Psychosocial & Mental Health Expert

Position: Psychosocial & Mental Health Expert

Requirement: TOT & Coaching sessions for ISF Members

Project: “REFORM: Towards a strengthened quality response and inclusive and dignified durable solution for GBV survivors in Lebanon” Project

Time-Frame for this assignment: September 2019

Duration: 1 month

Location: Beirut

       Type of consultancy: TOT Expert with knowledge and experience in psychosocial and GBV

About the project

ABAAD, through this project, intends to strengthen national systems capacities to enhance protection and mitigation of gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls in Lebanon among Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities, and to contribute to supporting vulnerable groups in displacement situations to be capacitated and empowered to move out of dependency on aid and choose a durable solution, as appropriate. 

This project will also ensure opportunities for development, prevention, safety, and protection for women and girl survivors and at-risk of GBV in Lebanon through addressing and enhancing their abilities to cope with adversity, mitigate and deconstruct conflict in their direct environments and communities, and tackle the legislative frameworks and policies that affect them directly.

Through joint efforts, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) and ABAAD are raising awareness on crimes of sexual violence. In July 2017, ABAAD conducted a ToT on clinical management of rape (CMR) sensitization for senior ISF officers. ISF then issued Memo # 339/204 s.4 on 25 September 2017 titled “Standards of Interaction and Investigation in Human Trafficking and Sexual Assault Crimes, and standards of support to survivors of such crimes”. This memo was then adapted into a flyer and poster, translated into English and French, and distributed to ISF Police Stations and to the public via checkpoints in which ISF officers flagged down cars and passers-by handing out pamphlets highlighting the laws protecting women and the role of the ISF in enforcing these statutes.

ABAAD has previously designed a training curriculum that provided ISF officers with an extensive background on the psychological profiles of men with abusive behaviours as well as women survivors so that officers know how to best interact with both. This curriculum was used to train 1,500 ISF members, and it was later mainstreamed into the curricula of the ISF training academy. 30 previously trained ISF officers\trainers will be selected to receive further intensive Training of Trainers workshops and are to be shadowed by ABAAD with bi-annual coaching visits to give focused support on further needs as identified jointly by the trainer and the trained ISF members.

Overall goal of this assignment

The overall goal of this assignment is to provide TOT workshops to Internal Security Forces (ISF) members about the psychological considerations while dealing with men with abusive behaviors and/or women survivors of GBV.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Design the general outline for the trainings;
2. Conduct a ToT -capacity building workshops (spreading over 2 years) for 15 training sessions for ISF members, and 6 preparation and reporting days in addition to 6 coaching sessions for ISF members, targeting 30 previously-trained ISF officers on the produced toolkit for the intensive training.

Skills required

• University degree in psychology, social work with experience in mental health, or another relevant degree;
• At least 5 years of work experience in humanitarian MHPSS programming
• Experience in mental health and/or psychosocial support training and extensive expertise in gender & GBV;
• Excellent communication skills and proven extensive experience in facilitating sessions for an audience with different backgrounds and varied levels of familiarity with topics related to mental health, gender, human rights 
• Previous experience working with government agencies and official entities (with security officials is preferable)
• Fluent Arabic and English 
• Experience in the NGO field