SEL Specialist

Work Arrangement: In-person

Job Description

Background/IRC Summary:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity, and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

IRC has been present in Nigeria since 2012 when the organization responded to flooding in Kogi state. In early 2014, IRC opened a field office in town of Adamawa state in NE Nigeria followed by offices in Yola (Adamawa state) in November 2014 and Maiduguri (Borno state) in October 2015. IRC has ECHO, OFDA, and Gates funds to respond to health, nutrition, GBV, and WASH activities. In late 2014 and early 2015, IRC received additional funds from SV, SIDA, USAID, and UNICEF to carry out education, child protection, general protection, emergency food distributions, shelter support, and NFI distributions to newly displaced IDPs. In late 2015 into early 2016, IRC received Swiss and UNHCR funds for additional emergency response humanitarian-focused programming in NE Nigeria

Job Overview/Summary:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), in partnership with Plan International, the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Inclusive Development Partners (IDP), and the Restoration of Hope Initiative (ROHI) is implementing activities under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding for the Opportunities to Learn (OTL) activity in Nigeria. Under OTL, IRC and its consortium partners will work with students, teachers, community-based organizations, local government education authorities (LGEA) state education authorities, and the private sector to design, implement, and scale lasting results that foster a healthier, better-educated population by improving learning outcomes for Borno and Yobe’s most vulnerable children and youth.

The SEL specialist under the supervision of the school and safety protection lead will:

- Lead the integration of SEL into access to quality education, TPD, and education actors’ capacity-building activities. - Identify gaps in social, emotional, and behavioral atmosphere of the school and classroom, and develop plans of action around priorities. - Work in partnership with various stakeholders, including students, parents, community organizations and mental health providers to update and adapt SEL “kernels of practice” for publication, training, and dissemination. - Stay current on best practices in social and emotional learning, learning differences, - Consult with principals and staff concerning social social-emotional learning needs of students. - Guide designing social-emotional learning integration into the school. - Provide professional development to support the social-emotional learning curriculum and instruction by using best practices, including research on learning theory and content standards. - Support the integration of school-wide social and emotional learning education throughout school. - Provide social and emotional learning education workshops for parents and the community. - Provide technical support and modeling of social and emotional learning lessons to whole classes and small groups in accordance with the curriculum. - Present professional development for school staff on social and emotional learning for students and on district SEL program goals and report requirements. - Provide SEL professional development and training for schoolteachers and facilitators. - Perform other duties as assigned.

Competency profile

- Experience in management of a team. - Excellent analysis and reporting skills. - Excellent communication and organization skills. - Punctuality and respect for applicable rules and procedures. - Ethical and transparent decision-making. - High regard toward preserving the confidentiality of work-related information and data. - Excellent knowledge and understanding of local communities and customary rules. - Independent work, i.e., with minimal supervision and under pressure. - Self-motivation, goal/result-orientation, and teamwork. - Flexibility, creativeness, tolerance, and maturity. - Computer/IT literacy (OS Windows/Vista/Linux, MS Office, Internet etc.)

Position Reports to: SSCP

Qualifications

Job Requirements:

- Bachelor’s in counseling, social work, psychology, or education; Master’s preferred. - Five years of experience in education. - Experience working on social, emotional, and behavioral support programs. - Training in trauma-informed practices and/or restorative practices and experience teaching a social emotional curriculum to students. - Classroom teaching or school-based management experience highly preferred.

- Standard of Professional Conduct: IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others. - Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of IRC Persons in any work setting. - Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. - Employment Gaps: We welcome applicants with varied career paths and recognize that a gap in employment does not define a candidate's potential. We value transferrable skills and are committed to investing in the growth and development of our team members. We encourage applicants to highlight any relevant skills or experiences they have acquired, even if they were not gained in a traditional work setting. - Compensation and Benefits: IRC strives to provide externally competitive and internally equitable Compensation and Benefits programs that attracts, motivates, and retains employees that deliver strong performance while demonstrating the IRC Way Standards for Professional Conduct. - Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, nationality, ethnicity or tribe, gender, age, religion, caste, sexual orientation, differently abled, geographic origin, marital status, veteran status and cultural background (or any other characteristic protected by law). We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.