SPHIR seeks Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Group (IPT-G) Officer for its USAID-funded Development Food Security Activity, Strengthen PSNP4 Institutions and Resilience. The primary role MHPSS Officer is to train, supervise and closely support the Health Community Facilitators and Men Engagement Facilitators in their role of facilitating the IPT-G sessions at the community level. The MHPSS Officers will first gain experience through conducting a 12-week IPT-G session themselves, with close support received from the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support advisor and other international partners who have recently conducted this intervention in Uganda. The MHPSS Officer will be responsible to support, monitor and ensure the quality of this intervention in all designated kebeles in the duty woreda.   

RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS: 

Planning and Implementation of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Activities (65%)

• Ensure correct identification and recruitment of depressed women to participate in the IPT-G session based the established screening criteria 
• After completing initial training, IPT-G Officers will lead and facilitate IPT-G sessions for up to 12 weeks for women with depression
• Follow-up and track client attendance and participation and document client and project progress to asses IPT-G efficacy 
• Document and share learning from initial IPT group facilitation experience with the IPT-G Coordinator, other IPT-G officers and other SPIR technical staff
• Use established protocols to refer clients in need of clinical treatment, and at the end, prepare client discharge plans and link to Nutrition BCC group sessions 
• Train and coach Health Community Facilitators to conduct IPT-G sessions in their respective Kebles  
• Maintain confidentiality in all matters relating to group participants, consistent with organizational policies and laws
• Collect key client data and prepare reports on progress made, together with observations, challenges faced, and lessons learned
• Work with family members or other community support group for ongoing support after the IPT-G sessions finished 
• •Support the Health Community Facilitators through initial co-facilitation of the IPT-G sessions and later through ongoing supervision and monitoring, identifying any additional training or capacity building needs of the Health Community Facilitators 
• Participate on all required technical or management team meetings and perform other duties as assigned
• Work closely with project technical staff in ensuring coordination and integration across all purposes
• Ensure the inclusion of mother who recovered from their depression to SBCC session and follow up their regular participation 

Technical Support and Capacity Building (5%)

• Jointly develop annual work plan with health and nutrition officers and ensure allocation of appropriate budget for effective implementation;
• Develop and maintain close working relationship with partners responsible for MNCH-N in their designated area.
• Provides support for Health & Nutrition  trainings, workshops, and meetings conducted at zonal/woreda/Kebele level.
• Conduct training need assessment to identify community health workers’ knowledge gap and design appropriate training accordingly.
• Support PSNP targets on homestead production of nutrient-dense in collaboration with PSNP implementing sectors and support the process of provision of vegetable seeds, fruit seedlings, poultry and hand tools to pregnant and lactating women and children under two are properly targeted
• Assist project staffs to develop nutrition education to improve dietary practices, transform traditional attitudes to bring about behavioral change and contribute to improved nutrition 
• Train PSNP staffs, CFs, volunteers and animators on adolescent, maternal and child nutrition
• Ensure education/discussions on adolescent, maternal and child nutrition are conducted during VESA group meetings and gender dimension of nutrition and mental health is advocated; 

Monitoring and Supervision (30%)

• Maintain up-to-date data related to nutrition and IPT-G activities and deliver it to Monitoring and evaluation officer for data entry and analysis.
• Ensure close working relationship with the health and nutrition officer and establish coordination and integration of the health and nutrition and the IPT-G activities.
• Facilitate/Conduct joint, supportive supervision with health and nutrition officer and health and nutrition advisor on the activities.
• Facilitates and encourages regular review meeting and review schedules at all woreda levels and help the different institutions have it institutionalized commitment;
• Together with other health and nutrition team sets project quality standards and action steps and monitor the performance accordingly; 
• Prepare a monthly program and program support plan that helps to visit field activities and provide formal and informal feedback to the program staff in terms of recommendations for improved performance;
• Conducts regular mentoring to community health workers and health extension workers and develop their group and individual counselling skills by using QIVC.
• Participate in program monitoring and evaluation events conducted or initiated by RFSA IPs;
• Support health, nutrition and depression related assessments (if any) ensuring assessment findings are properly documented; and adopted for the program improvement 

Reporting and ensuring data quality

• Ensure improved data collection and reporting systems during supportive supervision or monitoring field visits to project operational areas
• •Verify data quality and ensure consistency of information by community health workers and report against their plan, variables in data collection tool and report  
• Prepare quarterly, high quality progress reports and results from community health workers and draft narrative reports and share to woreda team leader and health and nutrition officer;
• Establishes and maintains documentation system for all program activities including, minutes of technical meetings;

Learning and documentation

• Work with the Knowledge Management advisor, M&E officers and other staff of the project to document project learning, success stories, case studies, and learning briefs. 

Job Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, or Occupational Therapy
• Demonstrated interest in social work and helping others. 
• A person who has completed an IPT training course is an asset 

Experience

• 3 years of relevant experience with the first degree and 2 years of relevant experience plus post graduate degree working as a Psychiatric Nurse, or a Health Officer or Social worker with mental health experience.
• Experience of working with people with depression and their families (2 years or more)
• Broad and in-depth understanding of issues relating to mental health, specifically depression
• Experience facilitating groups (ex. self-help groups)

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Understanding of general patient evaluation approaches.
• Ability to work independently 
• Understanding of self-help approaches and empowerment in mental health
• Ability to develop, inform and sustain professional relationships, partnerships and networks
• Excellent group facilitation skills, verbal and written communication skills 
• Ability to work in collaboration with people with depression, families, and other staff/services involved in their support

Personal Qualities

• Empathy with the goal of treating depression 
• Natural team player

Language Skills: 

• Ability to communicate and write clearly in English is desirable and local language (Amharic and  Afan Oromo) proficiency is required.  

Duty station: Chiro & Doba Woredas  

Work environment: Frequent travel to the designated kebeles for co-facilitation, monitoring or supportive supervision of the Health Community Facilitators

How to Apply

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