Program Specialist- Family Education

TIYYD is seeking a Program Specialist- Family Education to coordinate our Family Education program efforts to support refugee families in Turkey on several levels, including education, mental health, and livelihood to help them regain control of their lives, advance their educational level, and integrate into the Turkish society and marketplace.**

ABOUT YOU:

Program Specialist-Family Education is a care-driven professional who believes in facilitating wellness for children and their families. S/he needs to be mission-driven, believe in humanitarian principles, go above and beyond to support refugees, and be a team player.

You are flexible: You will be working with disadvantaged families, and their situation and needs may be constantly changing. Your approach to programming needs to be flexible to accommodate a changing environment.

You are patient: You acknowledge that patience is key in working with disadvantaged families, as many come to us with various backgrounds, different vocabularies, and unfortunate experiences. We all recognize that their children’s lives and wellbeings are what is most important.

You are social: You create a sense of community for the families we serve and act as a positive role model. You know how families have faced extreme hardship, and you take the extra mile to be sociable to welcome them into a community that supports them with kindness.

You are good with people: You are able to make connections with different types of people. You are excited to work with people of different ages, socioeconomic situations, educational and cultural backgrounds.

You understand the Syrian/Turkish context: Understanding the social context within which we are working is key to be able to make a meaningful impact, as one of our program objectives is social cohesion.

You are creative ( open to new ideas): You get excited to approach your work in a way that is not necessarily the status quo. You are ready to test new ways of doing work, harnessing the knowledge that you gained from your own experiences.

ABOUT TIYYD’s KARAM HOUSE

Karam House is an innovative workspace for Syrian and Turkish teens, in Istanbul and Reyhanli, Turkey, which defy traditional approaches to education for the most vulnerable in local communities. At Karam Houses, hundreds of teens learn through access to technology (maker spaces, internet, computers), expert mentorship (Syrian refugee architects and engineers), and a sophisticated design-based curriculum (developed by MIT grads) that teaches youth how to build their ideas and their community.

We think about refugees and humanitarian aid differently and so we do things differently. We believe in investing deeply in communities affected by conflict.

RESPONSIBILITIES (but not limited to):

Programmatic:

• Manage the family intake process including applicant evaluation, interviews, field visits, and onboarding.
• Support program outreach efforts and continuously form relationships with NGOs and field experts.
• Establish an open and productive relationship with each member of the family that promotes honesty, trust, and respect.
• Adapt your communication style with each member of the family based on their age, needs, and status.
• Follow up and document family members’ progress and submit regular reports on their successes and challenges.
• Be accountable for maintaining accurate program data in beneficiary databases, surveys, and trackers.
• Support the submission of the monthly family payments requests and the reconciliation processes in coordination with the Finance department.
• Analyze program data to improve program design and optimize its services.
• Contribute to the program evaluation and development.
• Research, develop and conduct seminars to raise awareness on mental health, protection, integration, and livelihood to empower refugees in Turkey and promote their independence.
• Provide coaching to parents, kids, and other program participants

Other

• Attend professional development training as needed
• Report regularly to the Team Leader- Family Education

REQUIREMENTS:

• Minimum Education: Bachelor’s Degree (Social science is an advantage)
• 3 years experience in the humanitarian field,
• Fluency in the Arabic language
• English working-level required
• Excellent people skills and people management skills, including working with children
• Compassionate
• Documentation & analytical skills
• Patience
• Creativity and willingness to learn
• Good team player
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, etc) or Google Suites (documents, spreadsheets etc)
• Turkish citizen or Istanbul issued residency card

PREFERED

• Turkish proficiency preferred
• Experience in psychosocial or mental health support preferred

REPORTS TO: Team Leader -Family Education

LOCATION: Eyüpsultan, Istanbul, Turkey

HOURS: Full-time, 40 hours per week. Saturday – Wednesday.

COMPENSATION: Based on the candidate’s level of experience, qualifications, and the organization’s salary scale in Turkish Lira.