Child Protection Psychosocial Support Officer

Job Overview:
Under the supervision of the Sn Child Protection (CP) Officer, the CP Psychosocial Support (PSS) Officer will be responsible for supervising and coordinating PSS activities offered to children and their caregivers implemented by the CP team in Odessa. CP PSS activities include social-emotional learning (SEL) activities for children (6 – 11 years), SEL and life skills activities for adolescents (12 – 17 years), arts-based and other skills-building activities for children (2 – 17 years), as well as parenting and stress management activities for children’s and adolescents’ caregivers. Activities are implemented in IRC’s Safe Healing and Learning Spaces (SHLS), which are secure, caring and predictable places where children and adolescents living in conflict and crisis settings can learn, develop and be protected. The CP PSS Officer will have good technical and organisational capabilities to ensure that PSS activities are implemented in line with IRC’s program guidelines and according to CP minimum standards and principles. The CP PSS Officer will be based in Odessa and supervise the team of PSS Workers in Odessa. 

Major Responsibilities:

Technical Quality 
-Based on the workplans of the CP department, supervise and coordinate the implementation of PSS activities for children and their caregivers in IRC’s Safe Healing and Learning Spaces (SHLS)
-Provide daily guidance to ensure that PSS activities are implemented in line with IRC’s program guidelines and according to CP minimum standards and principles
-Conduct weekly support and supervision visits to each SHLS 
-Ensure that there is regular interaction between IRC and community members 
-Ensure that records of children, adolescents, caregivers and community facilitators are accurately recorded and reported
-Monitor referral pathways and provide support to PSS Workers to appropriately refer and document potential child protection cases to IRC’s Case Workers
-Receive referrals from IRC’s CP Case Management Team for PSS activities and ensure that children / adolescents / caregivers are well-integrated into IRC’s PSS activities
-Facilitate and ensure a strong collaboration and coordination between IRC’s CP PSS, MHPSS and Case Management Teams
-Review comments received in suggestion boxes and other feedback mechanisms together with PSS Workers 
-Actively assist with the training and recruitment of community facilitators in coordination with community representatives, PSS Workers and the CP Sn Officer
-Ensure regular communication with the CP Sn Officer for updates on achievements and challenges
-Ensure respect for children’s participation in all activities, including their regular and proactive consultation to support the quality and relevance of interventions
-Support monitoring and activities (M&E) activities to support quality programming

Staff Supervision & Development 
-Directly supervise 3 PSS Workers 
-Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
-Ensure timely completion and submission of monthly timesheets, probations reviews and annual performance reviews
-Ensure support and ongoing capacity building opportunities for PSS Workers on technical and managerial skills.
-Ensure regular communication with Child Protection Management to integrate appropriate technical priorities into program design, in order to provide recommendations on program adjustments based on achievements and challenges encountered.

Administration & Reporting:
-Be the lead for all planning and reporting activities related to CP PSS activities
-Prepare and submit weekly activity work plans and reports in a timely manner to agreed-upon deadlines
-Contribute to monthly reports
-Complete all relevant tools for activities conducted (e.g. indicator trackers for PSS activities)
-File and archive all important documents and correspondence relating to PSS activities
-Support the implementation of and compliance with work plans, spending plans and M&E plans
-As requested, contribute to the collection of M&E data to support the development of project proposals in Child Protection

Coordination & Representation:  
-Actively coordinate with staff from other IRC sectors in the field, including Protection & Rule of Law, Women’s Protection and Empowerment, Health, Economic Relief and Development 
-Actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with relevant local actors in the field, including community, non-governmental and governmental actors
-Upon request by his/her supervisor, actively take part in relevant CP coordination meetings at the local and national level (e.g. national and sub-national CP Cluster)

Other:  
– Stay informed about the child protection situation and developments within the communities and surrounding areas
– Consistently and proactively monitor the safety and security of field teams, promptly reporting concerns or incidents to IRC management and liaising with other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment
-Promote and adhere to the principles, objectives and code of conduct of the IRC
-Act both professionally and personally in a manner that brings credit to the IRC and does not compromise its humanitarian mission
-If necessary, provide translation and interpretation at meetings, training sessions and/or documents for a better understanding of all staff
-Conduct any other task requested by his/her supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS 

Position reports to: Child Protection Sn Officer 
Direct reports: Child Protection PSS Workers in Odessa
Other internal contacts: Protection & Rule of Law (ProL), WPE, MEAL, ERD, Health, Finance, Supply, Grants, HR and other relevant departments 

Requirements

The Child Protection PSS Officer will need to meet the requirements below: 

-Degree desired in Social Work, Psychology, Education, Human Rights, Social Science, Humanities or other related field
-Minimum of 2 years’ experience of implementing child protection programs, preferable in social work, psychosocial programming for children or education, in humanitarian or development settings
-Previous experience in implementing PSS programming for children and demonstrated understanding of working with children, particularly vulnerable children and children at-risk of violence, exploitation abuse or neglect
-Positive and professional attitude, including ability to lead and work well in a team setting
-Ability to keep records and write simple and basic reports of activities 
-Comfortable speaking about sensitive topics in an honest, professional, and thoughtful manner
-Demonstrated understanding of and ability to maintain confidentiality and respect for clients/beneficiaries
-High degree of flexibility and strong ability to organize work, meet deadlines, maintain composure, prioritize work under pressure, coordinate multiple tasks and maintain attention to detail
-Computer literate, including Microsoft Word and Excel
-Language: Fluent in Ukrainian and Russian, advanced skills in English

This position will be based in Odessa, with frequent travel to field locations.