Organization: World Health Organization (WHO)
Position: MENTAL HEALTH & PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT (MHPSS) – Amhara and Afar Region

Job Time: Full-Time

Job Type: Contract

Place of Work: Amhara and Afar, Ethiopia

Salary: $2,595.58/month

Application Deadline: May, 13/2022 

Job description

This vacancy will be used to fill different MHPSS positions in Afar And Amhara.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The overall goal of WHO’s Outbreak and Health Emergencies (OHE) Programme is to minimize the health consequences of emergencies due to any biological, natural, technological or societal hazard. Collective and sound health emergency and disaster risk management are essential to health security, sustainable development and to building the resilience of communities, countries and health systems.

The objectives of WHO’s OHE Programme are: to help the Member States build their capacity to manage health emergency risks and, when national capacities are overwhelmed, to lead and coordinate the international health response to contain outbreaks and to provide effective relief and recovery to minimise the impact on the health of affected populations. WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme directs all of the Organization’s work in health emergency risk management, with an all-hazards approach comprising risk reduction, preparedness, readiness, response and early recovery activities, and with a particular emphasis on the identification and mitigation of infectious hazards and risks.

The Programme is responsible for establishing and managing WHO’s operational capacity in acute and protracted emergencies, setting overall strategy and ensuring appropriate operational planning, managing field operations, developing and ensuring adherence to technical standards, and ensuring risk and performance monitoring. The Programme engages in relevant partnerships and inter-agency processes, recognizing that its impact should be optimized by coordinating, leveraging and facilitating the implementation roles of other local, national and international entities and partners best positioned to deliver the relevant clinical or other public health services. WHO’s OHE Programme integrates and operates under the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence in the serving

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

In the context of the WHO Health Emergencies Incident Management System (IMS), at the country level, the incumbent will strengthen the ability of the country to scale up the prevention and treatment of mental, neurological, substance use disorders and promotion of mental health with particular focus on the affected population.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Reporting to the Team Lead, under the overall guidance of the Incident Manager, and in close collaboration with the respective technical leads in the respective regional office and HQ, the Technical Officer will be accountable for the effective management and provision of expert advice for the application and adaptation of WHO, Sphere Project and Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) policies and strategies in the areas of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS). S/he will have the overall responsibility for coordinating operations to ensure the timely delivery, effective and efficient implementation of the activities, to achieve the best attainable health status for the populations that WHO serves. The incumbent will work with multiple players including the national health, performing the below duties ;

1. Leadership role to represent WHO at regional level MHPSS TWG and Coordinate Partners implementing MHPSS at the region
2. Coordinate strategic planning and implementation of activities in line with Federal and Regional Plans
3. Assist with the formulation of regional and sub-regional strategies for MHPSS support in light of the crisis as well as the work plans for the MHPSS Technical Working Group.
4. Contribute to the design of and delivery capacities building actions such as training of trainers, specialized training and awareness-raising initiatives (orientation seminars-Introduction to MHPSS IASC Guidelines in Emergency settings, mini-trainings including PFA, Self-Care, Stress and Burn-out management, Grief and briefings) for MHPSS Technical Working Group members.
5. Contribute to the development of region-specific MHPSS tools. Particular focus will be on mainstreaming of MHPSS in project design by relevant clusters; General protection, child protection, education, camp coordination etc.
6. Implement Monitoring and evaluation strategies, prepare and submit technical reports as guided by the activity plans.
7. Liaise with Federal and other regional teams to promote collaboration and best practices.
8. Perform any other incident-specific related duties, as required by the functional supervisor.

Required Qualifications

Education

Essential:

• University Degree in Psychiatry, Psychology or a related field from an accredited academic institution.

Desirable:

• Postgraduate degree in Psychiatry, Psychology, clinical psychology training.

Experience

Essential:

• At least five years of relevant professional experience in MHPSS responses in humanitarian contexts;

Desirable:

Relevant work experience in WHO, other UN agencies, relevant nongovernmental, health cluster partners or recognized humanitarian organizations.

Functional Knowledge and Skills

• Experience working in conflict/humanitarian contexts;
• In-depth theoretical and practical knowledge of and the IASC Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings guidelines and associated products (e.g.,
• Experience in psychiatry may be advantageous IASC Assessment toolkit, the 4Ws mapping tool, M&E framework, and the Health, Protection and CCCM booklets);
• Strong networking capacities for constructive relationships with all humanitarian actors (e.g., OCHA, ICRC, the South Sudan Red Cross, Cluster Leads, UN agencies, INGOs, NNGOs and CBOS), Donors and relevant Government Line Ministries;
• Experience in working in large scale complex humanitarian emergencies (previous working experience in the Republic of Ethiopia is an advantage);
• Familiarity with the humanitarian architecture (cluster system), humanitarian appeals, humanitarian response plans and common humanitarian funds;
• Ability to work independently and to accept advice from MHPSS coordination group Board members.

WHO Competencies

• Communication
• Teamwork
• Moving forward in a changing environment
• Promoting innovation and organizational learning.
• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

Use of Language Skills

Essential:

• Excellent knowledge of English. Working knowledge of another WHO official language would be an asset.

Other Skills (e.g. IT Skills)

• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft office applications.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Remuneration – this is a Special Service Agreement at NOC Level for six months (6) with a monthly remuneration of 2,595.58
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test may be used as a form of screening.
• If your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
• For information on WHO’s operations please visit: http://www.who.int.
• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.
• WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to putting the WHO Values Charter into practice.

WHO has zero tolerance toward sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.