SIL Senior Officer

Job Description

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, 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, the IRC aims to restore safety, dignity, and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. In response to the arrival of refugees in Greece in 2015, the IRC has been offering SMS, WASH, and Protection Services. Among others, through its child protection programs, the IRC has been offering individual support through case management to vulnerable children and their families, educational activities for children through Safe Healing and Learning Spaces, and emergency accommodation and protection to unaccompanied children.

The current program (Supported Independent Living – SIL) aims at offering quality, community-based and age-appropriate accommodation, care, and support to unaccompanied children (UAC) 16 to 18 years old and equip them with the vital skills in order to transition smoothly into adulthood.

SCOPE OF WORK: We are looking for a SIL Senior Officer who will be responsible for advising the case management activities for unaccompanied adolescents residing in the IRC SIL apartments, will be directly supervising the SIL Unit Coordinators, and will be responsible for the overall operation of the SIL Units, for coordinating the referrals with key partners and arranging all respective communications and actions. The job holder will be responsible for ensuring that all children are safe and offered a range of high-quality services and developing their life skills, and will be advising and guiding the staff in emergency situations, in collaboration with the CP Manager and the SIL Unit Coordinators.

Are you passionate about making a positive impact and seeing an improvement in the lives of the people we serve? Then join us!

Management Line:

The SIL Senior Officer reports to and is supervised by the Child Protection Manager. The SIL Senior Officer directly supervises 4 staff members.

Key responsibilities:

Logistics and schedule of activities:

• Ensure the team members follow the schedule and support in solving any issue with staff on leave, etc.

• Ensure there is a clear schedule for children together with the team members;

• Lead and organize weekly individual meetings with the SIL Unit Coordinators;

• Lead and organize meetings with the children when it is needed, and staff on a shift in order to give them information, set up rules, and agree on activities;

• Ensure children are attending school and extracurricular activities, and enhance and/or develop their skills, through structured skills-building sessions organized by the caretakers and the social workers;

• Ensure all children are regularly followed up by the lawyer;

• If any emergency arises, take the lead, and coordinate any actions needed;

• Prepare requests for materials and follow up on all procurement processes;

• Arrange all logistics for external activities.

Staff management/ supervision/ capacity building

• Supervise the SIL Unit Coordinators and ensure they have clear roles and responsibilities so as to perform their duties;

• Provide technical support and supervision to the social workers via group and individual meetings when vital; Set performance goals with the direct reports, provide feedback, and timely complete the semi-annual performance reviews;

• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions;

• Communicate training needs to the Program Manager, organize pieces of training for staff and seek training opportunities as the need arises;

• Assist the SIL Unit Coordinators in the recruitment process.

Programming

• Ensure regular analysis of information coming from the field is compiled and reports submitted to the program Manager on a monthly/quarterly basis;

• Draft assessments, FGDs questions, and beneficiaries’ feedback questionnaires to document and evaluate activities;

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with all relevant service providers and CP actors.

• Conduct case audits of the case management files of the social workers.

Coordination:

• Coordinate daily with the SIL Unit Coordinators for the daily tasks of the staff members;

• Coordinate with EKKA, UN agencies, other CP actors and NGOs and other IRC programs;

• Coordinate with all IRC departments, such as Finance, HR, and Supply Chain

Others:

• Attend training organized by the IRC and/ or other organizations;

• Consistently and proactively supervise/assess the safety and security of the children and the staff; promptly report concerns or incidents to IRC management;

• Other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs

Professional Standards

• All IRC staff are required to adhere to THE IRC Way Standards for Professional Conduct and the IRC country employment policies.

Requirements:

• Technical diploma/ degree in social work or psychology and license to practice;

• At least 1 years’ experience in child protection programs; ideal experience in shelter/ /SIL for children and adolescents;

• Experience in education and/or integration programs is an asset;

• Experience supervising, leading, mentoring, and coaching teams is required, ideally in a cross-cultural setting;

• Experience in a coordinator role is an advantage;

• Experience handling logistics is an advantage;

• Fluency in Greek and English. Fluency in one of the following languages preferred: French, Farsi, Urdu, Pashto, Dari, Kurdish, Arabic;

• Proven understanding of working with adolescents and particularly refugee adolescents and youth;

• Strong sense of personal integrity;

• Strong negotiation and coordination skills, with attention to detail and the ability to multi-task while working in a fast-paced environment;

• Cultural awareness and ability to establish relationships quickly with a wide variety of people

• Personal qualities: Great teammate, adaptable, flexible, network-builder, able to handle pressure well.

• Digital literacy: Knowledge of MS Office, Internet, Outlook, and competency with new technologies required

Other:

• Α valid Greek driver’s license with no record of a criminal driving offense is considered an asset;

• Flexible working hours, including afternoons, evenings, and weekends;

• Must successfully complete a criminal background check.

Work environment:

Working hours: working office hours normally apply. Due to the nature of the program and based on the program's needs, flexibility is required. Working afternoon hours or covering night shifts and being on call might is required.

Travel and other requirements: travel requirements between the apartments within Attica and to other areas of IRC operation. Rare travel requirements outside of Attica.

Disclaimer Clause: This job description is not an extensive list of the skills, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

Standards of Professional Conduct: The IRC and IRC workers adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

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

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law

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