Psychosocial Support Officer at Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh)

Terre des hommes (Tdh) is a leading Swiss organization for children’s aid. Since 1960, Tdh has helped build a better future for deprived children and their communities, making an impact with innovative and sustainable solutions. Active in more than 45 countries, Tdh works with local and international partners to develop and implement field projects which improve the daily lives of over 3 million children and their relatives, in the domains of health, protection, and emergency relief. This engagement is financed by individual and institutional support, with administrative costs kept to a minimum. Tdh in Nigeria implements projects in Health, WaSH, Child Protection, and Education sectors.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Psychosocial Support Officer

Location: MMC / Jere LGA, Borno
Employment Type: Full-time
Reporting to: MHPSS Supervisor
Employment Type: Fixed Term Contract
Contract Duration: 10 months

General Description of the Position

• Reporting to the MHPSS Supervisor, the main purpose of this position is to carry out an array of age and gender-appropriate psychosocial support activities for the most vulnerable and at-risk children, adolescents, and caregivers with respect to their culture and contextual sensitivities.
• The activities will be well-integrated into the North-eastern Nigerian protection system and humanitarian coordination practices and guidelines. The activities will be carried out in Borno State areas according to the evolving needs of the project.

Key Responsibilities
Psychosocial Support:

• Conduct specific child-focused activities for psychosocial well-being and building resilience for the most vulnerable and at-risk children and adolescents by ensuring a variety of activities that include active games, sports, expressive/creative activities, life skills, and educational activities.
• Mobilize adolescent boys and girls to launch empowering activities that suit their interests, promote their psychosocial well-being and create an opportunity for their direct social engagement at the community level.
• Conduct emotional group support sessions for caregivers.
• Work with the Community Development Officer to conduct awareness sessions on child protection issues and issues affecting the protection and well-being of children.
• Provide basic counseling sessions to support children and their caregivers to better cope with difficulties, and distress and enhance their resilience.
• Identify vulnerable children and adults in a need of protection or support and conduct referrals to the case management team and/or education team as appropriate.
• Establish and maintain positive and efficient relations with target beneficiaries, community members, humanitarian actors, and all the other key stakeholders for the successful delivery of PSS interventions.
• Ensure availability of the PSS materials and safe storage and maintenance of the PSS materials.
• Prepare weekly activity schedule, keep a record of newly registered beneficiaries, fill beneficiaries’ daily attendance lists, and other reports as required by the line manager and ensure accuracy and timely submission.
• Establish a new youth/children’s club or work with existing ones to identify child-related protection risks and implement local actions to address them.
• Under the guidance of the MHPSS Supervisor, conduct participatory monitoring activities to collect beneficiaries’ feedback and opinions on the quality and satisfaction of activities.
• Provide supervision, mentorship, and guidance to PSS volunteers.
• Perform any other job-related duties as requested by the line manager.

Child Protection:

• Promote inclusion and equal access for every child, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable and at-risk children.
• Identify potential cases of child victims and/or at heightened risk of violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect, and any other child protection concern or threat and report to the Case Worker.
• Maintain strict confidentiality regarding information and data of beneficiaries at all times.
• Ensure Tdh Child Safeguarding Policy and Child Protection Minimum Standards are mainstreamed through all the programmatic activities.
• Report serious cases of abuse committed against children to the CPEiE Project Manager and/or Tdh CFRM. Strict confidentiality must be respected.

Coordination & Representation:

• Coordinates with other Tdh sectors to ensure implementation of standardized activities and with other departments (program and support) of Tdh Nigeria as necessary
• Represent the Tdh project in fora and meetings held at the site level in her/his field of expertise.

Other:

• Fully comply with Tdh Code of Conduct and ensure Child Safeguarding Policy is upheld at all times.
• Ensure adherence to Tdh standards and quality requirements in all the project activities.
• Adhere to and ensure the team under her/his responsibility follows Tdh administrative and logistical regulations and procedures.
• The tasks and responsibilities defined in this job description are not exhaustive and can evolve depending on the project needs.

Requirements
Education Degree:

• University degree in Psychology, Sociology, Social Studies, or any other related discipline.

Language Skills:

• Fluency in local languages and in English (speaking/reading/writing).

Work Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of experience in the field of Child Protection in emergencies with previous experience implementing psychosocial support activities in an INGO.

Knowledge & Skills:

• Good analytical and writing skills.

Computer Skills:

• Good knowledge of MS office software package.

Other:

• Knowledge of Education systems in Northeastern Nigeria/Good capacity building with good supervisory / team management skills.

Salary
N344,000 monthly.

Application Closing Date
22nd June, 2022.