Social Protection Officer

FUNCTION & POSITION

Social Protection Officer

LOCATION

Amman, Mafraq, and Irbid, Jordan

REPORTING TO

Senior Protection Officer

OVERALL PURPOSE​

Through the length of her/his contract, the Social Protection Officer will be a focal point for beneficiary families within this Social Protection project that includes cash assistance, case management, working with people with disability (PWD), vulnerable people and CBOs. The Social Protection Officer will be a main contributor to the services provided by Medair and in addition will facilitate the access of beneficiaries to additional basic services as needed and provided by other organisations.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

In Jordan, the vast majority of refugee families are living outside of the refugee camps and renting housing in host communities and trying to sustain themselves on their own. Their marginalisation further compounds negative coping mechanisms many are forced to turn to, and many enter severe debt, participate in in illegal work or depend on child labour. Besides these risks, families face the threat of eviction, imprisonment, or further displacement, among many other issues. In Jordan, Medair is working to support host communities and vulnerable Jordanian and Syrian and non-Syrian asylum-seeking families through a Cash for Health Project, support of patients of Non-Communicable Diseases, and previously Psychosocial Support interventions.

This project aims to protect the most vulnerable Jordanians and Syrian and non-Syrian refugees with short-term unconditional cash-based intervention, case management, winterization, assistive devices for PWDs and elderly and other protection services. A thorough vulnerability assessment guides the targeting and selection of households in this intervention. Based on identified needs, the areas of focus include access to education, healthcare, rent, psychosocial wellbeing, legal status, and livelihoods. In those areas where Medair cannot directly intervene, the case management component allows us to effectively link households to the services provided by other organisations and institutions (both governmental and non-governmental, local and international) through person-specific and comprehensive referrals. Direct communication on targeted family issues is also expected by the Social Protection Officer in the form of awareness sessions, behavior change communication, and financial literacy.

FUNCTIONAL LINKS

Internal:

• Senior Protection Officer
• Project Manager
• Finance Officer
• Communications Officer
• MEAL Officer

External:

• Beneficiaries
• Landlords of beneficiary families
• Local public service institutions
• CBOs and local and international NGOs
• Community leaders and local authorities

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Conduct field assessment, verification and follow-up visits with potential and selected families throughout the length of the project.

2. Support the planning and implementation of social protection programme activities

• Contribute to building network and working relationship with relevant service providers to stay updated about services that can be offered to beneficiary caseload, and to facilitate in and out-going referral network.
• Prepare household visits for the assessment of household conditions used for beneficiary selection and creating case plans for caseload. Additionally, coordinate household visits for follow ups on case plan progress.
• Assist in distribution of cash assistance, winterization, assistive devices including ensuring beneficiary orientation to use of ATM, U-wallet or IRIS withdrawals to help reach the goals of the programme in a timely manner.
• Maintain a transparent, honest and supportive communication structure with beneficiaries and their communities.
• Work closely with Project Manager and the Line Manager, for the development of new projects (including providing support in technical areas such as Education, PSS, Child Protection, Cash, Case Management, Disability and other areas of focus)
• Represent Medair externally with partner NGOs and other stakeholders (including in Project Manager and the Line Manager’s absence)

3. Undertake regular travel within Jordan to identify beneficiaries, develop treatment plans for participants, and support patients with basic rehabilitation techniques.

4. Provide training on home-based rehabilitation techniques for patients and caregivers.

5. Develop and implement personalized rehabilitation plans with beneficiaries and make modifications as necessary.

6. Data management and reporting

• Maintain constant updates in the Information Management System; database of household level information used for selection of beneficiaries, reporting and for monitoring and evaluation.
• Report on up-to-date status of beneficiary payments received or trouble-shoot issues.
• Adhere to data security and privacy procedures.
• Reporting on activities targets, adherence to SOPs and relevant checks.

7. Share appropriate information with potential and confirmed beneficiaries and the host community about the social protection project and its comprehensive inclusion of thematic areas, and be available to answer related questions and concerns.

8. Contribute to networking to expand the service mapping across target sector areas in Amman (livelihoods, health, PSS, shelter, legal, education, PWD and elderly), share with team and provide continuous updates on IM database.

9. Be the main focal point for families in your designated case load, which includes telephone contact with families or direct visits to their homes, during working hours.

10. Support beneficiaries in addressing concrete needs (such as gaining access to public services, gaining awareness or expanding their support network), either through direct intervention and accompaniment or through in-depth referral to other organisations.

11. Identify, understand the services provided by, liaise with and promote linkages to relevant project stakeholders (such as landlords, local CBOs, and public institutions in your area of responsibility) and appropriately call on the collaboration/engagement with these organisations in the management of individual cases, in consultation with the Line Manager and the Project Manager and other functional links for this position.

12. Participate actively in team meetings with sharing updates on service provider changes, challenges or breakthroughs with household cases, in team discussions and brainstorming.

13. Represent Medair and the project team at external coordination meetings (WG) as needed, and share back important information with team.

14. Produce reports indicating daily activities and targets reached.

QUALIFICATION / EXPERIENCE:

Educational Qualifications

ESSENTIAL:

• Bachelor studies in related areas (eg. Occupational therapy, Social Work, Sociology, International Affairs, International Development etc.)
• Training on and experience in case management / social protection.

DESIRABLE:

Specific training to work with refugees, vulnerable populations and PWD.

Work Experience

ESSENTIAL:

• 3 years of experience in humanitarian field
• 1 year of experience working as a case manager in a comparable position and/or in the thematic areas of focus.
• Experience in the fields of inclusion, access to services for persons with disabilities.
• Experience working in a cash-assistance intervention.
• Experience working directly with beneficiaries from vulnerable communities.
• Experience doing home visits and assessments.
• Experience with project administration.

DESIRABLE:

• Experience facilitating focus group discussions or workshops.
• Experience in report writing.
• Experience working on databases.

Languages

ESSENTIAL:

• Fluent Arabic.
• Good written and spoken English.

DESIRABLE:

• Excellent written and spoken English.

SKILLS / ATTRIBUTES:

Organisational capacity

ESSENTIAL:

• Well organized:

1. Able to prioritise.
2. Able to manage time.
3. Able to manage a large workload and keep recorded oversight of case load.

• Good computer skills (such as Microsoft Office, including Excel and Outlook).
• Able to gather and maintain clear and accurate data.
• Self-motivated and proactive.

DESIRABLE:

• Strong experience in dealing with administrative procedures.
• Demonstrated creativity in helping meet families’ needs.
• Thorough understanding of the services available for the target group.
• Skilled in data analysis.

Communication

ESSENTIAL:

• Excellent listening skills
• Clear communication
• Capacity to sensibly respond to beneficiary questionts and complaints.

DESIRABLE:

Excellent written communication.

Relational

ESSENTIAL:

• Team-player with good interpersonal skills and cross-cultural understanding.
• Able to work independently.
• Excellent mediation and facilitation skills – Able to intervene appropriately (in collaboration with stakeholders) on behalf of beneficiaries.
• Commitment to collaboration with stakeholders and partners.

DESIRABLE:

• Encouraging, supportive.
• Previous experience of working in a multi-cultural team.
• Influencing and negotiation skills.

Flexibility

ESSENTIAL:

• Flexible in working hours and remotely as needed.
• Able to adapt and respond appropriately to beneficiaries’ changing situations/needs.

DESIRABLE:

• Flexible and willing to perform other relevant tasks in order to facilitate the running of the project.

Personal

ESSENTIAL:

• Empathetic.
• Honest and reliable.
• Mature and respectful attitude.
• Strong work ethic and commitment to the project and populations served

DESIRABLE:

• Compassionate.
• Passionate about working with the target group in this specific context and intervention.
• Desire to be challenged, professionally and personally.

JOB COMMITMENT

Working Location:

Amman , Mafraq and Irbid, Field-based (70%), Medair office (30%), and accompaniment to other institutions/partner organisations, external meetings.

Starting date:

September 2023 .

Duration of commitment:

1 Year contengent on funding.

Professional references will be checked before offering this position to the successful candidate The successful candidate must be legally allowed to work in Jordan.

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