Psychologist

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 20 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 working in Pakistan for over 40 years and manages and delivers large, complex programs to meet the needs in health, education, protection, environmental health, and livelihoods for displaced, poor, and disaster-affected communities. IRC works in partnership with local government and non-governmental organizations and is currently present in 4 provinces including Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and the newly Merged Districts of KP – Ex Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Job Overview/Summary:

The Psychologist will play a crucial role in implementing and overseeing the psychological support components of the Child Protection and Gender-Based Violence (CP-GBV) project. The psychologist will be responsible for designing and conducting group-based psychosocial support (PSS) activities for children and adolescents, as well as providing individualized case management support for high-risk children. The Psychologist will also engage in delivering PSS activities for caregivers and parents, contributing to the overall well-being and resilience of the targeted communities.

Major Responsibilities:

• Facilitate Group-Based PSS Activities for children and adolescents, focusing on emotional and social learning, resilience, and coping mechanisms.
• Utilize art and play therapy techniques to create a therapeutic environment for participants.
• Conduct PSS Activities for Caregivers and Parents and Organize parenting workshop using the manuals curated by IRC  to educate caregivers on effective parenting strategies, child development, and ways to support the emotional well-being of their children.
• Provide stress reduction training and coping mechanisms for parents and caregivers.
• Conduct family counseling sessions to address specific challenges and enhance family dynamics.
• Conduct comprehensive assessments to identify high-risk children and determine their specific psychosocial needs.
• Develop and implement individualized care plans for high-risk children, coordinating with other service providers as necessary.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Child Protection Manager

Position directly supervises:  None

Job Requirements:

a)      Education:

The applicant should hold a Masters degree in Psychology

b)      Work Experience:

Minimum 3-5 years work experience in implementing PSS programs, case management and providing counselling services

Experience of directly working with Women, Girls and Children at field level.

c)       Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Knowledge of designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating CP and GBV programs is highly desired.
• Excellent knowledge of PSS, counselling, gender issues in Pakistan and child protection risks
• Good report writing skills.
• Strong communication and Interpersonal skills
• Experience in case management and individualized support for high-risk individuals.

Language Skills: 

Excellent spoken and written skills in English and Urdu languages and local languages.

The IRC Core Values and Commitments.

·         The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality, and Accountability. By these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity Anti-Retaliation, and Combating Trafficking in Persons.

·         IRC is committed to ensuring that IRC staff are suitable to work with children and have the knowledge they need to uphold and abide by the IRC’s Child Safeguarding Policy.

·         Level of interaction with children: Less direct contact with children

·         IRC ensures that its staff must actively practice the roles and responsibilities related to client responsiveness, and accountability to people in affected communities and must have competencies to solicit and listens to feedback and other’s perspectives, responds to feedback with maturity and sensitivity, and takes appropriate decisions and makes changes to behavior or actions in response to feedback.

·         IRC recognizes that gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of our organizational mission. As such, IRC is committed to the promotion of gender equality in all aspects of our operations and programs. Our organizational policies, procedures, and actions demonstrate this commitment.

Women candidates, minorities and persons with disability are highly encouraged to apply.