Role purpose

Livelihood counselling is an approach that includes career guidance services and activities intended to assist individuals, male and female, of any age and at any point throughout their lives, to make tailored and appropriate educational, training and occupational choices and to manage their careers.

This position will work with a small team of development professionals providing advisory services and technical expertise to a variety of vulnerable families in a defined geographic area of Akkar. This position main role is to assess the household livelihood capacity, provide livelihood counselling, provide individual needs-based coaching, share relevant information and assist people to reflect on their aspirations, interests, competencies, personal attributes, qualifications and abilities and to match these with available training and employment opportunities.

Primary Responsibilities

• Visit and map all primary beneficiary families in the designated areas
• Opening a livelihoods counselling file on each family while developing a Personal Development Plan with their counsellor to explore and clarify their options and to build their self-reliance
• Build a consistent support and coaching process for each file to support participant to achieve their ambitions;
• Create small groups of households that are similar for small group coaching sessions;
• Assist HHs to reflect on their aspirations, interests, competencies, personal attributes, qualifications and abilities and to match these with available training and employment opportunities;
• Support the management of existing technical assistance engagements including livelihoods assessments, implementation oversight, support in training, and input on monitoring, documentation and knowledge management for existing beneficiaries
• Make information about the labor market trends and about educational and employment opportunities more accessible by organizing it, systematizing it and having it available when and where people need it;
• Play a key role in project reporting, M&E data collection and any market study for project decision making;
• Deliver training to families participating in business development efforts including business planning and executions, liaising with funding entities, etc.
• Support families in vocational training to participate fully in all aspects of the training pathway, including work-based learning.
• Conduct monthly household visits to the target families to track their progress and to report any deviance from the program plan in a timely manner
• Conduct regular follow up with families to provide additional support and guidance as needed and participate in providing solutions in case any difficulties are faced by the families
• Keep the livelihood team informed of any risks faced on the field level and at the family level in order to tailor the program interventions accordingly.
• Engage in the staff development process that will enable the successful execution of technical assistance engagements
• Participate in learning initiatives, events and workshops as needed.
• Provide support as needed to the livelihood officers including center and activity management.
• Promote accountability and transparency with all the implementing activities.

Skills/ Qualifications/ Experience

Education

Degree in social sciences, international development, social protection, case management, evaluation or another related fields;

Experience

• At least 3 years of experience in development, including capacity building;

• Previous coaching/counselling experience
• A strong background in livelihoods and the ability to manage the unique development objectives of multiple family initiatives are required.
• Experience in program design, evaluation, and capacity building in the familial livelihood and protection space.
• Comfortable in externally facing roles including advisory, advocacy and public speaking.
• Experience working in the field, working in Akkar and with vulnerable communities in specific is a plus.
• Experience managing and/ or engaging livelihoods programs, highly preferred;
• Experience as a trainer/ facilitator preferred

Skills

• Excellent writing and speaking skills in English required.
• Excellent ability to communicate via written products, oral communications, presentation and public speaking skills required;
• Strong, developed leadership ability, and effective project and staff management skills required;
• Diplomatic and highly effective on an interpersonal level, with a high degree of cross cultural sensitivity;
• Self-starter, proactive, able to juggle competing work streams and deadlines, productive under pressure;
• Able to absorb large volumes of information quickly in fluid situations, highly organized and analytical thinker;
• Creative problem-solver, and adept at working with teams to deliver on client requests;
• Willingness to travel extensively and in locations with limited amenities.