing on family based or supervised independent living arrangements that require frequent and close follow ups. The case worker is also responsible for implementing group activities (like Qudwa) that raise awareness on topics related to child protection.
This role is part of a pilot that is implemented by Save the children in coordination with both UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

During a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3 - the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Alternative Care Case Management Officer 

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Programme Implementation/Management

Case management of vulnerable children in need of appropriate and alternative care support/solutions:

• Identification of cases, outreach and awareness raising on alternative care among NGO’s along with the dissemination of the appropriate referral pathway.
• Assessment of the child’s current social/ biological/ psychological situation with the improvements achieved, possible risks, supporting social environment, and advantageous innate characteristics.
• Referrals to relevant services, in addition to outreaching/ updating/ and disseminating service providers with team.
• Follow-up of at-risk children and families (depending on the type of vulnerability: 2 visits per week for high risk cases with daily remote follow up, 1 visit per week for medium risk cases with frequent remote follow ups/ narrows down depending on case improvement and need).
• Ability to develop multiple and flexible case plans: one with child, one with current care giver, one with biological family when applicable.
• Confidential documentation (physical filings, soft documents and reports, CPIMS).
• Timely feedbacks and reporting to line manager (including challenges, success stories, case load, implemented outreach activities and Qudwa) on weekly and monthly bases.
• Provision of cash according to internal guidelines and needs.

Provide specialized PSS, life skills, and training to relevant stakeholder:

• Parenting skills coaching
• Social support to caregivers
• PSS for vulnerable children with aims tailored each case
• Life skills sessions for both children and caregivers when needed, especially on communication, stress relief, budgeting.

Outreach and identify prospective care givers or host families:

• Assessment of prospective host families or caregivers
• Check references provided by the family
• Complete the relevant documentation
• Conduct parenting skills and child development trainings for the families that were approved to be a host family
• Work across different contexts, including local communities, informal settlements, community spaces etc with a particular focus on outreach work and support in identification of the most vulnerable children (in line with organizational strategy) and close coordination with other sectors

Team Management and Capacity Building

• Work as a member of a team and ensure fluid communication of relevant so that work with individual cases and group sessions are of quality.
• Partake in relevant trainings and meeting, especially the child protection coaching sessions.

External Relationships/Representation

• Close coordination with other agencies and partner agencies like UNICEF, MoSA, UPEL as needed ensure appropriate implementation of activities in line with national policies, procedures and standards.

General

• Ensure a strict adherence to the principles of child protection and child safeguarding at all times, including respect for confidentiality and always acting in the best interests of the child.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Degree in Social Work (desirable), or social sciences or development
• Experience in working with at-risk children and families, experience in case management in the emergency response desirable
• Experience in working with IMS systems for data management 
• Understanding of social welfare systems and child protection mechanisms in Lebanon
• Fluency in written and spoken Arabic, and either English or French (desirable)
• Ability to write weekly and monthly reports, develop schedules and collect data
• Ability to work under pressure and willingness to work flexible hours in the event of major emergencies
• Commitment to  and  understanding  of  Save  the  Children’s  aims,  values  and principles  including rights-based approaches

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures

Child Safeguarding

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse

Safeguarding our Staff

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures