Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

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Contribution to project cycle 

Lead continuous assessment of MHPSS needs of children, adolescents, youths and families and ensure that MHPSS needs identified by SC or other stakeholders are appropriately reflected in Syria Response programme strategy and proposals. Ensure that MHPSS is integrated in the project proposals in a way that responds to the needs, is technically relevant and can be implemented safely and with quality Contribute to the proposals design and writing Contribute to technical kick-off meetings of the new projects and technical follow-up meetings Review and reviseproject reports

Technical Assistance to Country Offices

Be a focal point for SC Syria Response Programme for MHPSS related activities and represent SRO in relevant groups and fora, including relevant donor meetings as required. Supervise and support the field staff in the project sites in the planning, implementation and monitoring of MHPSS activities. Organize regular meetings with the MHPSS focal points in each intervention location Support regular participatory activities with different groups of children, adolescents and youths to identify issues affecting children in their communities, and assist the teams to develop appropriate responses; Ensure the technical relevance and quality of MHPSS awareness raising materials that are used in the projects Lead the scale up of the MHPSS programme for women and girls, including for children deprived of liberty and for children with disabilities When relevant and possible in terms of available resources, lead safe and technically sound implementation of individual MHPSS services (IASC level 3)  Ensure that the MHPSS activities are implemented according to SC and international standards. Ensure coordination/ collaboration with other organizations implementing MHPSS Ensure proper and safe implementation of the suicide risk management protocols and be a member of the suicide risk management focal points Continue integration of MHPSS to nutrition and education services

Monitoring, Evaluation and Accountability

Work with the MEAL manager and MEAL team to develop monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and indicator tracking plans for all grants, inputting into the development of additional M&E tools as necessary to monitor project progress With the MEAL team, ensure appropriate, timely and accurate data collection at all MHPSS staffing levels against agreed indicators to enable both internal and external reporting Review and revise evaluation inception reports, tools and evaluation reports from MHPSS point of view

Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development

Support in ensuring appropriate staffing within the operations component of the project team, within budget parameters. Contribute to, follow up and oversee the implementation of the capacity building plan of the MHPSS staff  Conduct capacity building needs assessments regarding staff who implements MHPSS activities across sectors  Contribute to and oversee development of needed training modules Ensure that the staff of different levels and across sectors implementing MHPSS activities receive sufficient technical supportive supervision Provide technical supportive supervision to MHPSS officers in SRO North East Syria office, including also in-person supervision Ensure technical support to recruitment of MHPSS staff of different levels Ensure proper induction of new MHPSS staff

Safe Guarding 

Ensure full compliance of Child Safeguarding Policy at field level and especially with SC engaged personnel. Respond to all Child Safeguarding Policy concerns expressed or discovered appropriately and effectively. Encourage and facilitate quality assurance of MHPSS tools and approaches in close collaboration with the CPI.  Other Stay updated on the international and local research relevant to MHPSS in humanitarian / development contexts Stay updated on the international developments of MHPSS tools for humanitarian / development contexts Welcome regular supervision from the regional MHPSS technical advisor Participate SC internal compulsory trainings as requested Any other task requested by the line manager that falls in the technical capacities of the role holder

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)

Accountability: 

Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving results together with children and role modelling Save the Children values Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved Creates a managerial environment in-country to lead, enable and maintain our culture of child safeguarding

Ambition:

Sets ambitious and challenging goals for self and team, takes responsibility for own personal development and encourages team to do the same Widely shares personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others Future oriented, thinks strategically and on a global scale

Collaboration:

Builds and maintains effective relationships, with own team, colleagues, members, donors and partners Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

Honest, encourages openness and transparency Always acts in the best interests of children

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

Essential

Education to Masters Level within the field of mental health, such as psychology, psychotherapy or other relevant area.  Significant knowledge and experience from the field of MHPSS, including work with children, child trauma, resilience & recovery, child development, work with parents & caregivers. Excellent knowledge and experience in using key tools and approaches, including the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies and The Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Minimum Service Package (MHPSS MSP) . Significant experience working in emergency response, protracted crises or fragile state contexts (experience from the Middle East region is a strong advantage) Strong experience with learning exercises, including management of assessments and evaluations Proven capacity to technically support, train and coach staff, including remote support Ability to write clear and effective assessment, project proposals and reports Experience of contributing to successful funding proposals for donors Excellent communication and influencing skills with experience in advocacy Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy A high level of written and spoken English. The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances. Experience of representation and ability to represent Save the Children effectively in external forums. Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children. In particular, a good understanding of the Save the Children mandate and child focus and an ability to ensure this continues to underpin our support

Desirable

Language skills in Arabic or Kurdish  Experience of working and living in relevant regions/contexts

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