Psychosocial Counselor at COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale

COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale, is a humanitarian, non-confessional and independent organization founded in 1965 in Milan, Italy. For more than 50 years we have been dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty and to supporting populations affected by wars, socio-economic crises or natural disasters in their path to recovery and sustainable development, by making use of the professionalism of local and international operators, and through our partnerships with public and private bodies and civil society organizations.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Title: Psychosocial Counselor

Location: Yobe

Scope of the Vacancy

• The Psychosocial Counsellor will be responsible for the implementation of the PSS activities conducted by COOPI in Yobe state (LGA of Damaturu, Potiskum, Fika, Bade, Yanusari, Geidam, Bade), in line with the priorities determined by COOPI and the project objectives.

Main Duties / Responsibilities
With the support and supervision of the Project Manager and the Child Protection Officer, the Psychosocial Counselor is expected to carry out the following tasks:

• Provide quality individual or group psychological counseling
• Provide a psychological assessment on selected cases referred by the case workers
• Support the Child Protection Officer in providing debriefing and self-care support to case workers
• Develop and monitor structured activities with children and youth (5-17) to be conducted in the Child Friendly Spaces (CFS)
• Provide training and constant supervision and guidance of the Community Protection Workers
• Provide training and support to teachers in recognizing signs of psychosocial distress in children and basic psychosocial support skills
• Develop tools to monitor, on a regular basis, the psychosocial well-being outcomes of children participating to the activities conducted within the CFS
• Conduct group discussions with children and parents/caregivers to evaluate their feedback on the CFS activities
• Referral of children in need of specialized MH services in coordination with the sector working group
• Carry out home visits and follow-up plan for referred cases
• Produce and maintain accurate records of the beneficiaries
• Identify capacity building needs and gaps in CP and PSS support in the target areas
• Ensure, together with the project staff, that CP issues are monitored, recorded and reported
• Map all care specialized services available within the community or in its proximity for referral
• In coordination with the project team, support the planning and implementation of awareness activities within the target communities through community events and focus group discussions to inform the community about the available CP services and how to access them, the advantages of accessing the services, family and community supports, child protection issues, GBV, early and force marriage, the importance of schooling (especially for girls) and social inclusion
• Exercise extreme precaution and confidentiality when handling personal data of beneficiaries
• Ensure respect of ethical standards and code of conduct
• Any other duties as assigned by his/her supervisor in connection to the project

Profile of the Candidate (Education, Training, Competences, Skills)
Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences/Education or Social Development related fields, Psychology.
• Prior experience (at least 3 years) working in complex emergency context as Social Worker, Case Worker Supervisor or similar position
• Experience in case management and CP programme
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing individual, group and family counselling services
• Fluency in English (written and spoken)
• Knowledge of the local language (Hausa and Kanuri)
• Good communication skills, strong listening capacity, proactive and creative
• Compassionate, caring, and non-judgmental personality
• Respectful and inclusive of individual and cultural differences

Preferred:

• Good knowledge of the intervention area/s and local context
• Strong experience working with children with protection needs
• Familiarity with IASC guidelines for Case Management and Child Protection, guidelines for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support In emergency settings and CP Minimum Standards in emergency
• Demonstrated ability to deal with Windows SO and with Microsoft Office packages, in particular Word and Excel

Application Closing Date
21st November, 2017.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Applications which should include CV's (max 3 pages), Cover Letter (max 1 page), and minimum three qualified reference contacts to: [email protected] specifying in the e-mail subject: “Application for Psychosocial Counselor”.

Note

• Any late application or incomplete submission will not be considered and thus will be disregarded immediately.
• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.