Psychosocial Support Officers - Beirut

Terre des hommes- Lausanne is in search for 2 qualified Psychosocial Support Officers for the implementation of the community based psychosocial support activities with street connected children in Beirut (street working children).

Job Purpose / Main Functions:

The Psychosocial Support Officer has the knowledge and practical skills to carry out community based psychosocial support and recreational activities with the street connected children, adolescents, and youth in the streets (indoor and outdoor spaces close to the locations where children are working).

The PSS activities will be carried out in line with Tdh’s and interagency guidelines. The intention of this position is to build the resilience of the street connected children, adolescents and youth through psychosocial support activities and raise their awareness regarding CP/GBV concerns and child’s rights. The PSS Officer implements the activities in a manner that leaves considerable positive impact on children and promote their wellbeing.

Aim of position:

• Develop and implement age and gender appropriate community based psychosocial support, socioeducational and recreational activities for street connected children, adolescents, and youth.
• Raise awareness on child’s rights, protection, prevention from violence, sexual abuse and exploitation.
• Provide information about available services and activities for children and their parents/caregivers.
• Conduct real-time protection monitoring.
• Refer the children to service providers.
• Build a relationship with parents, employers, and community members.
• Ensure that the street working children feel safe, comfortable, and respected all the time.

Duties & Responsibilities / Context  (Tasks) :

Planning and Implementation of Activities:

• Plan, organize and run activities with the street connected children while facilitate and encourage their participation and group activities.
• Develop an action plan of PSS activities, topics, and other types of interventions with the group based on a “Group intervention approach”.
• Ensure activities run in a timely manner to ensure the successful implementation of the project.
• Implement these sessions on a periodical manner and evaluate each session with the street connected children, Tdh’s Technical Unit and Project Manager.
• Revise sessions according to each feedback/evaluation and constantly adapt approaches and exercises.
• Deal with difficult behaviors (conflicts between children, aggressiveness, hyper-action, violence, introversion) and understand the reason behind the behavior to positively communicate with the situation.
• Ensure that all activities are done in an appropriate location, accessible for the street connected children but also safe in line with the child protection minimum standards.
• Document all necessary feedback and provide regular real time child protection monitoring report to the project manager.  
• Ensure that all the street connected children are aware of any accountability/complaint mechanism.
• Plan and identify materials and safety tools for the working children but also any kind of support required for every intervention on weekly basis.
• Assist in the development of new PSS methodologies and/or new PSS M&E tools.
• Review and adjust PSS tools to make sure that relevant, accurate and up-to-date information is always presented in accordance with Tdh and the Inter Agency guidelines.
• Suggest modifications of sessions and exercises in order to adapt to changes occurring in the operational environment, based on the feedback of the street connected children.
• Support the identification and packaging of PSS advocacy issues.
• Prepare all the necessary details for the various activities well in advance, paying attention to details.
• Collaborate in ensuring that the material appropriately used and later stored in a safe way at the end of the day.
• Establish a calendar/agenda for intervention for each group based on different locations and shifts (day and afternoon/night shifts).
• Contribute to spread the messages to the community and beneficiaries (be able to orient and support beneficiaries on services available in the mapping of services and establish positive relationships with beneficiaries).
• Attend weekly, monthly, and urgent meetings with team.
• Be able to provide a correct use of guidelines, tools, materials, and games, once agreed with technical team.
• Ensure effective engagement of street connected children with disabilities in the PSS activities.

Reporting:

• Regularly provide field reports, protection monitoring reports and reports related to project progress to your line manager.
• Assist in analyzing the data collected and reports both quantitatively and qualitatively.
• Provide information about progress when required.
• Report and support the constant evaluation process about the impact of activities on adolescents’ girls.
• Ensure a daily proper recording of data.
• Provide official and on time report for any security and safety incident.

Communication and Coordination:

• Contribute to create a positive atmosphere interacting constructively with colleagues and children/youth and caregivers in general.
• Communicate efficiently with technical team and managers conveying to them ideas and new proposals according to daily observation in dealing with the street connected children.
• Participate with in donor visits and promote proper preparation and implementation.
• Conduct communication with the stakeholders, partners and municipalities through regular visits.

Organizational Policies:

• Respect the Tdh’s Global Code of Conduct (GCD), Child Safeguarding Policy (CSP), Prevention from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Policy (PSEA) and Policy on Gender and Diversity and its principles of child protection, ensuring the policy’s implementation and prompt notification of the CSP/PSEA Focal Point with any information regarding potential breaches of the policy;
• Is aware of, abide by and promote the practices and values set out in all other Tdh policies and procedures such as the Internal Regulations, Standard Operating Procedures and other policies;
• Undertake all other duties that may be requested by the line-manager and that are compatible with the job;
• Participate actively in weekly and monthly coordination meeting with the line managers.

• Ensure Do No Harm analysis are carried out and the principle of Do No Harm is observed and upheld in all the engagements.

Job requirements:

Academic Background: Bachelor’s degree in relevant field (Psychology, social work, education…).  Master’s degree is a plus but not mandatory.

Experience: 2 years of experience in relevant work.

Technical Competencies:

1. Good knowledge in Child Protection and Gender Based Violence
2. Willingness to work with the street connected children, children out of the school
3. Able to deal with different age groups (children, adolescents, youth)
4. Willingness to work in the streets (organizing activities outdoor and approaching children in the working space – streets, traffic lights, supermarkets)
5. Able to work afternoon/night shifts (until 14:00 to 21:00) – 2 or 3 times per week.
6. Ensure quality in monitoring and reporting
7. Being innovative, creative, and taking initiatives.
8. Provide respect for the institutional framework
9. Being cultural sensitive

Other Skills:

1. Good communication and facilitation skills
2. Good management of conflicts
3. Self-management
4. Mission orientation
5. Teamwork
6. English and Arabic (written, read and spoken - not mandatory)
7. Computer Skills
8. Driving license (mandatory)

Reports to: Project Manager and technical supervision by the Senior CP Technical officer – MHPSS focal point.

Location/Travel: The positions is based in Beirut, the street work covers districts in Beirut.

Tdh Foundation, Lausanne has a zero tolerance to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of beneficiaries.  Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) is everyone’s responsibility and all staff are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct, that enshrines principles of PSEA, always (both during work hours and outside work hours).  Familiarization with, and adherence to, the Code of Conduct is an essential requirement of all staff.