DESCRIPTION: 

The Building Back Better project, funded by The LEGO Foundation, is an 18 months grant focusing on improved wellbeing of disadvantaged children in Lebanon. The main pillar of the project entails provision of Psychosocial Support Activities delivered through three main means: Music, Peer-to-peer Support, and Psychomotricity. The project will address the needs of more than 1,800 children in Beirut, North, and South of Lebanon in support of civil society partners and organizations.

The project will leverage RTP's unique play-based approach to ensure that children and other community participants have an adequate community-based platform to express their concerns, thoughts and feelings. The project aims at supporting children and facilitating their transition from passive to active agents through community-led initiatives that will foster the learning from the PSS sessions which rely in part on equipping children with vital life skills and in part allowing them to apply the newly acquired knowledge on individual, household, and community levels.

The project will be supported by a safe referral mechanism to ensure that RTP's intervention also connects community needs with service providers and other specialized actors. Along these lines, and through leveraging RTP's peer to peer PSS approach, children's participation in decision making, supporting in establishing referral mechanisms, and other activities will be vital for the relevance, and sustainability of the project

JOB SUMMARY:

The Child Protection Officer (CPO) will report directly to the Project Manager while also having a dotted reporting line with the Global Child Protection Specialist.

The incumbent will be responsible for leading and monitoring the quality of the Child Protection technical aspects of the Building Back Better Project. The position will provide strategic technical leadership that guides the development of programs and resources focusing on non-specialised psychosocial support under the child protection area of responsibility. The CPO will provide technical advice and support to the Right To Play Lebanon team and project partners to promote psychosocial well-being among children and prevent and respond to psychosocial distress. The CPO will also provide technical guidance to build the Child protection capacity of other program staff during program planning, adaptation, and implementation.

The CPO will work closely with a diverse team across multiple geographical locations and partners and engage in child protection working groups, networks, and clusters.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Job Responsibility #1:Technical Support and Capacity Building (45% of time)

• Provides technical support, training and guidance to staff on child protection.
• Trains RTP staff to train CBO parters and service providers on basic, focused, non-specialised psychosocial support interventions through play.
• Supports capacity building initiatives of staff and partner agencies on safe and quality psychosocial interventions to ensure quality Child Protection responses
• Works with the Global Child Protection Specialist to integrate child participation principles into the Project resource development and training plans.
• Coordinates and facilitates Child Safeguarding and Protection training activities in Project.
• Considers all aspects of government Child Protection policies and legal guidelines, as well as Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action.
• Co-leads on facilitation CP related training
• Builds capacity of RTP and partner staff to implement safe RTP play based Psychosocial Support (PSS) interventions according to standards and guidance for proper Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) prevention and response and child protection.
• In close collaboration with the Training Officer, provides technical support to staff and partners to implement child protection program activities. 
• Supports in adaptation child protection-related PSS resources.
• Review internal the Child Protection Service Mapping and coordinate the referral mechanisms to ensure these are in line with existing systems in areas of operation.

Job Responsibility #2: Program Support (25% of time)

• Collaborates with the Global Child Protection Specialist to ensure child protection implementation plans are appropriately designed to meet program outcomes and are aligned with donor proposals and Right To Play’s strategic plan for Child Protection.
• Ensures appropriate risk assessment is carried out to ensure safe and timely implementation.
• Stay abreast of child protection issues, policies, research and best practices and help ensure sustainable and effective approaches and methodologies are pursued in the programs
• Support Project Manager in monitoring changes in the CP situation and adjusts project implementation accordingly.
• Involves children, families, communities and duty bearers in mappings and studies when possible.
• Ensures that community-level CP activities implemented during the project are collaborative, community-driven, and sustainable and built on existing local and national structures and capacities.
• Review and provide technical support to program staff on final report submissions to donors and presentations.
• Support project staff and partners in maintaining up to date service mapping and referrals pathway

Job Responsibility #3: Representation and Partnership (15% of time)

• Participates in in-country Child Protection & GBV working groups on local and national levels
• Participates in MHPSS coordination forums to promote coordination among actors
• Supports in identifying and maintaining organizational strategic partnerships for child protection programming
• Participates in and facilitates sessions at child protection conferences, networks, coalitions, and Community of Practice on behalf of the RTP team

Job Responsibility #4: Organizational Safeguarding Policies ( 5%oftime)

• Ensures the safeguarding policies are effectively integrated and rolled out at the project level.
• Puts in place protocols for staff to identify and refer children at risk during the session and support referrals to other services.
• Seeks and supports all Project specific staff on receiving written informed consent from children, caregivers and guardians before engaging them in program activities, using their images, recordings, or quotes.
• Provides support on participatory mapping of child protection services and using local procedures for responding to abuse.

Job Responsibility #5: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (5% of time)

• The incumbent will also support the project manager and the MEL officer in analyzing and adapting methodologies to strengthen children’s participation and set up child-friendly feedback mechanisms during the Building Back Better project cycle.
• Contributes to ensuring data collection processes are taken into account disaggregating  data about children  by sex /gender, age and disability at a minimum
• Produces at least one CP qualitative case study
• Uses learning to adjust programs and inform the design of future CP and PSS interventions

Job Responsibility #6: Performs other duties as assigned (5% of time)

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (Must have)

 EDUCATION/TRAINING/CERTIFICATION

University degree in related Field (Psychology, Social sciences, Social Work, Sociology, Child Protection, Child Rights

Child rights and protection courses and/or certificates

EXPERIENCE:

3-5 years of experience in a humanitarian or development child centred organisation focused on child protection and particularly provision of PSS

Project management skills are an asset 

Familiarity with international child protection or rights network

Past experience in working in partnership with key child protection actors and donors

COMPETENCIES / PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES  

Demonstrated working knowledge on analytical tools and principles of Child Protection particularly CP needs assessment across project cycle 

Knowledgeable about diversity and inclusion. 

Ability to meet deadlines and manage multiple priorities 

Ability to articulate the child protection responsive approaches in oral/written communication

Ability to network and advocate for CP

TECHNICAL SKILLS:

Particular Technical knowledge in thematic areas including, play-based psychosocial support, child participation, Case management.

Understanding of physical and emotional maltreatment risks prevention and reporting techniques

Project management skills

LANGUAGES:

Fluency in written and spoken English and local languages. French is required in francophone countries.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS (An Asset)

Knowledge and experience with child protection in Emergencies, including response plans

Experience in supporting teams in emergency settings from multiple settings