Trauma and Healing Expertnew

About Badael

Badael e.V. is a Syrian rights-based organisation working to foster transformative justice for sustainable peace in Syria. Through feminist, rights-based and participatory approaches, Badael works with grassroots actors and communities to strengthen their agency and ability to shape processes related to justice, reconciliation, peacebuilding and inclusive governance.

Scope of Work

Phase I: Inception and contextualisation

At the beginning of the assignment, the expert(s) will:

• Review the project proposal, reconciliation approach, relevant project materials and existing methodologies provided by Badael.
• Meet with Badael’s team and relevant external experts/trainers to develop a shared understanding of the project, its justice-based reconciliation approach, target groups and implementation context.
• Understand the role of the women participating in the training as peacebuilders, grassroots leaders and facilitators of community reconciliation and inter-group dialogue rather than as mental health practitioners.
• Identify the principal psychosocial and trauma-related considerations relevant to facilitating reconciliation and inter-group dialogue in conflict-affected and socially fragmented communities.
• Contextualise the training approach to the realities of the four project locations and the experiences and roles of participating women.

Phase II: Development of the training methodology and materials

The expert(s) will develop a structured four-day training programme on Trauma-Informed and Psychosocially Safe Practice specifically tailored to women engaged in reconciliation and inter-group dialogue.

The training should combine conceptual understanding with practical application and should address, at minimum:

• Basic understanding of trauma, prolonged stress and psychosocial wellbeing in conflict-affected settings.
• Individual and collective dimensions of trauma and their relevance to community relationships and reconciliation.
• How trauma, fear, grief, loss and insecurity can manifest within dialogue and reconciliation spaces.
• Understanding triggers and recognising signs of distress without diagnosing participants.
• Principles of trauma-informed practice and their application to peacebuilding and reconciliation.
• Creating emotionally and psychosocially safer spaces for dialogue.
• Preventing unintended harm and re-traumatisation.
• Facilitation approaches when participants share experiences of violence, loss or other potentially traumatic experiences.
• Managing emotionally intense moments, conflict and distress within group processes.
• Boundaries of the facilitator's role and distinguishing psychosocially informed facilitation from psychological or therapeutic intervention.
• Power, identity, gender and intersectionality in relation to trauma and psychosocial safety.
• Self-awareness and the emotional impact of facilitation on women peacebuilders themselves.
• Self-care, collective care and approaches to reducing burnout, secondary stress and emotional exhaustion.
• Practical approaches that women facilitators can integrate into the design and implementation of community reconciliation and inter-group dialogue initiatives.

The methodology should be highly participatory and practice-oriented, making appropriate use of case studies, scenarios, facilitated reflection, group exercises, simulations and practical tools. Activities should themselves model trauma-informed and psychosocially safe facilitation and should not require participants to disclose personal traumatic experiences.

Phase III: Delivery of four in-person workshops

• The expert(s) will deliver four four-day in-person workshops, one in each project location, targeting approximately 20 women per workshop.
• Participants will primarily include representatives of women-led or women-focused groups, grassroots women leaders, independent activists, women peacebuilders and practitioners engaged in or preparing to engage in community reconciliation, inter-group dialogue, mediation, civic engagement and related community processes.
• The workshops should enable participants to apply trauma-informed principles directly to situations they are likely to encounter while facilitating community reconciliation and inter-group dialogue.
• Delivery should be participatory, feminist, inclusive, culturally and contextually sensitive, and responsive to differences in participants' experiences and levels of prior knowledge.

Expected Deliverables

The consultancy is expected to produce the following deliverables:

1. Inception meeting and brief methodological plan, including the proposed approach, sequencing and coordination arrangements.
2. Four-day training curriculum and methodology on Trauma-Informed and Psychosocially Safe Practice, contextualised to women-led reconciliation and inter-group dialogue.
3. Delivery of four in-person workshops, one in each project location targeting approximately 20 women per workshop.
4. Post-workshop reflection/debriefing with Badael following each workshop or training cycle.

Required Qualifications and Experience

The expert, or collectively the proposed team, should demonstrate:

• An advanced university degree in psychology, clinical psychology, counselling psychology, psychosocial support, mental health, or another directly relevant discipline.
• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in trauma-informed practice, psychosocial support, mental health and psychosocial wellbeing, or closely related areas.
• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering training on trauma-informed and psychosocially safe practice.
• Strong understanding of trauma and psychosocial dynamics in conflict-affected environments.
• Demonstrated experience translating psychological and psychosocial concepts into practical approaches for non-specialist practitioners.
• Experience working with civil society actors, community facilitators, women leaders, peacebuilders or similar groups.
• Knowledge of safeguarding, Do No Harm and ethical approaches to working with people affected by conflict and violence.
• Fluency in Arabic, including the ability to deliver professional training in Arabic.