Header

Prosthesis and Orthotics Advisor - Beirut – Lebanon

NGO PRESENTATION
Handicap International is an independent and impartial international aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Working alongside persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, our action and testimony are focused on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions and promoting respect for their dignity and their fundamental rights.
Handicap International is a not-for-profit organisation with no religious or political affiliation. It operates as a federation made up of a network of associations that provide it with human and financial resources, manage its projects and implement its actions and social mission.
Through its Emergency Response Department (ERD), created in 2006 after the merge with Atlas Logistique, the organization is committed to:
  • Emergency livelihoods : Essential Household Items (EHI)/Non-food items (NFI) kits distribution and/or cash transfer programs
  • Management and distribution of humanitarian assistance (logistics platform) : land transportation, storage, post-shipment of essential items or food supplies;
  • Camp management (provision of aid to refugees and internally displaced persons – IDPs, setting up of transitional shelters) and arrangement of the voluntary repatriation of these people;
  • Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) : access to drinking water (catchment – treatment – storage – distribution), to sanitation (latrine construction, waste management …) and hygiene promotion (disease vector control, awareness-raising on good WASH practice, hygiene kits distribution);
  • Shelter and community construction: emergency shelter and settlement, accessible community infrastructure and individual transitional shelters construction/rehabilitation;
  • Functional and physical rehabilitation (rehabilitation, provision of technical aids, of Prosthetics & Orthotics devices …);
  • Psychosocial support (one-on-one sessions, support/focus groups, therapeutic mediation groups …);
  • Inclusion and accessibility (advocacy and direct actions) to ensure the needs of persons excluded from services, and in particular the needs of persons with disabilities (PwDs) or persons with injuries (PwIs), are better addressed in the provision of humanitarian assistance.
Directly linked to the Emergency Response Department of Handicap International France, the expatriate will be mandated for the following mission:
JOB CONTEXT
As of April 2014, the total count of registered refugees in the region stood at more than 2,500,000. According to OCHA, the IDP count is closer to 6.0 million.. Escalations in fighting have brought the death toll above 150,000 and increased fragmentation amongst opposition forces, most notably the derivation of the Islamic Alliance on 24 September, suggests that tensions are on the rise. The recent UNSC Presidential Statement broke ground on the staging of a few awaited changes and the humanitarian community is keen to see how these ideals will be put into practice.
REGIONAL RESPONSE OVERVIEW
Handicap International’s Emergency Response Division is present in Syria since January 2013, as well as in Jordan and Lebanon since May 2012, and is supported by ECHO, CIDA, DFID and Swiss cooperation agencies and other private donors. With over 350 emergency team members in the region, Handicap International has reached over 56,000 beneficiaries to date.
Handicap International’s initial intervention aimed at supporting persons with injuries and other extremely vulnerable groups (including persons with disabilities, elders, among others). Handicap International continues to be one of the few organizations explicitly addressing the specific needs of these groups through community outreach, and by collaborating with community representatives, local stakeholders, authorities, and other implementing organizations in the field.
Handicap International is working in Northern Syria with a tactful focus on acute emergency health activities (post operatory care, psychological first aid).
Simultaneously, after a first round of risk education activities in Jordan, the organization started projects en Syria.
HI regional strategy
HI decided to develop and strengthen a regional strategy along 5 central points:
1.Disability and Vulnerability Focal Point
2.Physical rehabilitation
3.Basic Needs/ Livelihood
4.Inclusion
5.Risk Education Activities
Presence in the region
Handicap International has been present in the Middle East since 1987. The organization currently operates in 7 countries in the region: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian Territories and Yemen through development and emergency programs.
Handicap International's operations are adapted to each country's specific situation. These operations are therefore just as likely to include mine clearance, capacity building of Disabled People Organizations, and mine risk education programs as rehabilitation initiatives. The organization also provides support to the disability movement at the regional, national, and local levels, and provides emergency relief in contexts of conflict. In a region beset by chronic crises and political instability, Handicap International promotes the participation of people with disabilities in the social and political life of the region, and supports access for all to appropriate services, whatever the context.
Activitiesin Lebanon
The violence in Syria has caused the death of more than 100,000 people and more than 6 million Syrians fled their homes. Syria has become "a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history”[1]. Up to April 2014, more than 1,000,000 refugees[2] have fled into Lebanon seeking shelter and security.
  1. The needs
Post-surgery follow-up is almost non-existent. Persons with injuries, together with persons with disabilities, are presenting complications that, without appropriate rehabilitation care, can lead to permanent impairments and long-term disability.
Psychosocial distress: MHPSS is not appropriately addressed until now.
Basic needs coverage: Limited resources coupled with the challenging operational context jeopardize the adequate coverage of basic needs of conflict-affected populations in Lebanon.
Shelter and coping with winter season: The severe conditions in Lebanon during winter can brutally affect Syrian refugees living in ITS and poorly equipped houses.
  1. HI response
Disability and Vulnerability Focal Point:
· Identification and assessment of vulnerable persons including persons with injuries and/or disabilities.
· Provision of out-patient rehabilitation sessions
· Provision of psychosocial support
· Provision of P/O and mobility devices for injured and disabled people.
· Provision of specific health services and supplies at hospital and community levels.
· Referral and follow-up
Non-food items coverage
· Distribution of NFI kits for new comers (persons arrived in Lebanon for less than 1 month) completed per cash assistance of 150 USD for the winter season.
Unconditional cash assistance
· Support to the basic need situation of the most vulnerable refugees through unconditional cash assistance for a period of 6 months.
Protection
· Coverage of the basic and specific needs for vulnerable people among through community outreach and community focal points.
· Referral to external organizations that have specific services that tackle their needs.
  1. Set-up of the mission
The Emergency Response Division in Lebanon was created in April 2012 to implement the above mention activities. Almost 2 years after the beginning of the mission, HI-Lebanon team has expanded significantly with 14 expatriates and 191 local staff.
The provision of support to health structure is provided directly by Handicap International physiotherapist and technical advisor. The identification, assessment of the needs, referral and direct provision of services is done trough 18 outreach teams (composed of one social worker as case manager and one physiotherapist supported by 4 psychologists and/or psychosocial workers) and trough 4 fixed points in the communities (in community centers to allow more efficiency reducing the time to reach the beneficiaries). An additional team in Bekaa and North Lebanon will be focusing on the community sensitization, training to humanitarian workers and the identification of potential local partners.
In Lebanon, the provision of household essential items including food, NFI and unconditional cash assistance to cover essential winter basic needs of the most vulnerable refugee newcomers will be done in HI area of intervention (54 villages in Central and West Bekaa) through current dedicated outreach teams and distribution teams.
The current donors are: ECHO, DFID, CIDA, ERF.
Challenges: The situation in Lebanon is quite unstable since the beginning of the crisis and deteriorated drastically in the last months. Security instability is not anymore limited geographically and in the last months, Tripoli, Akkar, North Bekaa and South Lebanon witnessed different kind of security incidents:
HI operations may be impacted negatively and movement restrictions and punctual activity closure may occur in almost all areas of intervention especially Tripoli, Northern Bekaa and border areas.
PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES
Under the supervision of the Head of the Technical Unit, his / her role is to guarantee the quality of HI rehabilitation activities in line with HI ERD emergency approach, and as part of the DVFP program:
· To support and build the capacity of the National Rehabilitation Supervisor
· To provide technical support for the design and implementation of the Rehabilitation strategy of intervention.
· To provide technical support to the Project Managers and Officers
· Provide, in close collaboration with the Inclusion and Advocacy Coordinator and the Specific Needs Technical Advisor, support to the design of mainstreaming disability strategy and activities. Participate in regular reports on activities and documents to ensure the capitalization of the project.
· Representation: Participation to technical working groups as per requested by the line manager
MAIN RESPONSABILITIES AND TASKS OF THE EXPATRIATE
Under the responsibility of the Rehabilitation Technical Advisor you will be responsible for the overall implementation and management of P&O activities within the mission. You will be in charge:
Responsibility 1 (assessment /implementation):ensure the establishment of P&O services in accordance with local organization and donors standards and regulations
Aim: To identify and assess suitable partners and suppliers for P&O services, to set up the partnership with identified local organizations and regional suppliers, to follow-up the proper implementation of P&O services
Benchmark: an operational framework for P&O services is set up.
Activities:
  • Identify and assess the technical level of P&O partners, participate to the selection of P&O partners in close collaboration with OC and Rehabilitation team
  • Prepare the set up of Proteor emergency prosthesis
  • Set up a capacity building framework according to HI guidelines
  • In close collaboration with the logistic department, to identify and assess suppliers, select the materials needed and establish a planning of purchase (procurement plan) for the time of the project
  • Analyze and propose a framework to ensure the transition from temporary prosthesis to definitive prosthesis (i.e. set up of cad cam technology, etc…)
Responsibility 2 (coordination / supervision):ensure the operational coordination of P&O projects implemented in accordance with organization and donors standards and regulations
Aim: Optimise projects grant contracts in their qualitative and quantitative dimensions.
Benchmark: project programming and implementation are in accordance with HI and donors standards and regulations.
Activities:
  • Set up necessary Programming, monitoring and Evaluation tools allowing adequate project implementation in accordance with HI M&E policy and donors requirements;
  • Coordinate technical and financial supervision and monitoring of the projects in close relationship with the Operations coordinator
  • Ensure the quality of all documents produced by projects;
  • Validate all project progress and financial reporting documents linked with rehabilitation activities;
  • Support Project and partners teams to optimize project implementation;
  • Coordinate internal and external project monitoring mission or project evaluation ;
Responsibility 3 (technical support): coordinate technical support to the rehabilitation team and partners
Aim: P&O projects are meeting HI minimum quality standards.
Benchmark: project evaluation reports, feedbacks from technical advisors, donors, governmental bodies.
Activities:
ü Provide or facilitate organization of technical support to partners
ü To participate in the needs evaluation and situation analysis in the P&O field, as requested by OpsCo or HoM.
ü To support design of studies and papers concerning disability issues relevant to projects.
ü Identify, in connection with OpsCo and HQ, the skills and the external expertises which can contribute to the quality of the projects.
ü To participate in needs assessments, impact evaluations and others in order to determine the effectiveness of HI response.
ü To capitalize continuously all technical documentation related to HI projects within the mission
ü Facilitate a system of sharing, learning, and documenting best practices and lesson learnt in P&O within the team and other HI teams
Responsibility 4(Projects development):participate to the development of HI activities
Aim: answer to beneficiaries needs and demands in accordance with plans defined in the programme strategy.
Benchmarks: needs assessment, identify and lead project design opportunities, monitor funding opportunities
.
Activities
  • Support the OpsCo to analyse the disability context in order to propose intervention methods and responses to opportunities that meet the needs of the beneficiaries
  • Participate in proposal design;
  • Contribute to the organisation/participate to workshops/training conducted within projects or programme framework;
  • Network with humanitarian/development stakeholders to develop operational links, to design future operational collaborations (consortium, joint response…);
Responsibility 5 (Strategy implementation):support the technical coordinator to implement the technical component of the strategy
Aim: HI operation frameworks are meeting Vulnerable / Persons with Disabilities and partners needs and demands
Benchmarks: thematic strategy papers, strategies reviews, monitoring reports.
Activities
ü Participate in the design of P&O operation framework
ü Member of mission projects coordination meetings.
ü Participate into mission cross cutting thematic work groups
ü Participate in strategic planning exercises of the mission.
REQUIRED PROFILE
Educational background and experiences:
-Compulsory Prosthesis & Orthotics technician degree.
-At least 2 year of professional experience in the field of P&O
-Experience in humanitarian context, preferably in emergency
-Strong interpersonal and intercultural skills
-Ability to work under high pressure and without constant supervision - English mandatory, French and Arabic an asset.
Personal skills :
  • Able to cope with a huge workload
  • Proactivity and flexibility
  • Diplomacy and interpersonal skills
JOB ENVIRONMENT
  • Status: salaried contract according to experience
  • Remuneration: according to HI salary grid
  • Start: 1st September 2014
  • Duration: 6 months (renewable if funding)
  • Living conditions: guesthouse shared with other expatriates (no charges)
  • Security conditions: high level of insecurity
  • Social insurance: 100% covered
[1] Declaration of UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guiterres, September 2nd, 2013
[2] According to UNHCR (registered refugees and pending registration)
How to apply:
Contact : WOLNA Agata
Please apply by following this link :
http://hi.profilsearch.com/recrute/fr/fo_annonce_voir.php?id=528&idparte...