Psycho Social Support Officer

You'll contribute to ending world hunger by ...

• Under the supervision of Nutrition Head of Project, the Psychosocial Support Field Officer (PSS-FO) is responsible for providing psychosocial support to pregnant women and mothers/ carers of children under two years of age participating in group sessions aimed at promoting infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and caring practices. The primary programme participants are Syrian Refugee women and children. S/he will implement and monitor the Psychosocial Support (PSS) activities, including provision of group sessions to promote the psychological wellbeing of women and their young children; identification of individuals requiring extra psychosocial support; provision of emotional crisis management (Psychological First Aid) as needed; and referral/ follow up to external services for cases who require it. S/he will ensure proper coordination and communication with nutrition and health staff and other Action Against Hunger supervisors. The position requires extensive field work and movement in the informal settlements in Arsaal in the Baalbeck-Hermel Governorate.

Key activities in your role will include

Objective 1 – Analyse mental health-PSS needs and adapt approaches to the context of Arsal (15%)

• Support the development/ refinement of the IYCF-PSS curriculum for interactive group sessions, ensuring mental health and psychosocial support topics are well covered to promote the wellbeing of the women participating
• Provide technical guidance to mainstream MHPSS across Action Against Hunger’s activities in Bekaa and advocacy objectives.
• Support the development of standardized tools to assess mental health/ PSS levels, needs and indicators, including caregiver-child interactions, wellbeing, child development and maternal knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding childcare.
• Participate in the design and implementation of any other psychosocial/psychological activities that might be identified as relevant and pertinent according to the beneficiaries’ needs or linked to the mental health situation of the beneficiaries.

Objective 2 – Facilitate psychosocial support sessions within the broader IYCF-PSS curriculum (50%)

• Lead dynamic group sessions on PSS topics within baby-friendly tents in Arsal, supporting women to develop positive self-care practices and care of her infant/ young children.
• Lead age-appropriate games and play sessions to promote the caregiver-child relationship as part of the curriculum and identify and advise on procurement of relevant toys and other PSS materials.
• Observe caregiver-child interactions and promote positive practices via one-to-one support and advice
• Where appropriate, meet with husbands and other family members to create a supportive environment for breastfeeding and adequate care practices for the pregnant women/ mother of child under-two.
• Actively collaborate with nutrition and health staff and participate in activities to support breastfeeding and other IYCF and care practices.
• Refine and improve the PSS group session curriculum on a daily basis, adapting to the needs of programme participants to improve its effectiveness and the update of positive PSS practices

Objective 3 – Identify individuals and families in need of focused support, provide emotional crisis management and refer and follow up those cases requiring specialized services. (25%)

• Support and regularly update the mapping of mental health partners and referral pathways within ACF departments/ focal points (including to / from ACF nutrition/ protection/ WASH staff) and between ACF and external partners working in ARsal or beyond.
• Regularly assess the psychosocial/ mental health needs of women participating in AAH nutrition-PSS groups sessions and identify any women that may need further PSS on a one to one basis.
• Provide emotional crisis management (psychological first aid) for any individual who requires it and support other team members in improving their ability to do the same.
• Refer any individual in need for specialized service provided by external partners and follow up the referral to ensure a positive outcome. 
• Take actions to ensure an effective referral system,
• Monitor at-risk cases on an ongoing basis within group sessions and via home visits as required and according to the ethical rules of the profession.
• Monitor and follow-up individuals as per mental health professionals’ recommendations.
• Make home visits, as necessary, to understand the family situation and assist the family to access additional services as needed or practice the recommended PSS and other practices at home.  

Objective 4 – Promote monitoring, evaluation, accountability, learning and coordination (10%)

• Monitor all PSS-related activities in the field on a regular basis, report on key indicators and compile narrative reports highlighting progress, challenges faced and solutions relevant to the context and culture.
• Document and share learning to improve programme effectiveness.
• Participate in internal and external reviews of the program and related analysis to draw lessons learnt for future interventions.
• Regularly coordinate with other actors in the Mental Health-PSS and relevant sectors via coordination groups such as the mental health-PSS Task Force and bilaterally with local authorities and other agencies as required.

Objective 5 – Security

• Respect the security rules specified in the mission and base security plan, see to it that the team under his/her responsibility complies with the security plan and perform the security management tasks that can be assigned in its protocols.
• Communicate to the security managers of the working location any security related information or noncompliance with the security plan

Objective 6 - Support humanitarian activities of Action Against Hunger

• Support the emergency interventions of the organization per the employee’s abilities.
• Support any activity that helps reaching our humanitarian goals, as per the employee’s abilities.
• Promote gender equality within the humanitarian and/or development work

Do you meet the profile required criteria?

• Training/ Education: BA or MA in Psychology OR BA or MA in Social Work with training in mental health OR BS in Nursing with mental health experience
• Technical specific knowledge & skills:

• An understanding of how mental health can affect breastfeeding and other feeding and care practices for infants and young children
• Ability to facilitate awareness raising sessions and mental health promotion sessions in a group setting at community level;
• Ability to identify and refer persons with mental disorders; ability to effectively assess and support persons in crisis;
• Ability to provide Emotional Crisis Management (Psychological First Aid) to those who need it; ability to follow-up on cases referred to specialized services and interact with the mental health team of other agencies;
• Ability to represent AAH and coordinate effectively with other actors; ability to develop, organize and implement community-based events to promote psychosocial wellbeing;
• Additional knowledge and abilities in maternal and child health and in nutrition will be highly appreciated.
• Understanding or willingness to build capacity in mental health in complex emergencies (e.g. IASC guidelines, psychological first aid, mhGAP) and maternal and child nutrition and health.

• Previous experience:

• 1-3 years of experience in Psychology OR in social work OR in nursing with previous experience in mental health.
• Experience in working with the response to the Syrian crisis especially in Lebanon.

• Additional knowledge:
  • Humanitarian sector knowledge: Good team worker, good listener, high communication skills, good animator and facilitator.
  • Action Against Hunger’s mandate and programmes

• Languages: Working language in English written and speaking. Arabic.
• IT and specific systems: Good command of MS Office, compulsory expertise in Excel.
• Mobility (national/ international) Arsaal Municipality in the Bekaa Region in Lebanon, Baalbeck-Hermel Governorate
  Due to the specific context and the sensitiveness of the topics, females are especially encouraged to apply.

Our remuneration package:

We offer immediate incorporation to a dynamic international network with the following remuneration package:

• Salary Range: 2,246,000 LBP  to  2,658,000 LBP gross per month according to the candidate’s previous experience (based on the standard list of Action Against Hunger - Spain).
• Salary progression based on the annual development appraisal.
• LBP 8,000 daily transportation allowance on working days
• Social security registration and NSSF family allowance if eligible
• Complementary health insurance for you and your dependents
• Work accident insurance
• Life insurance (after 3 months of contract)
• School allowance for your children if eligible as per the official decree 
• 1.5 days of paid holidays per month
• Approx. 18 days per year of public holidays
• Many training opportunities