POSITION: SPIR II Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Coordinator

OPEN TO:  Ethiopian Nationals (Female applicants are highly encouraged)

OPENING DATE:   28 December, 2021

CLOSING DATE:   07 January 2022       

Number of Position: One

Duty station: Addis Ababa, SPIR II Consortium Office

Strengthen PSNP Institutions and Resilience II (SPIR II) is a 5-year USAID/BHA funded Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) led by World Vision and including consortium partners CARE, ORDA and IFPRI. World Vision and its partners will create a strong, shock responsive ecosystem of public, private, and community level actors to support PSNP households to graduate from poverty and sustain income and food security gains in 17 targeted woredas in Amhara and Oromia regions. Building from key formative and research studies during an initial refinement period, SPIR II will use continuous learning to drive program level reflection, analysis, and adaptation.

Purpose of the position:

 The SPIR II MHPSS Coordinator will coordinate, coach, and mentor the MHPSS Officers and field level facilitators in order to support their capacity to implement MHPSS intervention components safely, effectively as well as ensure quality of program implementation at regional level. Moreover, he/ she will supervise, monitor, and closely support MHPSS officers in their role of supervising group based psychological interventions such as interpersonal psychotherapy for groups (IPT-G) and Group problem management plus (G-PM+). In addition to this the MHPSS coordinator also assist MHPSS advisor in the process of testing, adapting and refining appropriate group-based mental health and psychosocial support models in the SPIR II implementation context.

Major Responsibilities:

• Lead and coordinate regional level SPIR II MHPSS intervention activities.
• Assist and support in the process of pilot Group Problem Management Plus (G-PM+) to address the MHPSS needs of communities affected by adversity.
• Ensure the proper identification and recruitment of depressed women and men to participate in the IPT-G sessions based on the established screening protocol.
• Provide close follow-up and track MHPSS client attendance, participation and document client progress to assess MHPSS activity efficacy.
• Assist on the need assessment and development of MHPSS models to respond to conflict-related trauma, especially in the SPIR II Amhara operational areas. 
• Ensure the proper identification, referral, and case management of critical mental health cases based on established referral protocols.
• Supervise Zonal and Woreda level MHPSS staffs and support the ongoing supervision of MHPSS Officers as they monitor and support the community-level facilitators.
• Identify skill gaps of the MHPSS officers in regular basis and provide technical support accordingly.
• Train and facilitate cascaded training for MHPSS program staffs, and government health professionals at Zonal/Woreda and Kebele levels.
• Ensure people in acute distress are assisted to alleviate their stress, by ensuring that staffs are trained on PFA and stress management.
• Network and liaise with relevant government health sectors and other MHPSS implementing partners at regional level.
• Ensure MHPSS intervention integration with other SPIR II programs and government health systems.
• Participate on all required technical or management meetings and perform other duties as assigned.
• Regularly monitor the skills and competency of MHPSS officers based on standard supervision checklists and providing feedbacks accordingly.
• Ensure the proper Collection of key MHPSS client data at regional level and prepare reports on progress made, together with observations, challenges faced, and lessons learned.

Job Requirements

Qualifications: Education/Knowledge/Technical Skills and Experience

 Required Professional Experience:

• A minimum of 3 years for M.A degree and 5 years for BA degree with demonstrated experience in MHPSS intervention.
• Experience in supervising group counseling.
• Experience in IPT-G and G-PM+ MHPSS model is an asset.
• Experience of working with people affected by adversity.
• Experience in MHPSS training facilitation
• Broad and in-depth understanding of issues relating to common mental health and psychological problems.

Qualification required:

• Mental Health professional with Master's and Bachelor's degree in Psychology, Counselling, Psychology, clinical Psychology and/or Public Health.

Preferred Knowledge and Qualifications:

• Ability to work in collaboration with people affected by depression, stress, anxiety and other common mental health conditions
• Understanding of self-help approaches and empowerment in MHPSS
• Ability to work independently
• Understanding of general MHPSS supervision skills
• Excellent group facilitation skills, verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to develop, inform and sustain professional relationships, partnerships and networks
• Excellent report writing skill

 Working Environment / Conditions:

• Frequent travel to the designated Woreda and Keble’s for co-facilitation, monitoring or supportive supervision of MHPSS officers and community level facilitators.

How to Apply

Interested applicants are required to Write Position Title on the subject line & fill employment application form which can be found  http://docs.ethiojobs.net/wve-jaf.pdf ) and email before the closing date of this announcement to  Recruitment_ethiopia@wvi.org or through CLICK HERE

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