Psychosocial Support Officer

Psychosocial Support Officer

Closing date: 05 Mar 2018
JOB PURPOSE:

to provide direct psychosocial support for vulnerable legal aid beneficiaries, Syrian refugees at the Zaatari and Azraq camps, and community members in Zarqa and all other offices, as well as to provide advice and assistance to ARDD staff on MHPSS issues.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

· Work in close collaboration with the beneficiary, lawyer, and CM in the Legal Team in order to provide individual face to face and telephone psychosocial support to enhance the psychosocial wellbeing of the beneficiary

· Provide assessment and referral sessions and services for legal aid beneficiaries

· Hold one on one sessions with beneficiaries involving provision of psychosocial support or working one on one with the beneficiary in order to meet the requirements of the legal needs of the case

· Provide telephone psychosocial support and follow up sessions to legal aid beneficiaries referred internally by ARDD staff

· Sit in on beneficiary-lawyer sessions when needed

· Case conferences with the Legal Team to discuss case issues – legal issues, assessment results, support plans, referral needs, and psychosocial issues pertinent to the legal case

· Lead groups providing psychosocial support for groups of beneficiaries faced with similar problems

· Assist in the incorporation of psychosocial components into ARDD Projects, including providing tailored group sessions and individual sessions if appropriate

· Advise case managers on MHPSS referrals and service brokerage

· Provide individual psychosocial sessions and group awareness raising sessions in the field where ARDD projects work; for example at Zaatari camp and other areas where VOICE Project operates, to community members in Zarqa (Access to Justice Project)

· Provide training sessions to paralegal professionals to enable them to provide peer psychosocial support groups

· Train ARDD lawyers, case managers, and other staff in MHPSS skills

· Assist the CM in understanding mental health referral pathways in Jordan, and providing training and information about these, along with any other skills training

· Keep up to date with MHPSS service provision and referral methods and pathways as developed and disseminated by the various mental health and protection coordination meetings among humanitarian actors

· Play a strong coordination role, receiving and handling internal referrals from lawyers, and making direct referrals or recommending that CMs make referrals to external services in the MHPSS sector

· When asked by the Team Leader, attend coordination group meetings for mental health, child protection and gender based violence, as well as any local Jordanian coordination mechanisms regularly, and then advise the legal staff on where referrals should be made

· Coordinate with local and international NGOs, UN agencies and other stakeholders to ensure holistic support for legal aid recipients and other beneficiaries

· Participate in training and development activities determined as part of a Development Plan in consultation with the MHPSS Consultant

· Ensure the utilization and implementation of measuring tools to assess success in accordance to indicators of program

· Maintain accurate records and preparing reports for proper information flow and legal action

· Ensure M&E mechanisms are followed: keeping accurate records, working to reach targets, and feeding into monitoring and development activities as requested

· Participate in training, supervision and team meetings, and be main mental health focal point for ARDD in Amman, representing ARDD in coordination meetings

QUALIFICATIONS

· University degree in human services or social sciences such as Psychology, Social work, Teaching, Nursing, or a related field.

· 3 – 5 years minimum professional work experience in human services field

· Trained in mental health is a plus

· Experience with an NGO is a plus

· Experience working with vulnerable individuals and groups (eg refugees) preferred

· Experience working in emergency a plus

· Familiar with IASC MHPSS guidelines in emergency settings

· Personal interest in human and legal rights, mental health, law, gender based violence, and child protection issues

FUNCTIONAL SKILLS

· Ability to adhere to ethical requirements at all times

· Ability to take initiative, and to work under pressure and handle stressful situations

· Prepared to travel to field sites when required (Zaatari camp, Zarqa and other sites as requested)

· Strong knowledge of computer applications, including MS Word and Excel

· Fluency in Arabic and English, written and spoken, is a must

· Good communication and teamwork skills

HOW TO APPLY: Interested and Qualified Candidate should apply to : [email protected]. Please mention the name of the position ( Psychosocial Support Officer – Amman ) on the subject of the email.

Applications close 5 March 2018.

Please note: Due to the urgency to fill the post, recruitment will be done on the rolling basis and ARDD reserves the right to recruit before the deadline .