Child Protection Case Worker

Organization description
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities which support them, as well as those who remain within their homes and communities. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we improve outcomes in the areas of health, safety, economic wellbeing, education, and power. Given the disparity faced by women and girls, IRC seeks to narrow gender inequalities and ensure social inclusion of all vulnerable groups in broader policies, processes and actions affecting their lives. In Ukraine, the IRC started emergency programming in April 2022 in the field of child protection (CP), protection and rule of law (ProL), women’s protection and empowerment (WPE) (i.e. gender-based violence), health and cash and basic needs. 

Job Overview:
Under the supervision of the Child Protection (CP) Case Management Officer, the Child Protection Case Worker will be responsible for providing CP case management (CM) services to an assigned number of individual children who are at risk of or have experienced abuse, neglect, exploitation, and/or violence (including unaccompanied or separated children). Specifically, he/she will ensure that children harmed or at risk of being harmed are identified and referred to case management services from the wider community, including IRC’s Safe Healing and Learning Spaces (SHLS), and receive individual CM support. Within this framework, he/she will also provide support to children’s families, including care, support and skills building for children’s caregivers. He/she will directly work with other CP Case Workers and service providers on the management of caseload and referrals, while ensuring a strong collaboration and coordination with IRC’s PSS Workers. Furthermore, the CP Case Workers will conduct home visits with children and their families to monitor recovery, provide follow-up and referrals, and assess child protection risks/issues in the home (including other children). 

The CP Case Worker will be based in Odessa and report to the CP Case Management Officer. 

Major Responsibilities:

Technical Quality 
– Participate and support the identification of children harmed or at-risk of harm
– Provide individual case management for eligible children in accordance with agreed interagency case management steps, protocols, and related tools and procedures, such as: 
o Conduct initial assessments of CP cases and prioritize based on risk level
o Conduct comprehensive assessments of CP cases
o Develop case management plans that address the needs identified in the initial and comprehensive assessments of CP cases, and seek support from the supervisor as needed 
o Provide basic counselling and psychosocial support 
o Refer and accompany children in need to more specialized services
o Regularly follow up to ensure that all services and action items listed in the case plan are implemented within the agreed upon time frame. Ensure that progress is regularly reviewed.
o Regularly monitor and support children and their families through visits, emotional support, counseling, referrals, etc.
– Provide ongoing support to children’s families, including care, support and skills building for children’s caregivers.  
– Work in close collaboration with the CP team and the other IRC sectors to ensure children and their families have discrete and confidential access to services via the internal referral procedures, and that the case management support is responsive to the evolving needs of children and their families
– Support adherence to CP referral protocols and CP guiding principles; if concerns are identified in this matter, report them to the CP CM Officer and CP Sn Officer
– Facilitate and support the implementation of IRC’s focused MHPSS program for children and adolescents 

As required, the CP Case Worker may also support the implementation of IRC’s PSS programs and help, amongst others, to: 
– Facilitate social-emotional, recreational, creative and life-skills activities for children/adolescents 
– Facilitate guided sessions for parents / caregivers to help improve their stress management skills, positive parenting practices, and strategies to support children and adolescents with psychosocial needs

Administration & Reporting:
– Keep records of cases and compile them into a weekly report for the supervisor.
– Ensure accuracy, completion / thoroughness, and confidentiality of case management data entry and data management 
– Complete monthly activity reports, according to the mentorship provided by the CP CM Officer
– Communicate regularly with CP CM Officer and Sn Officer regarding updates and challenges

Coordination & Representation:  
– Regularly attend case management meetings, including case conferences, at field level 
-Actively coordinate with staff from other IRC sectors in the field, including Protection & Rule of Law, Women’s Protection and Empowerment, Health, Economic Relief and Development 
-Actively develop and maintain effective working relationships with relevant local actors in the field, including community, non-governmental and governmental actors

Other:  
-Attend trainings organized by the IRC
-Stay informed about the child protection situation and developments within the communities and surrounding areas
-Consistently and proactively monitor the safety and security of field teams, promptly reporting concerns or incidents to IRC management and liaising with other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment
-Promote and adhere to the principles, objectives and code of conduct of the IRC
-Act both professionally and personally in a manner that brings credit to the IRC and does not compromise its humanitarian mission
-If necessary, provide translation and interpretation at meetings, training sessions and/or documents for a better understanding of all staff
-Conduct any other task requested by his/her supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS 

Position reports to: Child Protection Case Management Officer
Direct reports: N/A
Other internal contacts: Protection & Rule of Law (ProL), WPE, MEAL, ERD, Health, Finance, Supply, Grants, HR and other relevant departments 

Requirements

The Child Protection Case Management Officer will need to meet the requirements below: 

-Degree desired in Social Work, Psychology, Education, Human Rights, Social Science, Humanities or other related field
-Minimum of 1 years’ experience of implementing child protection programs, preferable in social work, CP case management or psychosocial programming for children, in humanitarian or development settings
-Demonstrated understanding of working with children, particularly vulnerable children and children who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing harm
-Positive and professional attitude, including ability to lead and work well in a team setting
-Ability to keep records and write simple and basic reports of activities 
-Comfortable speaking about sensitive topics in an honest, professional, and thoughtful manner
-Demonstrated understanding of and ability to maintain confidentiality and respect for clients/beneficiaries
-High degree of flexibility and strong ability to organize work, meet deadlines, maintain composure, prioritize work under pressure, coordinate multiple tasks and maintain attention to detail
-Computer literate, including Microsoft Word and Excel
-Language: Fluent in Ukrainian and Russian, basic skills in English are an advantage 

This position will be based in Odessa, with frequent travel to field locations.

Standards of Professional Conduct
The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of 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, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Gender Equality & Equal Opportunity
We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous 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. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.

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